What Does the Bassett Villas Rezoning Mean Nearby?

If you’re buying or selling near 1314 LeBorgne Avenue, the Bassett Villas proposal matters because it could change 5.22 vacant acres from Open Space to residential land use.

The proposal is for 104 market-rate townhouse apartments in 20 two-story buildings. Bassett Unified School District would keep ownership of the land and lease it to the applicant for 99 years.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

As of November 3, 2026, the City Council’s agenda for its November 4, 2026 meeting lists the appeal as a public hearing. Insider had not seen the outcome.

What is the council being asked to decide?

The council is being asked to decide an appeal of the Planning Commission’s recommended denial and several related land-use applications.

The city’s agenda portal lists the matter as Public Hearing item 5. The property is 1314 LeBorgne Avenue, covering APNs 8558-023-905, 8558-023-910, and 8558-015-900. The cases are AGP 25-01, Z 25-01, PR 25-17, and AA 25-02.

If the council grants the appeal, the listed actions include adopting the initial study and mitigated negative declaration and its mitigation monitoring and reporting program. It could also adopt Resolution No. 2026-030 approving the project, Resolution No. 2026-031 changing the General Plan designation, and Ordinance No. 1531 changing the zoning map.

If it denies the appeal, the listed action is Resolution No. 2026-032. Staff recommends granting the appeal, but that recommendation is not the council’s decision.

What would the rezoning change?

The requested approvals would change the General Plan designation from Open Space to Multi-Family Residential and the zoning from Open Space, or OS, to High-density Residential, or R-3.

The land is vacant property owned by Bassett Unified School District and sits next to the former Florence Flanner elementary school buildings. The staff report says, citing the district, the school operated at the site from 1980 to 1989 and closed because of declining enrollment. The remaining portion of parcel 8558-023-905 would keep its current uses, including district administrative offices, a preschool, and the Bassett Child Development Center.

Rezoning changes what the city may approve on the identified project land. It does not turn the proposed apartments into for-sale homes or transfer ownership away from the district.

The council must find that the amendments are consistent with General Plan goals, policies, and objectives; will not adversely affect surrounding properties; promote public health, safety, and general welfare; and serve the zoning code’s goals and purposes. If the council cannot make every finding, it has discretion to deny the project.

A nearby school-site land-use change can involve different facts and approvals, as shown by the former Powell school housing proposal in Azusa.

The Torch Street rezoning proposal is another Baldwin Park request to change land from R-1 to R-3, but it is a different project proposed as for-sale housing.

What is actually proposed?

Bassett Villas is proposed as 104 market-rate townhouse apartments in 20 two-story buildings. Baldwin Park’s rent rules for older rentals are a separate topic covered there.

The buildings would contain two, four, five, or six units. The proposed density is 19.9 dwelling units per acre, while the staff report describes 20 units per acre as the R-3 maximum. Buildings would reach 26 feet 2 inches and two stories, below the permitted 35 feet and three stories.

Plans show 39 two-bedroom units at 1,060 square feet, 36 three-bedroom units at 1,260 square feet, 19 three-bedroom units at 1,270 square feet, and 10 two-bedroom units at 1,300 square feet.

The proposal includes a recreation building, pool, dog park, and an 11,080-square-foot pocket park. The pocket park would be on private property, available to residents and the community as a whole, and maintained by the applicant during the lease.

Under the parties’ 2023 agreement described by staff, Storm Properties would entitle and construct the apartments, then manage them for the life of the 99-year lease.

Why is this an appeal?

This is an appeal because the Planning Commission recommended denial and the applicant challenged that recommendation.

The commission held a hearing on July 22, 2026. On August 12, it adopted Resolution PC 26-07 recommending denial. The applicant filed its appeal letter on August 19.

The commission said it could not find that the amendment would avoid adverse effects on surrounding properties. It considered the proposal too dense because it reached the R-3 maximum, expressed concern that parking was insufficient, and found the requested reduction in private open space too great.

Part of the application later changed. Ordinance No. 1527 was approved July 15 and took effect August 14, reducing the R-3 private open-space requirement from 200 to 100 square feet per unit. Revised plans submitted September 14 enlarged the private space for 10 units from 60 to 117 square feet. The staff report says the variance request is no longer applicable.

A separate administrative adjustment remains. Six-unit buildings would be 127 feet 10 inches long against a 125-foot standard. That deviation is less than a tenth of the standard. Although the code lets the City Planner approve such an adjustment, the staff report says all applications go to the highest approval body when multiple entitlements are involved.

What do the access, parking, and traffic plans say?

The plans provide two access points, the required 243 parking spaces, and a condition for a new traffic signal at Barrydale Street and Puente Avenue.

Parking consists of two garage spaces per unit and 35 guest spaces. Guests could also use spaces on LeBorgne Avenue located on district property.

The private LeBorgne Avenue segments toward Millbury Avenue and Barrydale Street are BUSD parcels. Conditions require an irrevocable parking and access easement. Existing district gates at LeBorgne and Millbury and at LeBorgne and Barrydale would be removed.

The applicant would install the Barrydale and Puente signal at its cost. The Fehr and Peers study found acceptable traffic flow at all studied intersections during morning and evening peak periods. Los Angeles County Public Works reviewed the study.

The traffic study is part of the project record. Staff also recorded public comment themes:

• Opposition themes included a preference for park use, traffic and parking, the absence of affordable units, environmental review, and the effect of a long lease on future open space.

• Support themes included more housing options, the pocket park, and district funding.

What does the environmental review say?

The environmental review says mitigation would reduce all identified project impacts to less than significant levels.

Rincon Consultants prepared the initial study and mitigated negative declaration, and EcoTierra Consulting peer reviewed it. Public review ran from May 4 to June 4, 2026, then was extended to June 29 because the environmental-document link did not function correctly.

The initial study disclosed potentially significant environmental effects if mitigation were not adopted. With the measures included, it concluded that all project impacts would be less than significant.

Staff also recorded a contaminated-soil concern tied to a California Department of Toxic Substance Control letter received during the review period. The report’s brief description does not establish that the property is contaminated, so the comment should not be treated as a confirmed site condition.

What can a nearby buyer or seller verify?

A nearby buyer or seller can verify the hearing result, final resolutions, recorded property documents, and any later permit activity before relying on the proposal.

The staff report says Government Code Section 65914.7 may let the school district bypass local review for housing on its land if units are offered first to employees and most are rented at affordable rates. According to the staff report, that route would require neither the General Plan amendment nor the zone change and could allow a 35-foot project.

A homeowner near Bassett Villas asked us whether the rezoning meant the project shown in the application would definitely be built. Her main concerns were the building layout, traffic and what would face her property. We separated the proposed zoning action from the later approvals and construction decisions that could still affect the finished project.

The short version

Bassett Villas is a proposal for 104 market-rate townhouse apartments on 5.22 acres of school-district land, and the appeal had not been decided when this was written.

The requested change is from Open Space to Multi-Family Residential in the General Plan and from OS to R-3 on the zoning map. BUSD would retain the land and lease it for 99 years. Staff recommends approval, while the Planning Commission recommended denial through Resolution PC 26-07.

Check the council’s final action before describing the project as approved, denied, or ready for construction.

If the land-use decision affects how you’re pricing a nearby property, start with the home value tool.