Pardee seeks approval for 456 homes in ‘Westridge’

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With street names like Snapdragon, Lilac and Periwinkle, the gated Canyon Hills housing development planned just beyond the hill south of Canyon Lake sounds, well, charming. Indeed, the number of residential units planned for Phase 8, “Westridge at Canyon Hills,” has been reduced from the 915 multi-family residential units originally approved.

Now, according to a report that was scheduled to come before the Lake Elsinore Planning Commission on July 21, Pardee Homes is asking for approval of 456 residential units northwest of Railroad Canyon Rd. According to the report, the reduction in units is due to issues associated with grading – grading that Canyon Lakers have been watching with interest the past couple of years.

The Westridge development includes zoning for future commercial use bordering Railroad Canyon Rd. west of Station 94. One entrance to the residential community is planned directly opposite Station 94. The other entrance is planned west of the commercial area.

Proposed plans show two-story stucco homes with varying styles of tile roofs. Architectural details and colors are labeled Spanish, French Country, Northern Italian, Traditional and Classical. Detailed, drought-tolerant landscaping palettes are labeled French, Italian, Spanish and Traditional. The planner describes the homes as “detached condominiums.”

One of the neighborhoods within the development contains a “village concept” with clusters of single-family homes. According to the plan, these clusters each include six homes clustered around small courtyards that provide privacy within shared motor courts. This “village” area is at the westernmost edge of the development, west of the area designated for commercial use.

The conceptual design for a neighborhood park at the center of Westridge calls for a pool with beach entrance, cabanas, spa, fire pit, tot lot and lighted basketball court.

The owner developer of Westridge at Canyon Hills is Pardee Homes of El Segundo. The architects for the project are Bassenian Lagoni Architects of Newport Beach and William Hezmalhalch Architects, Inc. of Santa Ana. The project landscape architects are Fennell & Associates of Lake Elsinore and Summers/Murphy & Partners, Inc. of San Luis Obispo. The engineer is Rick Engineering Company of Lake Forest.

There is no indication in the Planning Commission Report when construction is scheduled to begin.