SANGER – Members of the city council found themselves at odds with state law as they reluctantly approved the final map of an upcoming housing development. All despite reported issues with the developer in question.
On Sept. 3, the Sanger City Council got down to business on a number of items regarding the Serenade II development, which aims to bring 48 single-family lots near North Avenue. The council approved two items which assigned the project site to a community facilities district and a landscaping and lighting maintenance district, followed by a third item to approve the project’s final map and all of its accompanying agreements and covenants.
Though the first two items were considered routine and passed unanimously with relative ease, the council took time to weigh its options on the final map. Especially after residents voiced grievances with the state of phase one of this D.R. Horton-developed housing project.
“It seems to me questionable why we would enter into an agreement with this company when I’m hearing we have multiple situations that are becoming a problem,” said Planning Commission Chair Kevin Carter during public comment on the final map. “It seems to me maybe we should try to rectify the problems we have before we just okay another subdivision, move on and hope for the best.”
The bulk of the discussion stemmed from public comments on the item, after one resident said that despite monthly charges for street sweeping that was meant to be handled by D.R. Horton, no street sweeping has been done in the completed section of the Serenade development. The commenter called it “theft” and implored the council to make the developer “fulfill their commitment.”
In response, City Manager Nathan Olson spoke up to say that the city contracted with Mid Valley Disposal last month to begin street sweeps, and added that residents should receive a refund for the $1.43 monthly charge within the next 30 days.
“(Staff) still need to come to council to get the permission to do it, but that’s the plan,” said Olson in his comments. “It’s about a $3,000 credit back to all of those residents.”
Olson went on to say that the subdivision has had a number of issues such as litigation over the work being done on North and Greenwood avenues, roads next to the subdivision being “torn up” multiple times and more. He noted that the city has some upcoming meetings with D.R. Horton and the city’s contractor in the coming weeks, and is “taking action” to remedy residents’ frustrations.
Despite all of these issues, City Attorney Shannon Chaffin advised the council that state law prohibits them from denying the final map this far into the process, unless there was some indication of “extreme threats” to residents’ safety or welfare.
“The question before the city council tonight is: is this map that’s being proposed as the final map consistent with the tentative map that was approved by the planning commission?” said Chaffin to the council. “You’ve had your city engineer review it, you’ve had your city planner review it and you’ve had your city attorney review it, and all of them are saying to you, ‘Yes, it is consistent.’”
According to the staff report, the planning commission approved the tentative map in November 2025.
Councilmember Michael Montelongo, whose district is home to the Serenade development, said in his comments that the city should work to hold D.R. Horton accountable through code enforcement, and vocalized his dissatisfaction with state oversight when it comes to local subdivisions.
“It’s disappointing because when the state does that, and we have an issue with the developer, we could scream all over into a crowd, but then we’ve still got to do what we’ve got to do because the state says so,” said Montelongo.
Councilmember Dolores Melendez questioned whether the city could postpone or continue the vote until D.R. Horton makes good on its previous commitments, but Chaffin cautioned that “continuance is not a legal option that’s really available to us.”
Despite this, Councilmember Esmeralda Hurtado made a motion to postpone the vote to the next regular meeting, which Melendez seconded. The motion received no other votes in support and failed.
Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Martinez then made a motion to approve the final map, seconded by Mayor Frank Gonzalez, and the motion passed with a 4-1 vote. Hurtado voted in opposition.
At the end of the council meeting, during councilmember reports, Montelongo doubled down on his desire for staff to enforce city code on the subdivision where necessary, and directed staff to provide bi-weekly updates on enforcement efforts and problem resolutions. Members of the council supported Montelongo and gave a consensus to his request.
