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San Luis Obispo · City of San Luis Obispo

Avila Ranch

North of Buckley Road at Vachell Lane, south end of San Luis Obispo, CA

Under constructionas of September 2026Housing

The pin marks a representative location from the cited records, not a verified construction footprint. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Summary

Avila Ranch is a master-planned neighborhood on about 150 acres north of Buckley Road at Vachell Lane, on the southern edge of San Luis Obispo inside the Airport Area Specific Plan. The City Council approved the Avila Ranch Development Plan and certified its environmental impact report on September 19, 2017. The approved plan included 720 homes, 15,000 square feet of neighborhood commercial space, parks and open space, built in six phases. A 2024 addendum added a density bonus of 20 affordable units, bringing the plan to 740 homes. Required improvements include the extension of Buckley Road from Vachell Lane to South Higuera Street.

The city tracks the plan by phase. Phases 1 and 2 are 297 single-family homes, which the city lists as under construction; the first homes were being built by May 2022, and Trumark Homes opened a second phase of 121 single-family homes for sale in April 2025. Phase 3 is a multifamily complex of 85 market-rate units (Anacapa) and 60 affordable units (the Sendero Apartments, which have their own page), approved by the Planning Commission in February 2024 and listed as pending building submittal. Phase 4 is about 197 townhomes, also pending building submittal. Phase 5, 101 homes, is under building review; a September 2025 addendum allowed Phase 5 to be built ahead of Phase 4.

Wathen Castanos Homes is the plan's developer and the named permittee on the creek-crossing utility agreements with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (2024, amended April 2026). Construction of the remaining phases depends on building permits that the city tracker had not yet listed as issued in September 2026.

Documented scope

Plan total
740 homes (720 approved in 2017 plus a 20-unit density bonus added in 2024), 15,000 square feet of neighborhood commercial space, parks and open space [7]
Site area
About 150 acres, six phases [6]
Phases 1 and 2 (single-family)
297 single-family homes; listed under construction [2]
Phase 3 (multifamily)
85 market-rate units (Anacapa) and 60 affordable units (Sendero Apartments); pending building submittal [3]
Phase 4 (townhomes)
About 197 townhome units; pending building submittal [4]
Phase 5
101 residential units; under building review [5]

Milestones

  1. Notice of preparation filed for the Avila Ranch environmental impact report. [6]
  2. City Council approved the Avila Ranch Development Plan and certified the final EIR. [6]
  3. Phase 1 home construction under way; the city reported 28 building permits issued, including model homes. [9]
  4. FEIR Addendum 1 approved, adjusting the timing of the Buckley Road bicycle bridge. [6]
  5. Planning Commission approved Phase 3 (Anacapa and Sendero, 145 units) and the city approved FEIR Addendum 2 adding a 20-unit density bonus. [10]
  6. Trumark Homes opened the second phase of 121 single-family homes (Estero and Islay) for sale. [11]
  7. FEIR Addendum 3 approved, allowing Phase 5 to be built ahead of Phase 4. [6]
  8. California Department of Fish and Wildlife amended the streambed alteration agreement for utility crossings of a Tank Farm Creek tributary. [8]

Dates are shown with the precision the source gives: a month or a year when the record has no exact day.

What changed

  • City tracker update keeps Phases 1 and 2 under construction, Phases 3 and 4 pending building submittal and Phase 5 under building review. [1]
  • State fish and wildlife agency amended the creek-crossing utility agreement, moving the start of the work season to March 27. [8]
  • City approved FEIR Addendum 3 so Phase 5 can be built ahead of Phase 4. [6]

What the records leave open

  • The city tracker stage for each phase was not confirmed by a site inspection or a permit-file review. The tracker does not publish construction start or completion dates for any phase.
  • The tracker still describes the single-family phases as 297 homes and the plan as approved; the 2024 CEQA addendum raised the plan total from 720 to 740 homes. The 2017 figure of 720 appears in older news and builder material.
  • The builder's April 2025 release describes a first phase of 180 homesites and a second phase of 121 homes, which does not match the city's 297-home figure for Phases 1 and 2 exactly; the difference is not explained in the records.
  • Phase 5 is under building review and a 2025 addendum lets it proceed before Phase 4, but no building permit issuance or construction start for Phases 3, 4 or 5 is documented in the records checked.

Related projects and phases

More in San Luis Obispo

All San Luis Obispo projects

Sources

  1. Current Development Projects (City of San Luis Obispo development tracker), City of San Luis Obispo, September 21, 2026 (checked November 5, 2026) Story map shows 'Updated September 2026'; page metadata gives a September 21, 2026 modification date.
  2. Tracker record: Avila Ranch | SFRs Phases 1 and 2 (Under Construction layer), City of San Luis Obispo, September 2026 (checked November 5, 2026)
  3. Tracker record: Avila Ranch (Phase 3) (Specific Plans layer), City of San Luis Obispo, September 2026 (checked November 5, 2026)
  4. Tracker record: Avila Ranch (Phase 4) (Specific Plans layer), City of San Luis Obispo, September 2026 (checked November 5, 2026)
  5. Tracker record: Avila Ranch (Phase 5) (Under Building Review layer), City of San Luis Obispo, September 2026 (checked November 5, 2026)
  6. Avila Ranch Project, SCH 2015081034: document list and Addendum 3 notice of determination, California Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (CEQAnet), September 18, 2025 (checked November 5, 2026) Addendum 3 posted September 18, 2025, approved September 16, 2025; the project list at ceqanet.lci.ca.gov/Project/2015081034 gives the 2015 notice of preparation and the 2017 notice of determination.
  7. Addendum 2 to the FEIR for the Avila Ranch Development Plan, notice of determination, California Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (CEQAnet), February 27, 2024 (checked November 5, 2026) Approved February 14, 2024; adds a 20-unit density bonus, for 740 homes.
  8. Wet and Dry Utilities Crossing Special Aquatic Feature, Amendment 1 to Streambed Alteration Agreement EPIMS SLO-47902-R4, notice of determination, California Department of Fish and Wildlife via CEQAnet, April 27, 2026 (checked November 5, 2026) Names Wathen Castanos Homes as the permittee.
  9. Construction underway at site of new San Luis Obispo subdivision, KSBY (news), May 12, 2022 (checked November 5, 2026)
  10. SLO to get 145 dense housing units in third phase of Avila Ranch project, The Tribune via AOL (news), February 16, 2024 (checked November 5, 2026) Planning Commission vote of Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
  11. Trumark Homes Releases Additional Homes for Sale at Avila Ranch in San Luis Obispo, Trumark Homes (builder announcement), April 22, 2025 (checked November 5, 2026)

Research reviewed November 3, 2026. Page content reviewed November 5, 2026. Guide last updated November 5, 2026. Research last reviewed November 3, 2026; records cover November 3, 2021 to November 3, 2026. How the guide is built, and what it does not cover.

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