When Rich Fabbre retired and left Virginia, he and his wife chose to settle in Roseville to be close to their son and grandkids.

After looking at several neighborhoods, they picked WestPark – a housing development under construction near the city's western edge – for its blend of single-family houses, town homes, row houses and apartments.

"There's a very good mix, and because of that there's a wide price range that attracts a very diverse population," Fabbre said. "That's really kind of neat. There's schools out here, parks, shops, just everything that makes a place somewhere you want to live."

But plans to squeeze more homes into west Roseville could upset that delicate balance, Fabbre says.

He and other residents are fighting proposals to add 216 housing units to WestPark and more than 2,000 to nearby Fiddyment Ranch. The changes would require amendments to the city's specific plan for the area.

"They had a great plan, but now they're going around and tweaking with it in pretty significant ways that I think basically destroy all of the good things about it," Fabbre said.

Last month, the Roseville Planning Commission recommended approval of an application by WestPark builders, Pulte Homes, Lennar Corp. and Centex Homes to relocate some land uses.

Commercial space and high-density residential units would be moved next to a planned elementary school and park to create a neighborhood hub.

The applicants also want to increase single-family homes, apartments and condominiums without adding to the acreage. For single-family houses, builders have asked to boost the density from three or four units per acre to five.

"This gives us the ability to maximize the density that's allowed under the specific plan," Pulte Homes Vice President of Land Rick Jordan said.

"We're definitely seeing the market moving towards something that's more affordable for most buyers in Placer County. We think this will help us achieve that."

Lots for these additional detached, single-family homes would shrink from approximately 7,000 square feet to 4,500 to 5,000 square feet.

The city's planning department studied the proposal, analyzing issues such as traffic, schools and water supply, and found no significant impacts, project planner Steve Lindbeck said.

"In several ways, this is a better land use plan than the existing one. For one thing, it makes a more compact, walkable community, and we think that's a good thing," said Lindbeck.

"It doesn't change (existing) neighborhoods. It changes future neighborhoods that are a half-mile or a mile away."

An even larger proposal, however, is looming for the city's western area.

Developer Signature Properties has asked the city for an amendment increasing the number of medium- and high-density residential units.

The proposal includes a project for seniors that ranges from independent-living homes and apartments to skilled nursing facilities.

"Basically, we're using the existing entitled land more efficiently," Signature President John Bayless said. "It sounds ominous, but you add a couple of apartment complexes that were never part of the plan, and the unit count goes up quickly."

Fabbre has an e-mail list of 80 neighbors and counting who have expressed concern about the two proposals. The residents sent e-mails and letters to the city to voice their opposition.

"There's a lot of people who believe the water supply is not capable of handling that much increase in effectively the same footprint," Fabbre said.

He learned about the Fiddyment Ranch proposal after he began researching builders' plans for WestPark.

"It makes the 216-home increase look like the tip of the iceberg," Fabbre said. "You can't help but wonder if there's a piecemeal approach, taking a little bit at a time so that it kind of gets through without the real obvious impacts coming into the fore."

Lindbeck pointed out that both the WestPark and Fiddyment Ranch proposals would help the city meet its state-mandated affordable housing criteria.

Most affordable housing built in Roseville has been in the higher-density range, 13 to 18 units per acre, according to Lindbeck.

The state's threshold, however, is 20 units per acre.

"Although we have always been ahead of the curve in building high-density, the state is interested in the future," Lindbeck said.

A neighborhood informational meeting is scheduled Tuesday to discuss the WestPark proposal, which is tentatively scheduled to go to the City Council for approval Oct. 15, Lindbeck said.

The city plans to conduct an environmental analysis for the Fiddyment Ranch proposal, beginning next year.

Call The Bee's Jennifer K. Morita, (916) 773-7388.