An Update on our Plans for La Puerta

April 5, 2024

We have an important update regarding our plans for the former La Puerta school site, and we wanted you to hear it from us first.  

Trumark Homes has worked with the local community for the past four years to develop a collaborative vision for the future of La Puerta. Through dozens of meetings, workshops and conversations, we created a plan for 56 single-family homes on large lots to match the low-density character of the surrounding neighborhood. It’s a plan that protects local priorities and benefits the community, and as a result, it has received significant support from Claremont residents.  

We’re proud of this collaborative plan and have been working closely with the City to bring the vision to reality. Yet, as the Claremont Courier reported, the City Council made a significant change to the development code last year that prohibits us from constructing the project as proposed. In short, they changed the rules after our application was submitted, and the 56-unit project we’d prefer to build is no longer feasible.  

We have been in talks with the City to resolve this issue for several months but, unfortunately, we haven’t reached a viable solution. As a result, Trumark has re-submitted an application to the City for a revised plan that complies with the new code. In industry speak, we’re pursuing what’s known as a Builder’s Remedy.   

Rest assured, this updated plan for La Puerta still maintains the existing boundaries of the school site and does not include any changes to La Puerta Sports Park. It still provides millions for infrastructure improvements and will fund major modernization efforts across Claremont Unified School District campuses. The only change is the addition of 35 affordable housing units (20 single-family homes and 15 multi-family homes) to help address our region’s housing needs. Single-family homes will remain along Forbes Avenue and the other perimeter edges of the project, and the plan will still receive the same rigorous environmental review and mitigation.  

While this represents a slight departure from our progress together, we remain committed to developing a new community at La Puerta that fits with its surroundings and is a positive addition to North Claremont.  

We look forward to sharing more information about the next steps as they become available. In the interim, please reach out with any comments or questions at info@lapuertaclaremont.com.