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::: COMMUNITY NEWS

CCPAC Chairman Gary Cortopassi, left, confers with council member John Kershaw before the meeting. Cortopassi resigned from CCPAC when the meeting began since he has been named to the county Planning Commission.

Planning group deadlocks on bridge plan and reopening South development

Updated Friday, August 15, 2003

Full text of agreement among RMA, Reynen & Bardis and the county on bridge construction is here

The Cosumnes Community Planning Advisory Council deadlocked Wednesday night on an amendment that would allow South developer Reynen & Bardis to resume construction in exchange for funding a $1.5 million Cosumnes River bridge proposed by the Rancho Murieta Association.

The planning group's 3-3 vote, which has no power beyond as a recommendation to the county, will be factored into the county Board of Supervisors' consideration of the proposal, set for next Tuesday.

The audience of about 40 at the RMA Building dwindled to nine by the time the council made its decision at the end of the 2½-hour meeting, which was not videotaped for broadcast on Channel 5.

The three council members who voted in favor of the ordinance had some of the same objections to it as those who voted against it. They felt the process was too hasty, questioned the feasibility of a bridge and the wisdom of relying on a single bid to build it.

In the end, CCPAC member and Rancho Murieta resident John Kershaw said when he voted to approve, "I say take the money and run. … I believe this is the best we're going to get." Kershaw added six conditions when he made the motion to approve the amended ordinance.

The vote was not official because the council was two members short of a quorum.

The proposed ordinance -- you can see the text here -- calls for Reynen & Bardis to provide an initial cash payment of $450,000 to fund the design and permitting costs of the pedestrian bridge. The balance of the $1.5 million would be guaranteed by a letter of credit from the developer. New approved subdivisions on the North and the South would pay a $850-per-lot fee to reimburse Reynen & Bardis for the remaining $1.084 million. The fees would be collected by the county and placed in a fund.

In the event the bridge isn't underway by August 2008, the remaining $1.084 million would be used for alternative projects that comply with the intention of the ordinance to provide access to the community's parks and facilities for all residents. The alternative projects would be subject to county approval.

Most of the community's amenities are now on the North, the older, larger part of the development. As South resident Jim Herrman explained it Wednesday, "The South is kind of like a little island, and the North is kind of the mother of all activities."

The amended ordinance would replace the ordinance requiring the South developer to provide a river crossing before the 601st building permit is issued on the South. The county issued the 600th permit to Reynen & Bardis a few months ago and none since.

Reynen & Bardis' representative, attorney Craig M. Sandberg of Sandberg, Lo Duca & Dellinger, told the group that the developer has "a lot of money invested" in Murieta South and the moratorium on building inflicts "great economic hardship."

"We're very confident the bridge can be built," based on the opinion of the RMA, he said.

North developer Gerry N. Kamilos of Murieta Holdings, who has previously stated he doesn't believe a bridge across the Cosumnes would be approved, nevertheless said he supported the proposed ordinance and agreed to pay the $850-per-unit fee. Kamilos is the representative of the Pension Trust Fund of the Operating Engineers, owners of the undeveloped North property.

He requested that the fee requirement include other properties that aren't currently residential if they convert to residential use. He used the school site and the commercial property behind the Country Store as examples. He agreed with Kershaw that the fee should apply only if the properties have access to the community's amenities.

While Kamilos didn't comment on the bridge's chance of surviving the environmental review process, others at the meeting did.

Neighboring rancher Jay Schneider, whose property borders the Cosumnes, said the existing Yellow Bridge should be used as the crossing.

"It's lunacy to say that you're going to put another crossing on the river when that bridge is there. … To say that it's not negotiable is baloney. … Don't think for one second that there's going to be another bridge built. It'll never get through the process," he said.

The Yellow Bridge is owned by the PTF and leased to the Rancho Murieta Country Club for the use of golfers. Efforts over the years to reach agreement with the club for the shared use of the bridge and access to it from the golf courses have failed.

RMA President Michael Schieberl expressed confidence that the bridge proposal will succeed. "I believe ... we'll be walking over it in January 2006," he told the group.

Of the several RMA directors in the audience, Schieberl was the only one who spoke. He responded to questions the council and residents raised about the bridge proposal.

"This number was developed by a contractor who lives in the community and builds these types of bridges for a living. … We requested a proposal and received actually a bid contract," Schieberl said when asked where the $1.5 million cost figure for the bridge came from. The company is Viking Construction, which is owned by resident Randy Jenco.

Both Schieberl and Sandberg defended the five-year period before the remaining money would be given over to alternative projects if the effort to build the bridge is unsuccessful, a provision that was unpopular with residents and the council. Schieberl said he didn't believe it should be renegotiated. "Why not?" some in the audience muttered.

Sandberg said Reynen & Bardis actually wanted the date out further than five years. He said permitting can sometimes take three or four years, and the Country Club board could change or Caltrans could its change plans for the Highway 16 bridge. "Things can change. … This five-year period is an important part of this deal," he said.

Kershaw said, "This has been going on since 1988. That's 20 years to mitigate a situation that should have been mitigated a long time ago."

Schieberl also responded to questions about the project's reliance on a single bid. He cited his own construction experience -- construction management is his field of employment -- and said he got estimates from bridge builders on his own and compared them to the Viking proposal. As for cost overruns, Schieberl said a 3 percent annual cost-of-living allowance is built into the maximum price bid. Some residents questioned whether this was sufficient.

Several members of the council expressed concern about the lack of public input for the bridge proposal and the ordinance. Schieberl referred to provisions in a memorandum of understanding negotiated by the county, Reynen & Bardis and the RMA. The agreement spells out the deal points for the funding and construction of the bridge and the bridge alternatives.

Schieberl declined to release the document, though the county, when asked, released it Friday. (You can see it here.)

The agreement will be part of the Board of Supervisors' deliberations on Tuesday. When asked by council members if any public meetings were held as the document was developed, Schieberl said the MOU was the result of closed board sessions because it is a contractual matter.

Kershaw said he had a problem with the community not seeing the MOU. "We have an organization we sometimes feel does not represent our best interests," he remarked.

Schieberl was also asked if the bridge would be for golf cart use as well as for pedestrians and bicyclists. He didn't answer directly, saying it would be 12 feet wide and strong enough to accommodate emergency vehicles.

The following day, he was asked the question again and seemed to choose his words with care. The ordinance, he explained, was for a bicycle and pedestrian bridge, and the bridge would be built to standard pedestrian bridge specifications. But no restrictions and no obstacles would be placed on the bridge to limit its use by golf carts -- "We're not going to stop people from using golf carts," he said.

The ordinance and the MOU are scheduled to go before the Board of Supervisors 11:45 a.m. Tuesday at 700 H St.