Officials of River West Investments, Bret Hogge, standing, and company president Brian Vail, attended the session of the Cosumnes Comunity Planning Advisory Council.

Published Tuesday, October 28,, 2003

When a plan for building 64 homes on the school site at Stonehouse Road and Escuela Drive came before a planning group last week, you might have expected sparks to fly between the developer and a contingent from the Rancho Murieta Association.

But as it turns out, the two found they had something in common -- both want to see the Elk Grove Unified School District acquire the property for an elementary school.

For Brian Vail, president of River West Investments, it means getting out from under the $20,000 a year he says the 13.8-acre site costs his firm in taxes and assessments.

"Our position hasn't changed. We're more than willing to entertain any reasonable offer," Bret Hogge, land-use manager for River West, told the Cosumnes Community Planning Advisory Council Wednesday. "If the school district is interested, we made it clear to (Constantine I. Baranoff, assistant superintendent, facilities and planning) that we will withdraw this tentative map at any time before the approval if they decide this is a priority and make an offer on this parcel."

"We are doing our best to encourage the school district to buy the site," said RMA President Paul Gumbinger. He outlined the "alternate proposal" to improve Stonehouse Road for safe access to the school "at no expense at all to the county, at no expense at all to the Rancho Murieta Association." He said under the proposal the school district would pay its fair share of costs for a
section of Stonehouse next to the school property.

The plan called for Operating Engineers' trainees to provide free labor and equipment and the North developer to pay for engineering and materials. A memorandum of agreement was being developed in March for the project to go forward this past summer, but the school district didn't commit to the site. Instead, it announced it was considering other sites and hoped to make a decision by the end of this year.

Gumbinger noted the Escuela site has water and sewer infrastructure that's unavailable elsewhere in the area, including at the present elementary school, Cosumnes River, which uses a septic system and well water. "So I think there's a lot of positives here."

He described Cosumnes as an overcrowded school in a location that's "an accident waiting to happen." The overwhelming majority of children who attend the school live in Rancho Murieta.

Gumbinger said the school district "backed off" from buying the school site because of public opposition to having the access through the community. With the alternative solution of using an improved and safe Stonehouse Road, he believes "that's been resolved." Even so, he said a school for Rancho Murieta would be "number 34 in the (school district's) line-up of elementary schools."
RMA General Manager Greg Vorster noted that the RMA has given the school district a signed agreement for access through the North Gate.

Gumbinger said the town hall meeting on the school issue scheduled for Nov. 4 at the Country Club will be "a fact-finding forum" and an opportunity for "putting pressure on the school district." The Kiwanis Club, sponsor of the event, will prepare a formal report about what transpires.

When a CCPAC member suggested that River West's proposal could be used to get the school district moving on the school site purchase, Vail admitted, "Well, that's kind of what this whole project's all about," and the dozen or so people present laughed.

"To be perfectly honest with you, we've always wanted this to be a school site," he continued. "And we've held it for four years. … Nobody's done a damn thing. So I finally have to go and spend all this money and submit this application. … I've tried for four years. I've said, ‘I'll lease it to you for a dollar a year, I'll do anything you want.'"

CCPAC, a volunteer advisory group to the planning department, took no action on River West's tentative map. At the suggestion of Rob Burness, senior planner for the county planning department, the matter was continued until after the school forum is held.

The two Rancho Murieta residents on the council, John Kershaw and Kevin Slagle, said they plan to attend the forum. Vail declined Gumbinger's invitation.

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