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Published Monday, March 4, 2002

The Community Services District has decided to move forward with a new entrance to Murieta North -- with or without the participation of Murieta Holdings developers.

The move was discussed at several CSD committee meetings last week. CSD General Manager Ed Crouse told Security Committee members on Tuesday that the district had “decided to move forward earlier than later and not wait for the developer. … We’re going to be spending some money and moving forward.”

The CSD board of directors identified the North Gate redesign as its top priority for this year at its goal-planning workshop in January.

Also in January, Murieta Holdings developers Gerry N. Kamilos and Robert J. Cassano outlined plans to complete design work for rebuilding the North Gate this year and begin building the project “probably in 2003,” according to Cassano.

The North Gate redesign is part of the developers' business plan for the upscale development of 1,200 homes they envision for Murieta North. Cassano said at the developers’ January “town hall” meeting that the time frame for the projects was “tied to the sale of 500 lots or four main subdivisions.”

Two subdivisions on the South have already been sold and two on the North are in the planning approval process, with public hearings expected to begin this spring, according to Kamilos.

But the CSD is skeptical. “Based on their track record, we’re waiting four or five years. … The two parcels we’re talking about still have to go through the county. … Typically, these things take longer (than expected),” said CSD President Jim Lensch at the Improvements Committee meeting Monday.

At February’s “town hall” meeting, Cassano displayed photos of design features being considered for the redesign and said an architect would be on board within 30 days to start the design process.

Lensch noted that Cassano was invited to attend a recent meeting of the joint Rancho Murieta Association/CSD committee working on North Gate access plans, but the developer did not attend.

Lensch characterized the “town hall” presentation as Cassano “orchestrating for his intents and purposes, which may or may not serve us. …We can’t afford to have it stalled.”

The issue is further complicated by the drawn-out negotiations for the development agreement among the RMA, Murieta Holdings and the owners of the property, the Pension Trust Fund of the Operating Engineers. An outline of the agreement was released at the RMA’s annual membership meeting in November 2000.

Its completion was expected within a few months then, but the negotiation continues today.

Under the terms of that agreement, the developers commit to rebuilding the North Gate and agree to place $1.4 million in escrow "to make sure the money is there" to complete the rebuilding and to make landscaping improvements along Highway 16, Cassano said.

There is also a land swap in the agreement that creates an opportunity for a different gate design. Instead of moving the guard station up the Parkway and locating it in the middle, there would be sufficient land to place it to the right of its present location and to add another lane to avoid back-ups onto Highway 16.

At the Security Committee meeting, Crouse drew a diagram depicting this possibility. With the guard station on the right, roughly opposite Lago Drive, there were two residents-only lanes on the left and a visitor lane to the right of the guard station, similar to the setup at the South Gate. The far left lane would be a dedicated left turn to Lago Drive.

This design option is dependent on the successful outcome of the development agreement negotiation.

The CSD’s goals in the redesign are to increase safety by creating a smooth flow of traffic into the community and to increase security by getting residents out of the visitors lane, so gate officers have more time to process visitors.

Early last year, the CSD was working with the developers to put the new entrance and guard station on the fast track. The district proposed advancing $750,000 to the developers to fund safety- and security-related aspects of the project. The aggressive timetable was scrapped when the CSD, developers and PTF couldn’t reach agreement on repayment terms.

The CSD then separated the issue of a new gate access system for residents from the plan to rebuild the gate. The RMA and the CSD are now moving ahead with the installation of a bar code entry system that will raise the gate for residents with no effort on their part, unlike the present card-swipe system. The bar code system is scheduled to be in full operation at the North and South gates by Oct. 1.

The CSD has taken the first step in its plan to proceed with a new North Gate traffic configuration and guard station by examining the floor plan prepared about four years ago by the RMA. Crouse said the district was “comfortable with the floor plan,” which needs to be flexible enough to work in either the right side location or the center location.

According to Crouse, the next step in the redesign is assessing the effect the proposed elementary school would have on gate traffic. He told the Security Committee a recent traffic study would be revised to include the school’s probable impact.

CSD Director Wayne Kuntz predicted the school would bring “one heck of an influx of traffic.” “You’re going to be hit not only with all the cars, but all the buses, too. We know it’s going to have a big impact,” he said.

Crouse said the gate operations and the route through the community to the Escuela Drive school site are concerns for the CSD’s Security operation. “Definitely we want to be involved as it impacts the North Gate,” he said.

The RMA is currently working out an access agreement with the school district. The agreement is part of the process of getting a school built here within the next three years.

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