Builders
close escrow on Murieta Hills development land, triggering
$1.4 million for new North Gate
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Published
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Though
the Rancho Murieta Association board apparently didn't
know it at the time of its December meeting, the need for
an ad hoc committee to determine the design for the new
North Gate was becoming a higher priority.
That's
because earlier this month Murieta Holdings developers completed
the sale of the Residences of Murieta Hills property to
builders Warmington Homes and Woodside Homes of California.
On Monday,
Murieta Holdings principals Robert J. Cassano and Gerry
N. Kamilos confirmed that the escrows closed mid-month,
triggering a provision in the Mutual Benefit Agreement for
the developers to pay the community $1.4 million for the
redesign and rebuild of the gate.
The
MBA calls for the RMA to submit plans for the location of
the gate to the developers upon the close of escrow for
the Retreat and the Residences properties.
The three Retreat
properties were acquired by Cassano and Kamilos in early
October.
Murieta
Hills is planned as 238 homes at the northwest edge of the
community, on land bounded by Stonehouse Road and Guadalupe,
Puerto and Escuela drives.
Those
projects are in the county planning process and will proceed
as the county tries to bring about peace-making conversations
between developers and development opponents in the new
year.
After the developers
receive the RMA's gate plans, they have 60 days to
deliver conceptual plans and specifications for the gate
facilities to the RMA for its review and approval.
As outlined in
the MBA, the plan is to complete the planning process and
begin the construction process within 180 days.
The gate rebuild
project is important to the developers for marketing and
aesthetic reasons and important to the RMA and CSD for better
functionality and improved traffic flow.
The need for
a better functioning gate has been recognized for years
by both the RMA and CSD. General Manager Greg Vorster said
at the RMA meeting that members voted in favor of a 1999
RMA plan for a $425,000 gate rebuild, but not enough voted
to pass the measure. Sixty percent of the community needed
to vote yes to proceed.
Although
the present automatic-entry gate system wasn't scheduled
to be installed until the gate was rebuilt, the CSD considered
problems at the North Gate serious enough to move ahead
with the installation in 2002. The district agreed to pay
the additional cost of moving the system if, as assumed,
the gate were relocated farther up the Parkway.
The
CSD and the RMA worked together to implement and pay for
the access system, which has succeeded in getting more residents
to use the residents' lane and eased congestion at
the gate. Retired Security Chief Jim Noller referred to
the access system as "the Band-Aid that saved us."
The CSD even
proposed at one time to front the money to rebuild the gate
but was unable to reach agreement with the developers on
terms for repayment.
A previous ad
hoc gate committee comprised of RMA and CSD representatives
developed four alternatives for the gate design. The options
were presented at numerous CSD and RMA board meetings, a
town hall, and at the RMA annual membership meeting. Last
year, the CSD board voted in support of the option the committee
recommended. After the RMA board declined to vote on the
options, the committee was disbanded.
At Tuesday's
meeting, the RMA board voted to exclude the CSD from participation
on the new ad hoc committee for the gate design. The board
is expected to choose five committee members -- one of them
an RMA director -- in January.
CSD General Manager
Ed Crouse said the day after the meeting that the RMA has
the authority through the MBA to deal with the developer
on the gate design and noted that the district "has
gone on the record as far as the desired location of the
North Gate." He added that he hoped the new ad hoc
committee would meet informally with the CSD for its input
on the interior design and layout "given that our
officers have manned the gates for 20-odd years."
"If they
should ask us to help them with the site location, we'd
be more than willing to weigh in with our recommendation.
… We're not interested in reinventing the process…
It didn't seem an appropriate use of time to redo
what we've already spent countless hours in meetings
(doing) … to make a recommendation to the RMA board,"
Crouse said.
In the MBA, the
RMA agrees to consult with the CSD on the plans for the
new gate.
The gate rebuild is one of several provisions of the MBA
that have taken effect in recent months.
The parks were
deeded to the RMA earlier this year and a new, nonprofit
mutual benefit corporation called the Rancho Murieta North
Association has been formed for the planned North development.
