The
board unanimously agreed to send all but the affordable
housing issue on to counsel for review. The board opted
to wait for the outcome of a lawsuit challenging the ordinance
that was filed against the county in March by a home developers’
organization, the Building Industry Association of Superior
California.
With
the exception of Director Dick Cox, most of the directors
approved the legal opinion requests with little comment.
Cox
said, “I believe we now have a majority on this board
that is working, trying to work in the interests of this
community. … We will do what we can do to make things
happen in this community the way this community wants them.
That’s my personal opinion. It’s also my opinion
as a board member.”
While
previous boards were “absolutely smitten” with
legal representation that had ties to developers, the association’s
current counsel sues developers, he said. The audience of
about a dozen applauded his remarks.
When
Director Pamela Haines said that it could cost a lot of
money to pursue the annexation issue with the county, Cox
responded, “The community doesn’t object to
us spending that money.”
President
Paul Gumbinger pointed out that, at this point, “not
much money” was being spent.
During
the public comments, former RMA President Dorothy Nordeen
spoke about the association’s requirements for annexation,
explaining that the CC&Rs adopted by the community in
1996 were amended in 1998 to make annexation on the North
possible through a vote of the board instead of requiring
the 60 percent vote of the membership set forth in the CC&Rs.
Board approval of annexation is predicated on a developer’s
compliance with the governing documents.
Although
Nordeen said the 1996 CC&Rs, which are in effect today,
were intended to “bring the community together,”
there are important differences with regard to development
on the North and South. Under the governing documents, the
South developer can retain architectural control of his
development and build production homes, but still annex
through a vote of the board.
For the North
developer to annex, compliance with the governing documents
comes down to building custom homes instead of production
homes or being able to get 60 percent of the membership
to accept the development plan.
Murieta
Holdings developers have maintained the development they
propose can’t annex because RMA members wouldn’t
approve a plan with production homes. Instead, a new association
was formed for the development they propose and its CC&Rs
were drafted to mirror the RMA’s.
Under
the terms of the MBA, new subdivisions will pay the RMA
an assessment equivalent to RMA dues through their homeowners
association. The MBA allows for the possibility that the
two master associations could eventually merge.
RMDCCC
members say it is within the county’s power to require
annexation on the RMA’s terms.
RMDCCC
member Janis Eckard spoke several times at the meeting,
maintaining there are grounds for “nullifying the
MBA.” She characterized previous boards as violating
their fiduciary responsibilities by approving the MBA.
“We
are putting the board on notice that if you do not find
the means of voiding the MBA that the (RMDCCC) will be forced
to take legal action,” said Eckard.
She
also brought up issues related to the environmental impact
report for the Residences of Murieta Hills and the Retreat
projects proposed for Murieta North. Gumbinger said the
issues would be discussed at a special RMA board meeting
dealing with the EIR, which takes place Thursday, May 26,
at 7 p.m. at the RMA Building.
Resident
Don Sams said the Letter Agreement and the MBA were the
result of “secret negotiations.”
The
Letter Agreement was signed in 1997 and outlines the terms
of settlement of a 1996 lawsuit between the Pension Trust
Fund of the Operating Engineers and the RMA. The MBA is
the final settlement of the lawsuit and defines terms for
the development of the remaining PTF property in Murieta
North.
In the
RMA’s June 1997 newsletter, Nordeen, then the president
of the RMA, wrote that the decision to settle the lawsuit
was unanimous, although the board split 5-2 on the terms
of the settlement. Then-RMA Director John Merchant (now
the president of the Community Services District) wrote
in the same newsletter, “We insisted on early title
to insure that the property will be owned (controlled) by
us and that the parcel locations are pre-established. …
If a new developer does not annex to our association, RMA
is guaranteed access to park locations that are owned by
RMA inside other association areas…”
When
the MBA recorded last year, the RMA received title to the
Stonehouse, Clementia, Calero, and Murieta Parkway park
sites. The association is now in the process of preparing
a site plan for improvements to the North Gate that will
be paid for with $1.4 million of developer money under the
terms of the MBA. The RMA will retain ownership of the gate.
Deer
Creek Hills plans, picnic discussed
The
board approved the Sacramento Valley Conservancy’s
plans to hold a picnic at Lake Clementia Amphitheater on
June 12. Aimee Rutledge, executive director of the conservancy,
extended an invitation to Rancho Murieta residents, and
said she would provide a list to the RMA of the 20 to 30
non-residents who would be attending as guests of the conservancy.
The
conservancy bought Deer Creek Hills, the 4,000 acres of
land that adjoins Rancho Murieta on the north and east,
to preserve it from development two years ago. A master
plan for the management of the site is now underway. A draft
version is expected to be released late this summer.
“We’re
looking to better inform people about the Sacramento Valley
Conservancy and its mission,” Rutledge said. The group
wants to consider potential opportunities to preserve open
space near Deer Creek Hills, “and possibly along the
border of Deer Creek Hills and Rancho Murieta,” she
told the directors. “We’re really excited about
establishing a good relationship with people in Rancho Murieta.…”
Access
to Deer Creek Hills is now limited to docent-led tours in
late winter and through the spring. The last scheduled tour
is May 28. “There could be more public access in the
future,” if there is sufficient security and if it
doesn’t interfere with the grazing operation, Rutledge
said.
The
conservancy may look into the feasibility of working with
landowners to close the unpaved parts of Latrobe and/or
Michigan Bar roads to general vehicular traffic, as has
been suggested at some of the workshops for the Deer Creek
Hills master plan, although Rutledge added, “None
of this is in any way final.”
The
unpaved portion of Latrobe Road that’s behind Lake
Calero has been a problem area for Rancho Murieta residents
who have reported the sound of gunfire to Security on numerous
occasions. The area has been the scene of target-shooting
and late-night parties and a dumping ground for abandoned
or stolen cars.
Rutledge
said the conservancy has worked to clean up the area. She
credited resident Roger Brandt, a Deer Creek Hills docent,
with leading the effort.
Gate
policy approved
The
board adopted a gate policy that requires gate officers
to hand out passes to construction workers and mandates
different color barcodes for Murieta Village, non-resident
Country Club members and Villas residents (the Villas does
not belong to the RMA). See policy here.
Laptop
computers funded
The
board approved spending up to $17,000 to purchase laptop
computers for the board and three staff members as a start
toward a paperless future. The move is expected to save
the association $5,000 a year and reduce the amount of time
the staff now spends preparing board packets.
A contract
for increased computer security services was also approved
as a related expense.
Emergency
cable repairs approved
The
board approved the expenditure of $7,600 to cover the cost
of emergency cable repairs to correct reception and signal
leakage problems. The Villas will be billed about $1,000
of that amount for its share of the repairs.
Joint
Security Committee meetings open to public
The
board redid last month’s vote on the restructuring
of the Joint Security Committee and decided the meetings
between RMA and CSD directors will be open to the public.
New
committee members
Alternate
Don Sams was selected to replace Jack Copeland on the Compliance
Committee and alternate Donna McLeod will take Joe Ramage’s
place on the Finance Committee.
