Published Saturday, February 8, 2003 The first builders in the planned completion of Rancho Murieta met the public for almost two hours Thursday night, and the reception was not welcoming.

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About 40 residents attended the monthly “town hall” meeting with the Murieta Holdings developers, who are managing the proposed build-out of Rancho Murieta -- about 1,100 homes to be built over the next decade outside the control of the Rancho Murieta Association.

Also present were representatives of Warmington Homes and Woodside Homes, companies that are in escrow to build 238 homes in the Murieta Hills phase of development. Murieta Hills would be on land bounded by Stonehouse Road and Guadalupe, Puerto and Escuela drives, at the northwest edge of the community.

A dozen residents took the microphone, many of them criticizing Murieta Holdings’ plans for production homes in Murieta North -- the key reason the new homes will not be part of the RMA. The community’s Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions ban production homes in the North.

Some of the residents told the Warmington and Woodside representatives that their proposed homes weren’t varied enough or expensive enough.

Some speakers alluded to possible legal action against Murieta Holdings’ development plans and advised the builders to consider whether they would be smart to build in the face of resident opposition.

Resident Terry Hanson told the builders they’re “putting a lot at risk … and you may want to reconsider the risk that you have in this.”

One resident told the Woodside representative that his company's sketches -- this is three elevations of the same house with some exterior variations -- look like "27 homes that look the same."

Before the public comments, the builders briefly offered corporate resumes and outlined general plans for their Rancho Murieta homes.

K. Dar Ahrens, land acquisition manager for Woodside, said his company builds about 2,200 homes a year nationally, 400 of them in the Sacramento area. He offered illustrations showing the kinds of homes Woodside would build here, showing three different plans, each with three elevations.

Woodside would build 119 one-story homes on the west side of Murieta Hills, along Stonehouse Road and around the community’s cable tower. The homes, running from 2,500 to 2,900 square feet, would be available in three different roof types, with a dozen colors, and cost on average in the mid-$300,000s, he said.

Clay Heil, vice president of land development for Warmington, said his company, which builds 130 to 200 homes a year in the Sacramento area, typically builds a higher-priced home.

In the case of Murieta Hills, actual plans haven’t been prepared, he said, but he projected a mix of single and two-story homes, ranging in size from 2,700 to 3,600 square feet. He said no prices have been established, but he estimated they would run from $350,000 to $450,000. He displayed photos of similar homes his company has built.

Resident John Kershaw, who serves on the Cosumnes Community Planning Advisory Council, criticized the illustrations and plans offered by the builders.

To the Woodside representative, he said, “I see three elevations, I see three floor plans, but I see 27 homes that look the same.” And to Warmington, he said, “You guys were smart with your (plans), because you haven’t really done anything yet.”

Overall, he said, the present community wants to see “distinct architectural differences” in the planned homes. “I will tell you right now, your product does not even come close to what I know I would like to see,” he said.

He urged them to go back to the drawing board and return with better designs.

“We’re out in the middle of nowhere out here,” he said. “We moved out here for a way of life, which is very distinctly different than Serrano, Granite Bay, than any other community you’ve ever built in. This is a very distinct community, and you have to be sensitive and aware of what we have here.”

Warmington Homes did not have specific sketches for its Murieta construction, but instead offered photos of the company's other work.

Both Warmington and Woodside are presently building in the Serrano development in El Dorado Hills, and resident Ted Hart addressed the builders with photos taken at their projects there.

“I would compliment both of you on some very beautiful homes. … When they are completed, unfortunately they still look like tracts. They look like $500,000 tracts,” Hart said.

He suggested the developers and builders consider forming an ad-hoc committee with residents, because the RMA board, which negotiated a development agreement with Murieta Holdings, has been “contaminated” by its vote to accept the agreement through the approval of a related legal settlement.

“The community is not in favor of this (overall development) project,” said resident Dorothy Nordeen, a former RMA director. “Seven board members voted unanimously for it, but there was a huge crowd here that night against it.”

Before and during the residents’ comments, developer Gerry N. Kamilos, half of the Murieta Holdings team, defended the development plans and said they have been adjusted in response to residents’ wishes.

He said the remaining land in the North has been approved for 2,300 new homes, while Murieta Holdings is planning only 1,100. An earlier developer proposed 400 homes on the Murieta Hills land -- almost twice as many as Murieta Holdings plans -- and 400 is allowed in the community plan, he said.

“The feedback we’re getting from the community -- and it may not be amongst some of you tonight -- is very positive,” Kamilos said. “People call us and tell us they are very supportive. … There are elements, and a significant element of this community, that support this effort.”

The Murieta Hills plan calls for 1.6 units to the acre -- “much less dense than the existing development” in Units 2, 3 and 4, surrounding the new development, he said. Lot sizes in Murieta Hills would be as large or larger than the existing community that surrounds it, he said.

The planned fencing material in Murieta Hills was changed from wood to wrought iron after Ted Hart made that suggestion, Kamilos added.

Resident Tom Brierton, whose home abuts the Murieta Hills land, said the issue is not the type of fencing.

“The open space is between our homes,” he said. “Every house does not have a fence on the North side. … The wildlife walks through our yards. … The character of what’s happening here (in these maps) is very different than the character of what we have.”

Terry Hanson, also a neighbor to Murieta Hills and one of the earliest opponents, told the developers and builders that residents enjoy “the home-court advantage” in the disagreement and that “high-priced lawyers” are being consulted.

“The central issue is this,” he said, “and it’s very simple -- either they annex these parcels to RMA and abide by the existing CC&Rs out here, or they go elsewhere and do their business."

Also at the session, Kamilos' partner in Murieta Holdings, Robert J. Cassano, outlined plans for the Retreats, their other development application now being processed by the county.

The Retreats would be 95 units on 30 acres in several locations around the North Course, with home sizes of 2,200 to 3,200 square feet and priced at $400,000 to $600,000, Cassano said. Cassano and Kamilos would be the builders.

The Retreats approach, modeled after the Crocker Grove development in Gold River, also is being built at Valley Hi Country Club in Elk Grove.

These were among the photos resident Ted Hart shot of the builders' present projects in Serrano.

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