Supervisors approve changes to subdivision plans

Two separate 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors votes in June approved lien contract agreement amendments and time extensions for previously-approved Fallbrook subdivisions.

One action extended the performance completion date for the Good Earth Nursery infrastructure improvements to June 21, 2019, while also approving a substitution of parties in the security agreement. The other action extended the performance completion date for the Live Oak Ranch subdivision to June 21, 2021, while increasing the security amount for that subdivision's infrastructure.

The Good Earth Nursery subdivision is on the northwest side of the intersection of Brooke Road and Winterhaven Road. A tentative map to subdivide the 14.79 acres into 12 single-family residential lots was approved by the county's Planning and Environmental Review Board (PERB) in April 1983.

A tentative parcel map becomes a final map after all conditions of the tentative map, other than those for which permits cannot be issued until a final map is recorded, are fulfilled. The Board of Supervisors approved the Good Earth Nursery final map in January 1993.

Live Oak Ranch is on the south side of Live Oak Park Road northeast of Ridge Drive. The subdivision of the 58.03 acres will create 19 single-family residential lots. PERB approved the tentative map in September 1991 and the Board of Supervisors approved the final map in September 2002.

The conditions of a final map include secured agreements to ensure that the infrastructure will be built and that payment for labor and materials used to build the infrastructure will be made. The agreements cover completion of road, water, sewer, and other infrastructure improvements but do not require completion of the homes or other lot improvements themselves.

Improvements identified in a secured agreement are required to be completed within two years of the approval of the final map, although if circumstances prevent the improvements from being completed by the agreement's expiration additional time may be requested to complete the infrastructure.

Existing agreements and their bonding requirements are reviewed by county staff to determine if time extensions are warranted and if the security agreement amounts are still adequate to guarantee completion of the remaining work.

The first two-year time extension may be approved administratively, although subsequent time extensions require Board of Supervisors approval and any amendments to the security agreement must also be approved by the county supervisors.

The January 1993 approval of the Good Earth Nursery final map included an irrevocable standby letter of credit as part of the secured agreement. In March 1996, the county supervisors amended that agreement and substituted a lien contract for the previous security.

Time extensions were also granted in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004 with the 2002 time extension including an updated improvements cost estimate to reflect the expected costs when the lien contract is released. The current lien contract has a lien of $293,020.

If an application for a time extension is filed prior to its expiration, the owner is not in default if the extension is granted. The county has the option not to take action in the event of a default, and it is also possible that county staff review of an extension application filed prior to the expiration date determines the lack of new conditions or increased security which would require an official Board of Supervisors approval of the time extension request in which case no further processing of the time extension is necessary.

A substitution of parties requires Board of Supervisors approval, so the ownership change from Jubea, L.P., to G&F Properties, L.P., required that the application be processed to the Board of Supervisors.

G&F Properties intends to replace the lien contract with deposits and fees sufficient to cover the actual cost of construction prior to any improvements being constructed. The improvement security amount will be 150 percent of the estimated cost of the improvements at the time of the substitution of security. While the property is under a lien contract, individual lots cannot be sold and permits to develop the subdivision cannot be obtained.

The final map created legal lots, but building and grading permits will be subject to the requirements at the time the permits are issued including stormwater runoff, drainage, and other environmental standards. The environmental Negative Declaration filed in 1989 covers the subdivision itself, and permits will be granted upon compliance with checklist items.

The Live Oak Ranch land is owned by LACA Investments, LLC, and JJJD, LLC, which took over ownership in 2006 from JDLC #1, LLC. A time extension was included in the Board of Supervisors' November 2006 approval of an agreement to assume the agreement to improve the subdivision, the lien contract agreement, and the holding agreement. Time extensions were also granted in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014.

The supervisors' most recent action increases the lien contract amount for Live Oak Ranch from $1,472,750 to $2,008,450. The previous amount covered $812,300 for improvement of streets and easements, $652,600 to improve the water facilities, and $7,850 for boundary marker monumentation.

The updated amount consists of $1,150,800 to improve the streets and easements, $770,000 for the water facilities, $7,850 for monumentation, and $79,100 for inspection and laboratory fees.

The Negative Declaration for the Live Oak Ranch project was certified in 1991

Editor's note: A Negative Declaration is a document that states upon completion of an initial study, that there is no substantial evidence that the project may have a significant effect on the environment.