Time extension for Vista Villas development approved

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a time extension for a 449.54-acre parcel in Bonsall.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote Oct. 22 extends the time to complete the required improvements until Oct. 22, 2016. 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.

The parcel on the north side of Gopher Canyon Road at Vista Valley Road will consist of up to 165 dwelling units with two open space lots. The project is owned by Vista Villas Development Limited and is sometimes called The Polo Club.

The tentative map for the project had been approved by the Board of Supervisors in November 1993. The county supervisors approved the final map in 1999 while also accepting the grant of an open space easement and drainage easements, accepting access rights, accepting noise protection and access restriction easements on the final map, vacating previous highway easements for previous alignments, approving the joint agreement to improve the subdivision which covers utilities and final monuments, approving an agreement for off-site easements, and amending the Facilities Management Internal Service Fund spending plan for acquisition of rights-of-way.

The project will add 3.1 miles of new private streets. The estimated cost of the private and public infrastructure improvements was $5,176,000 when the final map was approved. A joint performance bond of $7,826,500 was placed with the Clerk of the Board. In addition to covering the $5,176,000 for the streets and drainage facility improvements, the bond also covered $2,427,800 for improvement of the sewer and water facilities, $90,000 for setting of final monuments, and $132,000 for Park Land Development Ordinance payments.

An additional Joint Labor and Material Bond of $3,913,250 was placed with the clerk of the board to guarantee payment for labor and material involved in the construction of the improvements. The Rainbow Municipal Water District, which under the agreement will provide water and sewer service, was also a party to the performance bond and the labor and material bond; the water and sewer facilities will eventually become water district property.

The 1999 deposits also included checks for the fair share cost of future traffic signals at the intersection of Gopher Canyon Road and Interstate 15 and at Old River Road and Highway 76. An additional construction fee was paid to the county for road improvements on East Vista Way between Mission Road and Osborne Street. The county implemented its Transportation Impact Fee (TIF) program in 2005; the project will be subject to the TIF assessment although credit will likely be given for previous payments.

After the final map was approved, representatives of the development began negotiations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the Regional Water Quality Control Board to address the project’s impacts on jurisdictional waters. Several revisions occurred from the process including substantial off-site mitigation and dedication of parcels to open space. Permits from all necessary agencies will be required prior to construction.

When a project is reviewed for a time extension, the amount of security required to ensure completion of the improvements may be modified. In 2012, the county and the Rainbow Municipal Water District were willing to grant a time extension provided that the security was increased to cover construction and other related costs. Vista Villas Development Limited did not wish to construct the improvements at that time and requested that the security bonds be replaced with a joint lien contract and holding agreement in which the title of the property is transferred to a holding company.

The lien contract will be cancelled should Vista Villa Development Limited provide security of $19,110,000, or 150 percent of the estimated cost for the required improvements. The transfer of the title to First American Trust, FSB, prevents Vista Villas Development Limited from transferring the property to others prior to the completion of the improvements.

In August 2012, the supervisors approved a joint lien contract to replace the bond security while extending the time to complete the improvements to Aug. 8, 2014. Vista Villas Development Limited deposited $15,000 with the county’s Department of Public Works to guarantee payment of processing fees in case a default of the joint lien contract results in a reversion to acreage which cancels all development plans.

If the application for a time extension is filed prior to the expiration of the time to complete the required improvements, the map is considered active during the processing period.

Approval of a final map only creates legal lots and does not ensure that the development can be built if federal, state, or local regulations change between the time the final map is approved and the time the project is constructed. The project may need to comply with updated stormwater regulations including updated studies and a hydromodification plan, and updated drainage studies may also be required in conjunction with grading plans.

If new regulations force changes to the project, an addendum to the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) may also be needed. The final EIR for the subdivision was filed in July 1992 and was approved by the Board of Supervisors in November 1993 along with the tentative map. A time extension or a substitution of security does not require California Environmental Quality Act review.