Agreement For 157 New Homes In Wildomar Approved As Lawsuit Threatens

A developer agreement for a new housing tract in Wildomar was unanimously approved Wednesday night by the city council, but not without the threat of legal action.

With a 5-0 vote, Wildomar City Council approved a resolution for the agreement that paves the way for 157 single-family homes to be built off Palomar Street at McVicar Street. CV Communities is the project applicant.

Approval of the resolution came with a commitment from CV Communities to form a special Community Facilities District that imposes a special tax on all new housing developed in the city. The annual tax -- which could go as high as $590 per parcel -- would be imposed on homeowners in the CV Communities tract as well as all other future housing constructed in the city. The fee would cover the cost of emergency services for residents as well as maintenance, such as landscaping, lighting, etc, in new developments.

While there has been unease by some about the special tax, the threat of lawsuits on the proposed project is instead stemming from environmental concerns.

A Nov. 13 letter submitted to the city from attorney Ray Johnson's office on behalf of Alliance for Intelligent Planning argues one of the tentative tract maps for the proposed project that was approved by the county prior to Wildomar's incorporation has expired. Johnson's office also contends the environmental conditions at and around the proposed site have changed enough to warrant further environmental review.

A second Nov. 13 letter submitted to the city by Wildomar residents Gerard Ste. Marie and Martha Bridges, along with Lake Elsinore resident John Burkett, argues the same.

City staff is not in agreement. Wildomar Planning Director Matt Bassi said Wednesday night that, based on records provided to the city by the county, the maps are still valid. City Attorney Tom Jex stated that city staff's due diligence on the proposed project also shows there have been no significant environmental changes in that area of Wildomar. Some city residents have argued that water flow in nearby streams and channels has dramatically changed since the tract maps were approved, and they say a permanent fix to the flooding problem in the location must first be implemented before development takes place. 

Roberta Cronquist, a spokeswoman from Rick Engineering Company, a consulting firm representing CV Communities, provided city council with a presentation Wednesday that outlined flood conditions in the area and why her company finds there have been no significant environmental changes at the site since the time in which the tract maps for the proposed project were approved by the county. Cronquist also explained steps that would be taken by the developer to mitigate future flooding problems at the site.

Following the presentation, Smith said, "We don't believe there are any CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act] issues here."

However, the letter from Johnson's office argues otherwise.

"New environmental review is needed for this project. A greater and potentially flood hazard may now result from project development."