Board to Finalize Lake Elsinore Property Exchange

By City News Service:

A final public hearing is scheduled Tuesday on a proposed land swap between Riverside County and a Lake Elsinore property developer, each of which would convey 40 acres of vacant space to the other.

"There is no detrimental impact on citizens and businesses (in this exchange)," Supervisor Kevin Jeffries wrote in documents posted to the Board of Supervisors' policy agenda. "This ... will benefit the Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan and result in significant cost savings."

Jeffries, whose First District encompasses the area in question, submitted the proposal in February, following what he described as three years of negotiation and research.

The deal involves transferring four parcels of county-owned land to Castle & Cook Inc. in exchange for two parcels that the developer owns. The acreage each party is putting up is roughly equal in size, according to the supervisor.

All of the properties are located south of Interstate 15, near Lake Street and Nichols Road.

Documents indicated that no environmental impact report is necessary before the swap can occur because the city of Lake Elsinore already authorized subdivision of the vacant parcels under a 2004 EIR.

The area falls within the Alberhill Ranch Specific Plan, which calls for preservation of a riparian wildlife corridor that abuts I-15. According to Jeffries' office, the corridor would be unaffected by the swap.

The supervisor touted the savings the county will net from relinquishing several of the parcels because they have escarpments that require landscaping and erosion control, costing between $200,000 and $300,000 a year.

Some of the property contains rare San Diego Ambrosia plants, so the land swap compact stipulates that the county will retain supervision of those patches until "successful trans-location" of the plants to another area within the wildlife corridor takes place.

Castle & Cook wants the land for residential development, but Jeffries and County Counsel Greg Priamos pointed out in February that Lake Elsinore officials will ultimately be responsible for approving construction permits.

One of Jeffries' opponents in the upcoming June election, Debbie Walsh of Mead Valley, expressed concern in February that the property exchange could "open the floodgates to change the (habitat conservation) plan anytime," jeopardizing the local ecology.

Jeffries said the swap agreement does not, by itself, authorize any type of construction.

When the matter was first brought forward, it involved a total 96 acres changing hands, but that figure was later determined to be too large, according to Jeffries.

Under California law, land swaps between local governments and private parties are permitted as long as the parcels at issue are of roughly equal value.

According to Jeffries, the county owns a total 548 acres at the location.