Rainbow Municipal Water District approves time extension for Pala Mesa Highlands' sewer agreement

The Rainbow Municipal Water District has approved a six-month time extension of the agreement with Beazer Homes for sewer service connection to the future Pala Mesa Highlands development.

The Rainbow board voted 5-0, Dec. 5, to extended the sewer service agreement to June 14.

“The former agreement was expiring. We needed to extend it,” Rainbow general manager Tom Kennedy said.

In March 2007, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a tentative map which allowed Beazer Homes to subdivide 84.6 acres into 124 single-family lots. The supervisors approved the final map and secured agreements in August 2016, and the performance bond included $1,457,900 to cover improvement of water facilities and $1,313,400 for the improvement of sewer facilities. The Pala Mesa Highlands lots range from 2,400 to 3,600 square feet, and the development will be on 41.8 acres of the property with an open space lot accounting for the other 36.5 acres.

The agreement to improve the sewer facilities does not include capacity fees to cover the new development’s share of existing infrastructure. A December 2013 sewer permit application included the eventual payment of $965,007 for 55 equivalent dwelling units, and a December 2015 agreement, which would have expired Dec. 14 in the absence of the time extension, deferred the payment of the capacity fees. Rainbow will honor the capacity fee amount of the 2013 agreement.

“They’re expecting to start building models there sometime in June or July, so we’ll be wrapping up all of our final agreements,” Kennedy said.

A final sewer service agreement will return to the Rainbow board for approval.