Rainbow approves changes to Bonsall Oaks security agreement

In October 2016, the security agreement for what was then called the Polo Club was changed from a performance bond to a lien contract which prohibits the construction of any improvements, the selling of any lots in the subdivision or the issuance of permits before the lien contract is replaced by a security bond. The proposed subdivision is now called Bonsall Oaks, and the current ownership will be replacing a lien contract with a security bond for the first phase of the project.

The amended security agreement requires approval of both the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and the Rainbow Municipal Water District. Rainbow’s board voted 5-0, July 28, to approve the new security agreement. Bonsall Oaks LLC expects approval from the county supervisors at the Sept. 16 board of supervisors meeting.

“There are some big infrastructure improvements that are going to be made,” Tom Kennedy, general manager of RMWD, said. “We’re just happy to see it come forward.”

The parcel map subdivided 449.54 acres on the north side of Gopher Canyon Road across the street from the Vista Valley Country Club into up to 165 residential lots and two open space lots. The board of supervisors approved the tentative parcel map for the project in November 1993 and the final map and secured agreements in September 1999. The subdivision was renamed Bonsall Oaks when Bonsall Oaks LLC. agreed to purchase the project from Vista Villas Development LP

“This project’s been in the works for about 20 years,” Kennedy said.

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. A final map is required for grading and building permits. 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. 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. The first two-year time extension may be approved administratively, although subsequent time extensions require board of supervisors’ approval. If an application for a time extension is filed before its expiration, the owner is not in default if the extension is granted.

What was then the Polo Club was conditioned to obtained permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Fish and Wildlife Service and the Regional Water Quality Control Board before construction could begin. The ownership negotiated with the regulatory agencies, and the project has undergone multiple design changes so that the required permits could be obtained. The board of supervisors granted time extensions in August 2012, August 2014 and October 2016. The October 2016 time extension also included the approval of a lien contract. Approval of a parcel map only creates legal lots, and the project will need to meet grading, stormwater and other regulations at the time the permits are issued.

The water and sewer infrastructure to be added by the project includes the addition of a pump station. On Dec. 3, the Rainbow board voted 4-0, with Michael Mack absent, to approve the amended joint agreement which reflects new requirements as well as the ownership change. The amended agreement includes maintenance holes at the upstream end of sewer lines.

On Jan. 15, the board of supervisors approved an agreement which reflects the ownership change of the 449.54-acre property. Bonsall Oaks LLC assumed the responsibility and liability of all obligations covered in the joint improvement agreement, the joint lien contract, and the holding agreement. That Jan. 15 vote also approved a time extension for the Bonsall Oaks development. The date by which the infrastructure must be completed, in the absence of a subsequent time extension, is now Jan. 15, 2022. The agreement covers completion of road, water, sewer and other infrastructure improvements but does not require completion of the homes or other lot improvements themselves.

Because of the design changes a modification to the parcel map will be required to meet the requirements of the regulatory agencies. The director of the county’s Department of Planning and Development Services has the authority to approve a minor deviation, and the Bonsall Oaks map modification is expected to qualify as a minor deviation.

“We’re modifying the map to make it include the principles of a conservation subdivision,” David Pallinger, managing partner of Bonsall Oaks LLC, said.

A conservation subdivision, sometimes referred to as clustering, allows for some residential lots smaller than the minimum lot size in order to maximize an open space area.

The current action would release the lien contract for Phase 1, which covers the sales and marketing center and front entry.

“We can start construction on that,” Pallinger said.

Construction on Phase 1 is expected to start in 2020 and be complete during 2021. The marketing center does not include an actual house, and no homes are in Phase 1.

The timing for the remaining phases is to be determined, and the specific lots for the future phases will also be finalized in the future.

“We’re still developing how many phases there are,” Pallinger said.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].