Lien release, time extension approved for Bonsall Oaks

A new security agreement for the planned Bonsall Oaks subdivision releases the lien contract on 16 of the lots.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0, Sept.16, to replace the lien contract with security bonds and also to provide a time extension for when the infrastructure must be completed.

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.

Bonsall Oaks, LLC, which currently owns the property, will build a boutique winery and a bed and breakfast on that part of the property. Construction is expected to begin within the next 90 days and be completed within the next 12 months.

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. Vista Villas Development Limited and SGM Investment Corporation owned the land at the time.

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.

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.

The approval of the final map in 1999 also included approval of the security agreement in which a joint performance bond of $7,826,500 was placed with the Clerk of the Board.

That bond covered $5,176,000 for the streets and drainage facility improvements, $2,427,800 for improvement of the sewer and water facilities for the Rainbow Municipal Water District, $90,000 for setting of final monuments, and $132,000 for the Park Land fee.

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 developers also deposited a check for $5,900 into the Department of Public Works Road Fund for the fair share cost of a future traffic signal at the intersection of Gopher Canyon Road and Interstate 15 and a check for $4,400 in the Department of Public Works Road Fund for the fair share of a future signal at Old River Road and Highway 76. An additional $25,400 construction fee was paid to the county for road improvements on East Vista Way between Mission Road and Osborne Street.)

The development, then called the Polo Club, was conditioned to obtain 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.

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 Board of Supervisors granted time extensions for the Vista Valley development in August 2012 and October 2014. A request for another time extension was filed before the October 2016 expiration date but was not completed. In 2019, Vista Villas Development, LP, informed the county of a pending sale.

The subdivision was renamed Bonsall Oaks when Bonsall Oaks, LLC., agreed to purchase the project from Vista Villas Development, LP. On Jan. 15, the Board of Supervisors approved an agreement which reflects the ownership change of the 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 until Jan. 15, 2022, for the Bonsall Oaks development. The grant deed for the transfer of the property was recorded Jan. 23 although the deed was actually signed in November 2019.

Bonsall Oaks, LLC, currently does not desire to construct the northern portion of the project and the associated infrastructure since none of the individual lots have been sold, none of the construction permits have been issued, and no improvements have been constructed within the subdivision.

The county may release a lien contract only after the property owner provides a substitute security. Ohio Casualty Insurance Company has agreed to provide security for Bonsall Oaks. The security bond will cover 150% of the costs of the estimated security at the time the lien contract is replaced with the bonds.

The new performance bond for the 16 lots is for $1,192,032 and covers $698,800 for improvement of streets and easements, $308,100 for improvement of sewer facilities, $160,400 for improvement of water facilities, and $24,732 for final monumentation. The new labor and material bond is for $596,016.

The Rainbow Municipal Water District approved an amended security agreement Dec. 3; that new agreement reflects new requirements including manholes at the upstream end of sewer lines as well as the ownership change.

The amended security agreement to replace the lien contract with a security bond was approved at Rainbow's July 28 board meeting. The water and sewer infrastructure to be added by the project includes the addition of a pump station.

The project was to have added 3.1 miles of new private streets when it was approved in 1999. A portion of the land has been dedicated as a conservation easement, which eliminated some lots in the design along with the cul-de-sac serving them, and the total road distance has been reduced by approximately 1,400 feet.

The conservation easement will allow for more lots elsewhere, so the planned total of 165 single-family lots is unchanged.

The two open space easements were not subject to the lien contract. The other 149 lots are still under the lien contract although when Bonsall Oaks, LLC, desires to replace the lien contract with a security bond the county will take the appropriate action.

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, and the map will also be modified to include that concept while retaining the figure of 165 residential lots.

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. 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.

The time extension approved Sept. 16 gives Bonsall Oaks, LLC, until Aug. 5, 2022, to complete the required improvements.