Update on Rainbow MWD headquarters site development provided

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The July 27 Rainbow Municipal Water Board meeting included an update by general manager Tom Kennedy on the progress towards replacing the district's current headquarters which includes selling some of the headquarters property to fund the new facilities.

Kennedy noted interaction with representatives of various county departments and with consultants tasked with identifying development opportunities.

The RMWD headquarters property consists of four separate legal parcels. The headquarters building itself was constructed in the early 1970s, and sale of part of the headquarters land would cover the cost of a replacement building. The headquarters property totals 34 acres, and the district believes that no more than 14 acres are needed for district operations. Rainbow's five-year plan calls for the first capital expenditures for the new district headquarters during fiscal year 2022-23, although funding in the 2018-19 budget allowed the project planning to begin.

The June 2020 Rainbow board meeting included a 5-0 vote to award MasterCraft Homes Group, LLC, a contract for development study services which includes reviewing the accuracy and completeness of reports prepared or compiled by other consultants and making independent recommendations to the district after the reports have been received and analyzed. The potential interest in purchasing part of the property will be contingent upon resolution of a general plan amendment which will allow residential use.

"We recently got a new set of drawings," Kennedy said.

Although approximately 20 acres of the current property are not expected to be needed for future Rainbow operations, environmental constraints will reduce that amount. "They found that we could push a little further," Kennedy said. "It increased the number of homes by about 20%."

Two concepts have been considered. One would provide single-family houses at a density of 6.4 dwelling units per acre. The "motor court" or condominium plan would have a density of 9.6 dwelling units per acre. The single-family option was expected to allow for 84 homes, and the increase is higher for that scenario. The percentage increase from the 119 residences anticipated under the motor court option is less than that for the single-family development.

Kennedy met with county Department of Parks and Recreation senior park project manager Nina Pisano. "They own the land behind us," Kennedy said.

The development would include a road to access the San Luis Rey River Park. The Department of Parks and Recreation had hoped for an access road from State Route 76, but that would require easements from both the California Department of Transportation and the San Diego County Water Authority.

"It would be great to have a trailhead out there," Kennedy said.

Kennedy doubts that access to the park would have significant environmental constraints. "It's already flat. It's non-native grassland," he said.

Kennedy is also working with Supervisor Jim Desmond's office and with the county's Department of Planning and Development Services.

"We'll come back to the board and lay out the process for a general plan amendment application," Kennedy said.