Amador County – Plymouth Planning Commission on Wednesday discussed impacts, costs to the city, and even bankruptcy of the developer, before recommending Zinfandel and Shenandoah Ridge projects to their City Council.
City Planner Jeff Beiswenger said the development agreement is in flux but has a 25-year term and gives the city “vested rights.” It required developer Reeder Sutherland Incorporated to form a Community Facilities District, a “special taxing district,” to fund infrastructure. It also includes an annual “public safety fee” for fire and police services, of $500 per home and $50 per vacant lot. He said the Council could choose to charge less.
Commissioner Mirea Danielsen asked where the numbers came from. City Manager Jeff Gardner said he and former City Manager Dixon Flynn formulated the amounts with “consumer price index escalators” based on what the city now pays. Gardner said Zinfandel and Shenandoah Ridge are not expected to pay it all, as commercial development is expected. Development Coordinator Richard Prima said the fees more than cover AFPD costs, and were set to “have no impact on the city.” Individuals can also opt to annex into AFPD.
Beiswenger said the agreement has a lot of flexibility. With a “Community Benefit Fund,” Reeder Sutherland would give $125,000 over five years, ($25,000 per year). The funds would be held by the city, and come from part of sales at close of escrow, amounting to about $2,000 to $2,400 per unit. Prima said “the idea was to get some cash to the city for debt service,” and the “money is to subsidize rates for low-income people.”
Danielsen did not “see the California economy as rosy,” and asked: “If the developer goes bankrupt, how does that impact the city?”
Prima said “if they fall apart before the first phase, no harm, no foul.” But Reeder Sutherland must spend $400,000 to $500,000 to set up the Community Facilities District, and do city-wide master planning, studies, and maps, to cover what they build. He said if it fails mid-way, “you don’t get the bigger project. You get a smaller piece of it.”
Bob Reeder, partner of Reeder Sutherland, saw “the risk to the city being zero, really, because of the way the process works in constructing improvements. Before the phase can make improvements,” he would not partially construct streets. “That is not done, because we want to record the lots, to make sure the money will be there to complete the roads. So if we go away, the city can sell the lots and get money to complete the roads.”
Reeder said “so far we have no debt on our two properties at all.” He said they have loans on a commercial property, and on his home.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
