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Home My WebLink About1980-02-05; City Council; 6157; Request for allocation of sewer capacityInitial: AGENDA BILL NO._^JTZ_ __ Dep"t.7«d_££ DATE: February 5, 1980 C. Atty V .n,,rj... _.j. ^' — -"- "~ -«---~n-— ».— ' '- - " "" --"-—-• : TJ-.r .. - - .1 . I * " • V* DEPARTMENT: Engineering C- SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR ALLOCATION OF SEWER CAPACITY FROM THE COUNCIL RESERVE - HIGHLAND COMPANY STATEMENT OF THE MATTER The Council has 241.27 EDUs remaining in reserve from the 300 permits they originally set aside. HIGHLAND COMPANY has requested 52 EDUs from this reserve. The Council has indicated that the EDUs held in reserve are to be utilized to benefit the community. EXHIBITS Request from Highland Company Memo to City Manager from City Engineer RECOMMENDATION If the Cc-uncil wishes to grant this request, their action is to direct the City Attorney to prepare documents allocating 52 EDUs to HIGHLAND COMPANY. Council Action: 2-5-80 Council continued the matter to the next regular meeting. LAW OFFICES OF DAUBNEY AND BANCHE PROFESSIONAL CORPORATIONS WILLIAM M. DAUBNEY AREA CODE 71-4- NICHOLAS C. BANCHE 7O2 FOURTH STREET TELEPHONE 722-ISSI POST OFFICE BOX 39O DCEANSIDE. CALIFORNIA 32054 "~ TT-, U. 1979 «ECE!YE '•"131979' City Engineer . C . / }, CAHl S2 AD City of Carlsbad br-.-.u^, i,.g UG^i.i&tf 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad, California 92008 RE: The Highland Company (Tanglewood Development) Dear Les: I am directing this correspondence to you at the suggestion of the City Manager. My representation involves the above referenced Company and is with regard to the Tanglewood Development. By way of background, the Master Plan was originally processed by Larwin in 1972. My clients, The Highland Company, purchased the pro- ject from Larwin in 1977 at a time when some 57 units had already been built by Larwin pursuant to the approved Master Plan and applicable tentative maps. In addition, my clients acquired some 14 incomplete models. Since that time, my clients have completed the 14 models and 151 additional units for a total of 165. In other words, there are 222 units in place and occupied pursuant to an approved plan and relevant maps. Two Hundred sixty-four units, or more than half the project remains approved but incomplete and incapable of completion in light of the present sewer moratorium. After appearing on behalf of the client at the Council Meeting of November 20, 1979, it became apparent to me that City Engineer City of Carlsbad December 11, 1979 Page Two there exists some impediment to the continued development of this project, even beyond the scope of the sewer moratorium. In short, I found it difficult to understand how some 10.75 points to which it appeared The Highland Company was entitled were not allocated and that that failure to allocate was based on the fact that The Highland Company had either not completed Elm Avenue, or satisfactorily bonded for its completion. In addition, the Tanglewood project continues to be held up as an example of "how not to do things", in deliberations of the Council with discretionary approvals of similar pro- jects . In order to attempt to clear the air and give my clients a reasonable chance of avoiding bankruptcy, I have decided to make one other attempt at an administrative solution to a serious problem. I am sure you can understand that my clients had absolutely nothing to do with the processing of the 1972 plan. They purchased a presumably valid plan and map in 1977 and paid substantial dollars for what they thought v/as a right to develop. Accordingly, I cannot believe that any reasonable person would seek to penalize The Highland Company for what is perceived to have been an error in judgment made by a City Council in 1972. To my knowledge, The Highland Company has satisfied the building requirements of the City of Carlsbad and has cooperated in every respect since they became involved in the project. You will obviously take exception to that statement based on the failure to construct Elm Avenue. An examination of the record will determine that. Elni Avoniv v/as Liy"! to th^ second phase of the project and that in liqht City Engineer City of Carlsbad December 11, 1979 Page Three of the moratorium that second phase involved but 35 units. I think it is fair to say that the improvement of Elm Avenue with regard to the area of our concern cannot be economically provided by the construction and sale of 35 units. Every person involved must have been aware of that fact and of the fact that the ultimate construction would only occur as normal increments of construction were permitted. However, and to the extent that the City's vital interests require the construction of that portion of Elm Avenue which we are addressing, my clients will construct it providing they are permitted to build 52 units. Fifty-two units are required because under the developer's agreement with the Owner's Association, 52 lots is the next increment of annexation, and an allocation of 38 EDU's would result in a construction of 38 units, but an obligation on the part of the developer to pay for 52 lots to the Owner's Association. In short, and to summarize, the Tanglewood Project is a reality and it little serves any purpose to point to it as a "mistake". In the event that the City had no intention to honor whatever commitment was generated by the approved map, it should have told The Highland Company before it purchased the project from Larwin. Given the fact that we are where we are, it is in the best interests of City and developer to work together for the best- possible solution. Along those lines, I would specifically ask that an allocation be made in accordance with the points to which The Highland Company was in fact entitled, and in addition, 14 EDU's be obtained from the contingency source in order to provide for the construction of Elm Avenue. I would be more than happy to meet with you at any time in order to discuss this letter. Sincerely, CHOLAS C. BANCHE NC B:j p cc: Mavor Ci ty Ma n-nqer • City A t Lc o r n e y MEMORANDUM TO: City Manager FROM: City Engineer DATE: January 25, 1980 SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR ALLOCATION OF SEWER CAPACITY FROM THE COUNCIL RESERVE By memorandum of August 28, 1979, the Sewer Committee recommended to the City Council that 1000 EDUs of the 1300 EDUs available be allocated and the remaining 300 EDUs be held in reserve. The Council adopted a process for allocating 1000 EDUs on September 18, 1979. On November 20, 1979, Oak Communications requested and was granted 55 EDUs from the Council reserve. On January 2, 1980, the Council approved the allocation of 3.73 EDUs to the Aquaculture Farm on the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. The Council has received a request for sewer allocation from the remaining reserve from the HIGHLAND COMPANY. The Highland Company unsuccessfully applied for 38 EDUs (application S-19) under the Phase II Allocation System. They have been able to complete only 222 units of a 486 unit subdivision and have experienced problems in completing some of the required public improvements due to the impossibility of generating funds by building and selling homes. They have requested 52 EDUs as the minimum number of units they must build to generate funds for the completion of Elm Avenue. LE:mmt