The County of Orange (“County”) approved the Blackstone development (formerly known as Tonner Hills Planned Community and Pepper Tree Hills) (“Development”) on November 19, 2002. Approximately 686 acres of the Development is located on the east side of SR-57 north of Lambert Road and about 108 acres is located on the west side of SR-57 north of State College Boulevard. This Development consists of 781 residential units within the area annexed to the City of Brea on September 29, 2006.
As part of the Pre-Annexation Agreement and Cooperative Processing Agreement between the City and County, the County retained the responsibility for the approval of all Tract Maps, Subdivision Agreements and the improvement bonds. The County is also responsible for plan check and inspection of street, storm drain, and building improvements while the City is responsible for plan check and inspection of water and sewer improvements. Once all the improvements are constructed, inspected, and determined to be completed by the County with the City's consent, County proceeds with the official acceptance of the subdivision improvements and releases the improvement securities posted for the respective tracts.
Blackstone development is divided into backbone improvements and seven (7) planning areas. Planning Area 7 (38 single family homes located on the west side of SR-57) and Planning Area 2 (94 multi-family units - Bonterra Apartment Homes) were the first two planning areas to be completed and they were transferred to the City in 2014. On July 5, 2016, City Council accepted the improvements in Planning Areas 1, 3A and 3B and on January 17, 2017, City Council accepted the improvements in Planning Area 4A, 4B and 5. The remaining improvements to be accepted are for the Planing Area 6 (Tract 16642) and the backbone improvements (Tract 16976). Refer to Exhibit 'A' attached hereon for locations of these planning areas.
The required public improvements for Tract 16642 (Planning Area 6 - 93 lots) include street, street lights, storm drain, water and sewer improvements. These improvements were completed by Standard Pacific of Tonner Hills, LLC pursuant to the approved plans and inspected by the County and in coordination with the City staff. The improvements were certified as completed and the improvement bond was exonerated by the County Board of Supervisors on December 5, 2017.
The required public improvements for Tract 16976 (Backbone) include street, street lights, storm drain, water and sewer improvements. These improvements were completed by Shea Tonner Hills, LLC pursuant to the approved plans and inspected by the County and City staff. The improvements were certified as completed and the improvement bond was exonerated by the County Board of Supervisors on December 5, 2017.
The Subdivision Agreements (“Agreements”) between the two developers and the County require the developer to warranty the improvements against any defective work or labor done, or defective materials furnished, for a period of one (1) year following the acceptance by the County. However, the Agreements do not require a security to be posted for the warranty period, which is typical for City Subdivision Improvement Agreements. Therefore, in order to provide City assurances of compliance with the County’s warranty, City staff requested the two developers enter into a separate Warranty Agreement with the City and post a bond as security prior to City accepting the improvements. Staff completed the Warranty Agreements with City Attorney and Developers concurrence and acceptance.
Standard Pacific of Tonner Hills, LLC has entered into the Warranty Agreement and provided warranty bonds in the amount of $82,400 for Tract 16642. Shea Tonner Hills, LLC has entered into the Warranty Agreement and provided the warranty bond in the amount of $490,740 for Tract 16976. The Agreements will expire one (1) year following the acceptance by the County at which time the warranty bond will be released by the City Clerk.
In addition to the aforementioned backbone improvements administrated by the County, Shea Tonner Hills, LLC also completed the construction of a water reservoir tank (830 Reservoir), a pump station (Tonner Pump Station), Eastside Reservoir inlet-outlet piping and backbone water and sewer improvements in Santa Fe Road and Tonner Ridge Road. These improvements were solely under the City's purview. The construction plans were reviewed and approved by the City and the construction was inspected by the City Public Works inspector. On September 15, 2015, City Council accepted the Eastside Reservoir inlet-outlet piping and backbone water and sewer improvements in Santa Fe Road and Tonner Ridge Road and released the improvement bonds. The improvements related to 830 Reservoir and the Tonner Pump Station have been completed and in operation since 2015. There has been correction work performed on the reservoir during the warranty period. This correction work has been inspected and deemed satisfactory, hence, the water reservoir and the pump station are recommended for acceptance. |
The Blackstone Development has been a cooperative effort by the County, City and Developers. The Pre-Annexation Agreement and Cooperative Agreement were executed in January 2006; and the development area was annexed into the City in September 2006. Since then, the development has been in construction for the backbone improvements and in each planning area. The total final units constructed for the development is 781 units with 687 single family homes and 94 multi-family units. Both the County and the City have been accepting the improvements in each planning area as the construction was completed. The remaining areas to be accepted are the backbone improvements (Tract 16976) and Planning Area 6 (Tract 16642). These Final Tracts complete the annexation process of the Blackstone Development into the City, whereby the City will be considered the municipality with responsible charge for all public works maintenance, police, and fire services. Therefore, in an effort to notify the home owners of the City's various requirements, including parking and street sweeping, staff will be sending out a notice to the Home Owners Association, which provides the necessary information.
The required improvements for Tracts 16642 and 16976 have been determined to be completed and accepted by the County on December 5, 2017 Board Meeting. The Developers have entered into Warranty Agreements and posted warranty bonds with the City for the completed improvements. Furthermore, the impact fees as specified in the Cooperative Agreement have been paid and the other conditions in the agreement are deemed complete. Therefore, staff is recommending the City Council consider accepting the subdivision improvements for Tracts 16976 and 16642 and approving the Warranty Agreements with associated bonds. In addition, the improvements for 830 Reservoir and Tonner Pump Station have been completed and the correction work is deemed satisfactory. Therefore, staff is recommending the City council consider the acceptance of these improvements.
There are maintenance costs associated with operating and maintaining the public improvements for these tracts. However, the storm water maintenance costs are included in the Community Facilities District (CFD) assessment associated with this Development and the maintenance costs of the public sewer and water facilities are included in the City's User Fees. Therefore, there will be minimal General Fund impact from this Development. |