Work continues on the Nautical Cove housing development in Menifee while approvals from utility companies and city analysis of the final tract maps continue.
In an agreement approved by the City Council last week, KB Home Cal Management Services, LLC, guarantees completion of certain preliminary public and private improvements in the construction of Nautical Cove. Through a series of performance bonds totaling $11.8 million, the City has received assurances of these completions regardless of whether the two tentative tract maps are given final approval.
Nautical Cove was first approved by the City Council in 2010, when it was proposed by The Rancon Group. The site is located north of Holland Road between Southshore Drive and Briggs Road. Residents may remember it as being a lot full of tree stumps for years before grading finally took place under KB Home last year. It is designed to be a community with two sections – one of 120 single-family homes with a private park and private lake, and the other with 61 single-family lots, a private recreation center, and a landscaped lot.
Currently, only a couple of model homes have been built on site, but KB Home advertises the community on its website with prices starting at $584,990. KB Homes’ schedule does not include a timeline for completion. But judging from its request leading to the performance bond agreement, KB Home is determined to finish the project as soon as possible.
“While the project map is being finalized, the developer is requesting the City’s approval to commence the construction of certain public and private improvements to maintain development schedules,” the staff report approved last week stated. “The improvements to be constructed are preliminarily established as required per the conditions of approval for the project. In exchange for being permitted to commence work prior to final map approval of the project, the developer has voluntarily assumed the risk, without liability to the City, that the project’s final map may not be approved — or may be approved with different improvement plans or conditions of approval to those anticipated.”
In other words, “preliminary improvements” such as a sewer and recycled water system; traffic signal; lake improvements; storm drain; streetlights; and landscaping will be completed, even if adjustments are made in the final tract maps or they are never approved (highly unlikely at this point). To guarantee that completion, KB Home is putting up $11.8 million.
According to City Public Information Officer Phil Southard, such performance bonds regarding public infrastructure are common in agreements between the City and developers. This is not a guarantee of completion of the entire project by a certain date.
“Upon finalizing the project map, the City and developer would enter into a separate Subdivision Improvement Agreement (SIA) that would incorporate any modifications determined for the improvements as per the finalized map,” the agreement states.
As is the case with other local developments that include a man-made lake, the lake at Nautical Cove will be private and accessible only to residents of that community.
For an aerial view of the site as it looks today during construction, view this video that appears on the KB Home website:
