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Council approves third amendment to Winchester Hills development agreement to rescind earlier extension
Summary
The council adopted the third amendment to a development agreement between the city and Lennar/Winchester Hills that rescinds a prior extension of the agreement’s term and restores the original term; the action allows the developer to seek fee exemptions from regional agencies.
The Temecula City Council on July 8 approved an amendment to the Winchester Hills development agreement that rescinds a previous extension of the agreement’s term and restores the original term language, a change the applicant requested.
What the council acted on: Staff said the third amendment rescinds the first amendment’s extension of the development agreement’s term and ‘‘reinstate[s] the original term of the development agreement.’’ The amendment was requested by the applicant and, according to staff, does not make other revisions to the agreement’s development provisions.
Background and regional context: The original agreement exempted the developer from paying certain local-impact fees; when the council extended the term in a prior amendment, regional agencies (Western Riverside Council of Governments and the Riverside County Transportation Commission were cited) took a position that the amendment removed the exemption. A prior (second) amendment addressed the same issue for a different parcel; the third amendment applies to the parcel referred to in staff materials as the Prado project (the applicant at the July 8 hearing was Meritage Homes).
Environmental determination: Staff said the amendment is exempt under CEQA’s general-rule exemption (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, §15061(b)(3)) because it ‘‘can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the adoption . . . may have a significant effect on the environment.’’ The planning commission recommended approval and staff recommended council adoption of the ordinance approving the third amendment.
Vote and next steps: The council approved the amendment 5–0. Staff and the applicant said the amendment allows the owner to pursue fee exemptions with the regional agencies as provided under the agreement’s original terms.
Ending: The council’s action was procedural and limited to the development agreement term; no zoning map or land-use change was adopted at the meeting.
