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Council stalls on developer-built public-safety campus; asks staff to renegotiate covenant
Summary
After prolonged debate about a covenant with Highland Fairview that would require a developer-built public-safety campus once 7,000 residences are permitted, the council voted to continue the item and directed staff to seek amended terms to secure earlier site control and clearer developer obligations.
Moreno Valley’s council on April 7 deferred final action on a plan that would place a public-safety campus on land controlled by Highland Fairview and Merwin Properties. The original developer agreement would have obligated Highland Fairview to set aside about 10 buildable acres and construct a turnkey police‑and‑fire campus once it reached a 7,000th residential permit trigger across its projects.
City attorneys and staff explained a major complication: recent interpretations of prevailing‑wage rules mean a developer‑built campus is no longer automatically exempt from prevailing wages, which changes the financial calculus. If the city waits for the developer’s trigger, it risks never receiving the campus — or receiving it only many years from now — while development‑impact fees intended to fund construction remain the primary funding source.
Several council members and public speakers urged caution: they want explicit guarantees of site control or an amended covenant to prevent the developer from keeping the property or using the obligation as leverage. The council voted to continue the item and directed staff to enter negotiations with Highland Fairview to (at minimum) obtain earlier site control, clearer timing and credit terms for development‑fee reimbursements.
City Attorney Even Kintine explained the options: the city can (1) wait for the developer’s trigger and accept the timing and prevailing‑wage exposure, (2) use Measure U bond proceeds to expedite construction now and seek later DI F credits, or (3) negotiate an amended covenant that transfers site control earlier so the city can proceed with design and construction while preserving developer credit for impact fees.
Next steps: staff will pursue covenant renegotiations, explore options to secure site control and return to council with proposed amended terms and funding options.
