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Hutchinson moves to issue breach notices to Plum Creek developer after missed construction deadlines
Summary
City staff told the council the Plum Creek developer failed to deliver promised homes and has delinquent taxes; the council authorized the city manager to prepare and send notices of breach under the RHID and MIH agreements, starting contract cure timelines required by those agreements.
The Hutchinson City Council on Monday authorized the city manager to prepare and send written notices of breach to the developer of the Plum Creek subdivision after staff said the developer missed contractual completion deadlines and has delinquent property taxes.
City staff and the city attorney detailed a timeline showing that the developer certified large private investments and claimed state housing tax credits but failed to complete promised units. Assistant City Attorney Cody Smith told the council the agreements set a June 30 completion deadline for phase 1 and defined failure to meet the schedule as a breach. "There is nothing to interpret: certificates of occupancy either exist or they do not," Smith said, describing the contract provisions that trigger a written notice and cure period.
City presentations showed two structures started at Plum Creek but no finished homes or final certificates of occupancy for the 29 units required by the RHID development agreement. Staff said the city issued temporary notes of roughly $1.7 million for infrastructure, accepted variances and early permits, and performed grant administration to keep the project moving. The city manager’s presentation also said the developer had approximately $317,000 in delinquent property taxes on other Hutchinson parcels, a condition in the agreements that can block RHID reimbursements.
Smith recommended sending notices that begin the contractual cure timeline (a short written period for the developer to "begin a cure and pursue it diligently"). He argued the cure step is procedural—giving the city a documented, 30‑day point at which the council will again have clear written evidence of performance or nonperformance. "Delay is not neutral," Smith added, arguing continued delay shifts financial risk onto taxpayers and erodes the city’s leverage.
Council members who spoke in favor said the notice is a step required by the contracts rather than an effort to terminate the project immediately. One council member framed the move as protecting taxpayers while preserving options to bring other builders to finish work on the platted lots; another said staff had already done much of the developer’s grant work and the city must now enforce contractual terms.
The council voted to authorize the city manager to deliver notices of breach and to proceed with the contracts’ cure process. The notices do not immediately terminate agreements but start the formal remedy timeline outlined in the RHID and MH development agreements.
Next steps: staff said they will deliver written notices, document any cure actions from the developer, and return to the council with the factual record at the end of the cure period to decide on further remedies.
