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REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
To:Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
From:Grant Yates, City Manager
Date:February 14, 2017
Subject:Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan (SP No. 2010-
02), Development Agreement (DA 2016-02), and Addendum to Final
Environmental Impact Report (SCH # 2012061046)
Applicant(S)Pacific Clay Products, Inc. & The City of Lake Elsinore
Recommendation
adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE,
CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE ADDENDUM TO THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
REPORT FOR THE AMENDED AND RESTATED ALBERHILL VILLAGES SPECIFIC PLAN
(SCH NO. 2012061046) AND RELATED DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT
introduce AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE,
CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE AMENDED AND RESTATED ALBERHILL VILLAGES
SPECIFIC PLAN NO. 2010-02
introduce AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE,
CALIFORNIA, FINDING GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY AND APPROVING A
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR THE AMENDED AND RESTATED ALBERHILL
VILLAGES SPECIFIC PLAN
Background
On June 14, 2016, after public hearing and consideration of all written and oral staff reports,
recommendation from the Planning Commission, comments and responses to comments to the
Environmental Impact Report (hereinafter defined), public testimony and other matters reflected
in the record of the public hearing, the City Council approved the Alberhill Villages Specific Plan
(the “AVSP”). The AVSP consists of a 1,375-acre site located south of Interstate 15 and west of
Lake Street and includes approximately 8,024 dwelling units; 3,810,300 square feet of non-
residential uses including civic/institutional, commercial/retail, professional office/medical and
entertainment uses; university or similar educational institution use; and supporting uses
including schools, parks, places of religious assembly, open space and green belt paseos.
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As part of the approval of the AVSP, the City Council adopted the following:
(i) Resolution No. 2016-076 certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report (SCH No.
2012061046) for the Alberhill Villages Specific Plan No. 2010-02 (the “Final EIR”), General
Plan Amendment No. 2012-01 and Zone Change No. 2012-02, Adopting Findings Pursuant
to the California Environmental Quality Act, Adopting a Statement of Overriding
Considerations, and Adopting a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program,
(ii) Resolution No. 2016-77 approving General Plan Amendment No. 2012-01 which amended
the Lake Elsinore General Plan land use designation for the project site to “Alberhill Villages
Specific Plan,”
(iii) Ordinance No. 2016-1361, effective July 28, 2016, adopting the Alberhill Villages Specific
Plan No. 2012 (“AVSP”) and Zone Change 2012-02 which amended the project site’s zoning
from a mix of zoning designations to “Alberhill Villages Specific Plan.”
Following the June 14, 2016 adoption of the AVSP, the property owner, Pacific Clay Products,
Inc. and the City engaged in discussions and have mutually proposed an Amended and
Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan and related Development Agreement (collectively, the
“Project”) in an effort to eliminate certain ambiguities and provide clarification with respect to the
implementation of the AVSP, refine the AVSP land use plan, and identify a financing
mechanism for the Regional Sports Park and overall AVSP community.
On February 7, 2017 at a duly noticed public hearing the Planning Commission considered all
oral and written testimony, and 1) recommended that the City Council adopt a Resolution
approving the Addendum to the Final Environmental Impact Report; 2) recommended that the
City Council adopt an ordinance approving the Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages
Specific Plan; and 3) recommended that the City Council adopt an ordinance approving a
Development Agreement for the Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan.
City staff previously conducted due diligence and outreach to respond to all public comments
received on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the AVSP and again reached out
to regulatory and government agencies advising them of the proposed Amended and Restated
Alberhill Villages Specific Plan and Addendum to the Final EIR.
Project Location
The Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan boundaries are identical to project
boundaries of the adopted AVSP. The AVSP project site is located just south of Interstate 15
and is west of Lake Street. The eastern project boundary borders Lake Street, the southeastern
project boundary borders the Murdock Alberhill Ranch Specific Plan residential development,
the western boundary borders the 1,000-acre Horsethief Canyon Ranch single-family
development, and the southwest boundary borders the Cleveland National Forest. (See Vicinity
Map, Attachment 1)
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Project Description
Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan No. 2010-02
The Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan retains the same project boundaries
and same overall land uses and buildout as the adopted AVSP to provide for the development
of a sustainable new community, at the northwestern gateway of the City of Lake Elsinore.
When fully developed, the approximately 1,375 acre Alberhill Villages site will provide up to
8,024 residential units, distributed over a wide variety of unit types and sizes.
The Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan also includes approximately
2,310,300 square feet of commercial building development including a University Town Center
with 1,335,800 square feet of retail/community space, and medical/ office development.
Additional mixed use areas will be placed in two other strategic phased locations offering
974,500 square feet of retail and service uses. Approximately 63.6 acres are designated for a
university or similar education institutional use which could accommodate 6000 students and
1,500,000 square feet of indoor facilities. Regional and community amenities include an 850
student capacity elementary school on a 12-acre site, over 194 acres of natural or enhanced
open space with multi-use trails, a 41.5-acre Recreational Lake and Lakeside Park, as well as a
45.9-acre City Regional Sports Park, and a 14.3-acre Public Community Park.
The Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan divides the 1,375 acre site into six
(6) separate “villages” projected to be built out over an approximate 35-year period as the
existing mining activities are phased out. Each village is intended to create a unique character
and would be bounded by major roadways, topography, and service area. Each village would
be anchored by a central focal point such as a school, park, commercial core, or plaza so that
such uses are all within a 10-minute walk or five-minute bike ride from residential areas.
Implementation of Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan
The same three-tier implementation approach is provided in the Amended and Restated
Alberhill Villages Specific Plan as in the adopted AVSP that will ensure that certain project
design details and standards, which cannot be anticipated at this time, are identified once
development becomes imminent based on market conditions.
Tier 1 is the Alberhill Villages Specific Plan, which will create an overall blueprint for land use
and development regulations and a backbone circulation plan for the entire AVSP project site.
Approval of the Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan does not allow site-
specific development without additional discretionary approvals in Tiers 2 and 3.
Tier 2 is the preparation of Phased Development Plans (PDP) that will provide greater detail for
land use, circulation, development regulations and design guidelines for a defined geographic
area when development in that area becomes imminent. PDP’s will be considered by the
Planning Commission with final approval by the City Council. An approved PDP is a pre-
requisite to any development within a Phase. A Traffic Impact Analysis shall be conducted for
each PDP.
Tier 3 will consist of design review and subdivision maps of site specific development plans in
anticipation of processing building permits. Design reviews and subdivision maps will also be
considered by the Planning Commission with final approval by the City Council.
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Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan
The primary provisions in the Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan are to 1)
refine the Land Use Plan; 2) clarify ambiguities, including required setback from existing mining
activities; 3) identify a financing mechanism for the 45.9 acre Regional Sports Park; and 4)
clarify certain implementation provisions. There are also typographical and grammatical
corrections throughout the document.
Following is a summary of the key components and changes incorporated into the Amended
and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan.
1) Figure 3-1 Amends the land use map to remove the smaller of two lakes and refine
underlying land use designations. Remainder of map stays the same. See Land Use Plan
Comparison, (Attachment 2).
2) Section 3.5 (Project-Wide Development Standards) retains the requirement that all
development within the Alberhill Villages Specific Plan participate in the citywide Community
Facilities District (CFD) 2015-01 for law enforcement, fire and paramedic services and CFD
2015-2 for maintenance services for public rights-of-way and landscaping. Project-wide
development standards that are inapplicable to a specific plan are have been deleted and
will be addressed at the Phased Development Plan (Tier 2) or Subdivision Map or Design
Review (Tier 3) entitlement stage.
3) Table 3-2 Clarifies timing, phasing and financial responsibility for completing parks, including
the 45.9 acre Regional Sports Park. The developer will be financially responsible for
planning and park design, rough grading and adjacent offsite roadway and utility
infrastructure and dedication of the land for the Regional Sports Park. The developer will
also pay an Alberhill Park Fee at the time of issuance of every residential building permit in
the Project which will provide financing to complete the onsite Regional Sports Park
improvements. The developer will complete the improvements subject to reimbursement
from the Alberhill Park Fees or the City may elect to complete the improvements with the
Alberhill Park Fees paid by the developer.
4) Section 4.3.12 (Interim Surface Mining Land Uses) clarifies the existing mining operations
by defining “processing/crushing activities” which are conducted during the day and at night
and generate significant noise, dust, light and glare compared to “extraction activities” that
are conducted during the day and are comparable to grading activities conducted in
connection with regular construction activities. The following setbacks requirements apply to
protect new residential development from the impacts of the mining activities:
Crushing Plant = 1,500 feet setback required
Processing (Kilns, conveyor belt and sand plant) = 500 feet setback required
Excavation Operations = 300 feet setback required
5) Section 5.5 (Specific Plan/PDP Modifications and Amendments) clarifies the implementation
procedures for processing minor modifications and amendments to the Specific Plan and
approved Phased development Plans.
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Because the General Plan and Zoning for the site were previously changed to “Alberhill Villages
Specific Plan” no General Plan or Zoning amendments are required in connection with the
proposed Amended and Restated AVSP.
Development Agreement
The proposed development agreement would memorialize the following items:
Vested Rights: The development agreement provides certainty in the development
process by providing a vested right in the Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages
Specific Plan and in applicability of the City’s existing land use regulations to the
development of the Project.
Development Agreement Fees: Pacific Clay Products will pay the City an “Initial
Development Agreement Fee” (“DAG Fee”) of $100,000. In addition, the developer will
pay the following DAG Fees in connection with the issuance of every building permit in
the project:
o Single Family (SF) Dwelling Unit - $4,500/unit
o Multi-Family (MF) Dwelling Unit - $3,200/unit
o Mixed-Use (MXU) Dwelling Unit - $2,500/unit
o Commercial/Retail/Industrial Building - $1.00/sf
o Private Institutional/Places of Worship (non-sanctuary) Building - $1.00/sf
Commencing July 1, 2018, the DAG Fees shall be adjusted annually as of July 1 of each
year based on the percentage increase or decrease, if any, of the Engineering News
Record Construction Cost Index for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.
Alberhill Park Fee: Prior to the issuance of any residential building permit in the Project,
the developer will pay the City an “Alberhill Park Fee” in an amount equal to $2.00 per
square foot of assessable space that will be deposited by City in a segregated account
(the “Alberhill Park Fund”) and used to fund the improvements to the 45.9 acre Regional
Sports Park. The developer’s obligation to pay the Alberhill Park Fee survives
termination of the Agreement to ensure a funding mechanism for completion of the park
improvements.
Existing Development Fees: During the term of the agreement, the developer shall pay
existing development impact fees at the rate in effect at the time of the issuance of
building permits subject only to a 5-year lock for building permits issued for development
within a Phased Development Plan for a five-year period following approval of that PDP.
The developer will be exempt from newly enacted development impact fees, if any.
The proposed development agreement has been reviewed for consistency with respect to the
State Government Code and the Lake Elsinore Municipal Code and has been found to meet all
legal requirements.
Environmental Determination
The Final Environmental Impact Report prepared for the AVSP was certified by the City Council
on June 14, 2016 by Resolution No. 2016-076 certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report
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(SCH No. 2012061046) for the Alberhill Villages Specific Plan No. 2010-02 (the “Final EIR”),
General Plan Amendment No. 2012-01 and Zone Change No. 2012-02, Adopting Findings
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, Adopting a Statement of Overriding
Considerations, and Adopting a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program. The Final EIR
and Technical Appendices are available on the City’s website http://www.lake-elsinore.org/city-
hall/city-departments/community-development/planning/ceqa-documents-available-for-public-
review/alberhill-villages-specific-plan.
In accordance with CEQA, the City has prepared an Addendum to the Final EIR for the
proposed Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan and the related Development
Agreement (the “Project”). Based on the Addendum, the Project does not introduce any new
significant environmental effects, nor will it result in any new significant unavoidable project
impacts beyond those previously identified in the Final EIR. Consequently, no new mitigation
measures are proposed.
Relationship to the Existing AVSP and Pending Initiative
The Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan and Development Agreement refine
and improve the AVSP adopted in June 2016 by eliminating ambiguities and providing certainty
in the development process. City staff supports the Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages
Specific Plan as a better document regulating the future development of the proposed Alberhill
Villages project. If the Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan is approved it will
replace the June 14, 2016 adopted AVSP.
The Amended and Restated Alberhill Villages Specific Plan is vastly superior to the pending
initiative. If the initiative were to pass, it would supersede the proposed Amended and Restated
Alberhill Villages Specific Plan and the Development Agreement would automatically terminate.
Fiscal Impact
The developer will pay an initial $100,000 Development Agreement (DAG) Fee which is
intended to offset the City’s administrative cost and legal fees related to the preparation of the
Development Agreement and the cost of the May 2, 2017 special municipal election. The
developer will also pay a DAG Fee on a per residential unit and per non-residential square
footage basis. Assuming full build-out at the DAG Fee rates today, the developer will pay
approximately $30.6 million to the City. The DAG Fees adjust annually and, depending on
build-out, the amount of DAG Fees paid will increase over time. In addition, the developer will
pay an Alberhill Park Capital Fee on a per unit basis which is anticipated to generate
approximately $23.9 million at build-out which will fund the 45.9 acres sports park
improvements. The developer is also responsible to pay the City’s existing categories of
development impact fees at the rate in effect when building permits are issued, subject only to a
periodic 5-year lock within each PDP upon approval of that PDP.
The developer will also annex into CFD 2015-1 for Public Safety Services and CFD 2015-2 for
maintenance services costs to fund police, fire, animal control, park maintenance, open space,
drainage, street lighting, street maintenance, and traffic signal maintenance with the option of
providing alternative funding for these costs through a separate structure.
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Exhibits
A. Addendum to FEIR Resolution
B. Amended and Restated AVSP Ordinance
C. Development Agreement Ordinance
D. Vicinity Map
E. Land Use Plan Comparison Maps
F. Addendum to the Final EIR (Final EIR is available on the City’s website http://www.lake-
elsinore.org/city-hall/city-departments/community-development/planning/ceqa-
documents-available-for-public-review/alberhill-villages-specific-plan)
G. Amended and Restated AVSP
H. Development Agreement