Settlement Agreement Reached In Lawsuit Over Proposed Wildomar Development

A development project in Wildomar that calls for 275 homes and a commercial center to be built along Bundy Canyon Road near The Farm community has attracted two legal challenges, one of which has now been settled.

According to a settlement agreement signed off on last month, Wildomar resident Martha Bridges and consultant John Burkett had petitioned the court with demands on the large-scale Oak Creek Canyon project proposed by Sunbelt Communities LLC. The two plaintiffs wanted to see stronger conditions of approval from the city, namely assurances that sewer service for the project would not rely on the Farm Mutual Water Company system.

“The settlement provides the people of Wildomar with several safeguards that the plaintiffs maintained should have been built into the Oak Creek Canyon project's original Conditions of Approval by the City Planning Department as part of their lengthy pre-approval process,” Bridges wrote in a released statement.

Wildomar City Council approved the project in June.

Now, as part of the project’s conditions of approval under the settlement agreement, Sunbelt has agreed to construct a sewer line that will connect into Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District’s system prior to final map approval on the development. Per the settlement agreement, a faithful performance bond covering 100 percent of construction costs must be secured by Sunbelt. The bond provides financial assurances to the city that the work will get completed.

Prior to the settlement, there had been discussion that sewer for the project would temporarily utilize the Farm Mutual Water Company’s system. That system relies on older technology, including a spray field where sewer water is showered. Under the settlement agreement, the Farm Mutual Water Company is prohibited from providing sewer services for the proposed project.

“The question people should be asking is why it took months of labor by concerned citizens and a costly lawsuit to provide Wildomar with these safeguards?” Bridges said in her released statement.

Wildomar City Manager Gary Nordquist did not provide a comment for this story, saying instead the legal dispute was between a developer and a resident.

As part of the settlement agreement, Sunbelt Communities has agreed to incur legal fees for Bridges, Burkett, as well as the city, and it has agreed to defend any challenges to the agreement.

Meanwhile, another legal complaint on the project is pending, that one brought forward by Citizens for Quality Development. It challenges the project on issues pertaining to the California Environmental Quality Act.

Bill Lo of Sunbelt Communities said he's confident most of the issues brought forward by Citizens for Quality Development can be resolved, and he expressed relief that his team was able to reach a settlement agreement in the petition brought forward by Bridges and Burkett.

"It is an amicable settlement," he said. "I'm glad it's behind us and we're looking forward to moving ahead."