Tuesday, May 24, 2011 • Supes hear about proposed Skyline annexation project

Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, May 24, 2011 edition of the Lassen County Times.

Visionaries and investors who hope to annex a 640-acre parcel just southeast of Lassen Community College into the city of Susanville pitched the benefits of the project to the county at the Lassen County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, May 17.

Lassen County District 2 Supervisor Larry Wosick asked for the item to be placed on the agenda.

Wosick thanked Susanville businessman Kyle Porter, owner of the NAPA franchise in Susanville, for his involvement with the project. According to Wosick, Porter has already invested more than $250,000 of his own money in the project. He said the project has been in the works since May 2008.

“I want to publicly thank Kyle,” Wosick said. “He’s one of our local employers here. He runs the NAPA store here, and I want to thank you for your vision and your commitment to Lassen County. I want to thank you for risking a considerable amount of money. You’re to be commended for that.”

Wosick said his vision of economic development is for government to do what it has to do and then get out of the way of business.

“My position to the media and the other people here — This is what true economic development is. You need a visionary, somebody who’s willing to take the risk, and you need a team of professionals with a solid business plan. This is true economic development, the way it should be.”

A tax-sharing agreement between the city of Susanville and the county needs to be developed and the project requires approval by the Local
Agency Formation Commission, the board of supervisors and the Susanville City Council before it can move forward.

Project details have not yet been finalized because environmental and governmental reviews and approvals have not yet been completed, but, according to a presentation prepared by the city of Susanville and Richard Berkson, of Economic and Planning Systems, Inc., of Berkeley, California, the completed project would generate total annual governmental revenues of $1.8 million against total annual governmental expenses of $764,700.

The project area, according to the report, is “located approximately one-quarter mile east of the city of Susanville and is currently served by the county of Lassen. As this project is still in the early planning process, project details have yet to be finalized. This analysis assumes development of approximately 1,500 residential units, 35,000 square feet of local-serving retail and 112 acres of parks and open space.”

The project envisions the following types of housing units:
• Preserve Lots — 10 percent of the total project acreage, assumed to be developed at a density of one unit per 3.5 acres. Each unit is approximately 3,000 square feet and valued at $510,000.
• Estate Lots — 18 percent of total project acreage, assumed to be developed at a density of four units per acre. Each unit is approximately 2,500 square feet and valued at $387,500 per unit.
• Village Lots — 15 percent of total project acreage, assumed to be developed at a density of four units per acre. Each unit is approximately 1,200 square feet and valued at $180,000 per unit.
• Townhomes — 4 percent of total project acreage, assumed to be developed at a density of five units per acre. Each unit is approximately 1,200 square feet and valued at $180,000 per unit.
• Active Adult — 20 percent of total project area, assumed to be developed at a density of 10 units per acre. Each unit is approximately 1,500 square feet and valued at $255,000.

To create these proposed values, the developer increased the average listing price per square foot in the city of Susanville on July 22, 2009 by 30 percent to account for “high-quality new construction, access to amenities associated with a planned community and improved market conditions,” according to the report.

City of Susanville Planner Jared Hancock said the initial applications for the project had been filed months ago and the city is working the project thorough the process.

He said the 640-acre parcel is within the city’s sphere of influence, and the city will have to enlarge or build a new water tank to service the development. The project also may require new water wells.

In addition, the project also will need to be connected to the Susanville Sanitary District’s wastewater system, but there should already be enough existing capacity.

The developers plan a 20-year build out to complete the entire project, and they plan to build 100 or more units per year.

District 1 Supervisor Bob Pyle wondered about the demand for these new homes.

“You have to have some idea in your projections, given the economy we’re in today, when’s it going to take off again? When is Susanville going to need 500 new homes?”

“That’s a very good point,” Berkson said. “Our view is it will take at least a couple of years for the real estate markets to stabilize. This is the perfect time for planning entitlement, and a lot of projects are moving forward on that basis … Hopefully by 2014 we expect a slower pace of growth. Hopefully there may be some pent up demand by that point as financing gets more available and there are more jobs out there.”

“How do you determine growth for Susanville?” Pyle asked. “Obviously, you’re expecting more business, more people to come into the Susanville area to consume these homes. How do you project that?”

“Well, it’s very difficult, and frankly we haven’t done a detailed market study at this point,” Berkson said. “I think that’s one reason a component of this is planned for more of a retirement community — less dependent on jobs, more dependent on the amenities.”

“The next question is, where are these people coming from?” Pyle asked.

“I think they’ll come from throughout California, frankly, and Nevada — Reno, Carson (City). Really, it’s going to depend on the quality of the project and the amenities. It’s a beautiful setting, but it’s going to be up to the developer to pull it off.”

“So, you have a big marketing plan to go to other places and convince people this is where you want to come — to Susanville to retire?” Pyle asked.

Berkson said the developer would bring a marketing team in to sell the project.

“Even in this economy, or time we live in, what stands true in business, believe it or not, there’s more money out there than there are good ideas, good projects,” Wosick said. “I’ve done business all over the world, and I know if you present a good idea, a good project ready to go, the money will come.”