By: Libi Uremovic| Original Article at Patch.com
The City Collected $70 Million From Developers For Local Roads And Bridges Never Built
On November 18, 2008, the Beaumont City Council passed Resolution 2008-44 Amending the Beaumont Road and Bridge Area Benefit District Transportation Facility Fee. Read the full Resolution Here: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/documentcenter/view/1380
The Resolution and Record Gazette article dated February 7, 2003 state that the City enacted the BRB Mitigation Fees to pay for local roads and bridges.
The 2011 Mitigation Fee Invoice shows that Developers were charged $7,040.25 in ‘Fair Share BRB Facilities’ for each house built. With 10,000 houses built; the City collected $70 Million in mitigation fees from the Developers for local roads and bridges.
The 2008 Resolution lists $300 Million needed for the following projects:
SR 60/Potrero Blvd Interchange $37,156,800
I-10/Oak Valley Parkway Interchange $27,956,580
I-10/SR 79 Interchange $63,286,500
I-10/Highland Springs Ave Interchange $31,786,500
Potrero Blvd $44,988,300
Ancillary Facilities & Engineering $67,400,000
SIX YEARS LATER:
On September 16, 2014 the Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District announced that they had to acquire Recycled Water from Yucaipa because the City of Beaumont never produced Title 22 Compliant recycled water. The City of Beaumont’s response was to conducted a ‘mock’ Workshop in which they presented a list of future projects which included a $69.5 Million Recycled Water Plant and:
SR 60/Potrero Blvd Interchange $52,400,000
I-10/Oak Valley Parkway Interchange $35,000,000
I-10/SR 79 Interchange $63,286,500
I-10/Highland Springs Ave Interchange $35,000,000
SR 60/Potrero Blvd Overpass $21,800,000
Potrero Blvd Extension $1,000,000
The City listed the same Road and Bridge Projects that were supposed to be built with the $70 Million BRB Mitigation Fees collected from the Developers: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/19290
Let’s Review:
Developers agreed to pay the City’s BRB Mitigation Fees and the City agreed to pay the Developers’ TUMF payments from the Bonds.
The City of Beaumont collected $70 Million in BRB mitigation fees from Developers for local transportation projects, but all money is gone and the infrastructure was never built.
The City of Beaumont withheld $42 Million in TUMF that should have been remitted to WRCOG for regional transportation projects. The City’s defense is that they used the money for local area projects.