The Sundance planned community on Beaumont’s eastern edge has one of the few bright spots of building activity in San Gorgonio Pass’ home development front.
It likely will be 2018 or later before other big projects start framing in the region.
Still trying to rebound from the economic downturn, the area has a number of developments on the books, but legal challenges and other hurdles are slowing construction.
In neighboring Banning – where officials said only six residential construction permits have been issued in the past six years – the City Council in September approved the 3,385-home master-planned Rancho San Gorgonio community for the mostly rural south side of I-10. Yet it already is facing obstacles after an environmental group filed a lawsuit challenging the adequacy of environmental review.
The Banning City Council will be briefed in a closed-door meeting Monday by the city’s attorney on the suit filed Oct. 27 by the nonprofit SoCal Environmental Justice Alliance.
SoCal Environmental’s suit alleges violations of the state’s environmental review laws and notes that “mega development” would increase the city population by one-third.
The environmental group is known in the region for filing legal challenges to a massive warehouse development in Moreno Valley and to a Wal-Mart Supercenter construction project in Lake Elsinore.
Banning officials are familiar with environmental challenges, having worked through settlement of two cases challenging approval of Pardee’s master-planned Butterfield project of about 4,862 homes across Highland Springs Avenue from Sundance.
Lawsuits filed by neighboring Highland Springs Resort and Cherry Valley Pass Acres and Neighbors were settled in 2014, with changes to the project, a reduction from the proposed 5,387 homes, elimination of a golf course and access to some undeveloped acreage from the resort for passive recreation, including hiking.
“What we anticipate is starting construction probably sometime in 2018, and we want to start models in the first quarter of 2019,” said Chris Willis, director of project management for Pardee Homes and the Butterfield master plan. Building likely would start first at the southern edge, near Highland Springs Avenue and Wilson Street.
In 2017, he expects Pardee will be working on improvement plans, engineering and architecture with the city.
Banning city spokesman Philip Southard wrote in an email the city expects Pardee to submit a general land use and specific plan amendments that are part of the settlement agreement in a review process expected to conclude next spring.
Across Highland Springs, the Sundance master-planned development started almost 20 years ago.
Five communities are in construction with ongoing sales. At the north end, closer to Cherry Valley Boulevard, grading is underway for a 15,000-square-foot community recreation center for an active adult development phase.
The long-idled Heartland master plan, which dates to 1993, got a boost last week when the Beaumont City Council gave tentative approval to a development agreement amendment giving more time for the 981-home project. It’s slated for the city’s far west end near the 60 west of Potrero Boulevard.
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