Council committee oversees Meridian Hills
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

In response to the concerns of residents of the new Meridian Hills development, city officials voted last week to form an ad hoc committee to monitor the activities of a company that recently purchased the unfinished residential development from William Lyon Homes.

The Meridian Hills project was approved for 265 homes on Feb. 6, 2002. To date, 72 houses have been completed, including seven model homes.

Councilmembers Janice Parvin and Keith Millhouse volunteered to serve on the committee to look out for the interests of the 65 existing homeowners. The committee will also make sure that the new landowners abide by rules in a development agreement between the city and William Lyon Homes with respect to 200 undeveloped lots.

According to a city staff report, a representative of William Lyon Homes- which developed 65 parcels and initially planned to complete the housing development on the north end of Moorpark- verbally informed city employees that the company's interests in the remainder of the project had been transferred to Resmark Equity Partners LLC.

The transaction violated the terms of the development agreement with the city, which requires City Council approval before any such changes are implemented.

The report also stated that the new property owners told city employees they don't plan to build on the lots they recently purchased for at least another two years.

Since the transfer of ownership already occurred, Resmark LLC will be required to complete neighborhood improvements such as paving, trails, security fencing and erosion control to keep the area functional and livable for existing residents, according to a city staff report.

"We want to ensure that the people who purchased those homes are taken care of," said Parvin. The new homes had defects that must be fixed by the new landowners, she said.

"The same kind of thing happened in my Campus Hills development. The company that developed the homes sold the property, and we were stuck with unfinished projects, so I know how it feels, and that's why I volunteered to serve on the ad hoc committee," she said.