Page 6 - The Friday Flyer • October 7, 2016

A-6 THE FRIDAY FLYER OCTOBER 7, 2016 Candidates discuss BLM land development . . .
FROM PAGE A5
due to be presented to Council in Octo- ber or November 2016.
Open space around Canyon Lake is rapidly being developed. Western River- side County is the new Orange County. We must be proactive in addressing this development and its impacts in order to make this a master planned addition to Canyon Lake.
If you have any questions, feel free to message me. I can be found on Face- book at Larry Greene for City Council 2016.
David Eilers
There are two parcels of BLM land. The first is a small parcel that consists of about 150 acres just north of the Jump Lagoon, but I don’t believe anything will be done with this parcel. The other parcel is the largest and it consists of about 600-700 acres. It begins just north of the North Causeway on either side of the Slalom Ski Area.
The west side will probably never be developed because it’s too rigid and most importantly there is a corridor through the land that animals travel through. This land should be left open for bike trails, walking trails and horse trails. Between the environmentalists and Fish and Game, they will never al- low this portion to be developed.
The land that is east of the Slalom Ski Area and north of Station 60 can be de- veloped. I am in favor of developing this land if it is determined to be in the best interest of the City of Canyon Lake.
There is a lot of speculation regard- ing the number of homes that can be built and the amount of the tax dollars that can be generated for the City. I have
heard anywhere from 800 to 1,000 homes could be built, generating anywhere from $650,000 to $1,000,000 in tax revenue per year. No one knows for sure.
The City has stated that no formal study has been made. It is my opinion that a study should be conducted to de- termine the actual facts. If the data in- dicates that that it would be a positive action for the City, then I believe the City should negotiate a contract with a developer to purchase the land, moving forward with the best terms for the City and all the members of our community.
Those terms should definitely in- clude separate entrance and exits to the subdivision. There are two sides to this puzzle. The first side is the City side, which I just outlined. The other side concerns the impact on the POA, which future Boards would have to determine. They would need to determine whether or not to allow the new area to become a part of the POA, weighing the pros and cons and allowing the members to vote on this matter.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email at david.a.eilers@gmail.com or by phone at 949-433-2970.
Jordan Ehrenkranz
The Council has been discussing this for the last several years with various agencies to see what would be the best possible use of this land. It is apparent that housing developments are being built all around us, adding to additional traffic and wear and tear on the infra- structure. The City is not aware yet that the BLM land is available to us. There is so much yet to be determined.
The City does have a responsibility to
its citizens to protect them from others that might want to take away our open space. It would be in the City’s best in- terest to purchase the land (if the City could afford to) and keep it for future development that the City could
control. This would enable the City to dictate the terms and conditions to any developer as to what future development the City would approve.
The City would expect the developers to comply with all the residents needs. Example: parks, recreation sites, open trails for walking, biking and horseback riding, just to name a few.
As I have previously stated, this is an ongoing discussion and my thoughts are that this is still something that has not been presented as an action item.
Randy Bonner
The future of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property in Can- yon Lake has been under discussion for years. The BLM is “an island” in South- ern California. This region goes east to Arizona and south to Mexico, with Salton Sea the largest.
After much investigation, I have found out that there are major misinter- pretations of how the land would pos- sibly be acquired and how it affects the City of Canyon Lake short term and the Property Owners Association (POA) long term.
Once approved, the BLM preference is for the City to purchase the property and make future land rights decisions. However, the City does not have the fi- nancial resources to make that type of acquisition.
The next alternative would be for a developer to purchase some property
adjacent to existing BLM property else- where for expansion. The developer would “trade” that property for the BLM in the City. The City would take the lead on how and when the property is devel- oped – roads, parks, schools, etc. paid by the new homeowners.
The BLM property that can be devel- oped for new homes, and new property taxes for the City is east of the North Causeway and directly behind Station 60. Entrance to this would be roads along Goetz Rd. It would be within the City. For it to become part of the POA it would take a vote of 50 percent plus one of the POA members. Also, it would take a vote of the people in the new project.
The BLM land west of the North Causeway is rugged terrain and not con- ducive for building new homes. This property could be used in adventure ac- tivities in partnership with the State Fish and Wildlife and Riverside Conserva- tion Authority.
The Lake Elsinore Planning Depart- ment and City Council has “blessed” a development northwest of the North Gate. However, the current location could “close” the corridor that allows mi- gration animals to get from Southern Riv- erside County across under Interstate 15 and continuing south. The State Fish and Wildlife and the Riverside Conservation Authority would not allow this corridor to be closed without substantial changes.
The BLM today is pristine. Thanks to the City Code Enforcement for having signs with rules and regulations. They re- moved trash from the BLM, had incapac- itated vehicles towed away, and stopped illegal fishing and weapon firing.
In closing, this BLM property will be sold! I think it is a must that we be pre- pared.
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