Consideration of a Development Agreement for Lakin Park located at the southwest corner of MC-85 and Cotton Lane.
 

ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2022-2248 APPROVING THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR LAKIN PARK; PROVIDING AUTHORIZATION AND DIRECTION TO TAKE ACTIONS AND EXECUTE DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT THE INTENT OF THE RESOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (Steve Scinto, Deputy Director of Development Engineering)
 

All costs associated with the construction of the improvements identified in the Development Agreement for Lakin Park (the “Agreement") will be borne by the property owner.  There is no fiscal impact to the city from this agreement.
 

W/C Lakin 1B VIII, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company (“Owner”) owns approximately 83 acres of land generally located at the southwest corner of MC 85 and Cotton Lane, commonly known as Lakin Park, and as more particularly described in Exhibit “A,” attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference (the “Property”).  The Property was rezoned from the AU (Agricultural Urban) zoning district to the Planned Area Development (PAD) zoning district by Ordinance 2019-1451 adopted on October 28, 2019.  The Property represents a fraction of the property included within the CP Lakin Park Planned Area Development (PAD) dated October 4, 2019, adopted by Ordinance 2019-1451.
 
For the City to provide sewer service to the Property, the Owner is required to install sewer infrastructure in accordance with engineering design plans approved by the City Engineer or his/her designee.  The Owner failed to construct certain sewer infrastructure improvements (the “Existing Force Main Casings”) in accordance with the approved plans and the city is not willing to accept the improvements in their current form.  The city’s acceptance, subject to completion of the two-year warranty period of the sewer infrastructure improvements, is a condition precedent to the issuance of temporary certificates of occupancies and permanent certificates of occupancy for any structure within the Property. 
 
According to the Owner, the cost of removing the Existing Force Main Casings and replacing them with force main casings that conform to the approved plans, is cost-prohibitive and the City has been asked to allow the Owner to install alternative improvements.  The alternative solution involves the installation of a by-pass force main casing that would be put into service if the Existing Force Main Casings ever need repairs (“the By-Pass Casings”).  In addition, because the Owner has a tenant for the Structure currently constructed on the Property, the Owner has asked that the city accept the Existing Force Main Casings, subject to the two-year warranty period and issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for the Structure, subject to posting a cash financial assurance the and completion and acceptance of the “the By-Pass Casings” or replacement of the Existing Force Main Casings.
 

The City is willing to allow the installation of the By-Pass Casings being proposed by the Owner, subject to the submittal of engineering plans demonstrating that the By-Pass Casings will work as represented and is willing to issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for the Structure currently existing on the Property, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Agreement.  A brief summary of the major terms in the Agreement is set forth below:

• Owner will submit amended engineering plans for the By-Pass Casings, which the city will approve upon a determination by the City Engineer that the By-Pass Casings will be an effective transmission system if there are ever problems with the Existing Force Main Casings.
• Owner will, at Owner’s sole cost and expense, construct and/or install all sewer infrastructure improvements identified in the approved plans for the installation of the By-Pass Casings.
• Owner will financially assure the completion of the infrastructure improvements needed for the repair work in the amount of $1,500,000, which amount will be modified up or down, based on an engineer’s estimate of the cost of the improvements, such that the city will have a cash deposit that represents at least 110% of the engineer’s estimate of the cost of the improvements.
• The city will accept the sewer infrastructure that has been constructed and issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for the existing structure following the satisfaction of all of the following:
  • All of the sewer infrastructure improvements in the original approved plans have been completed in accordance with the approved plans except the Existing Force Main Casings;
  • The Existing Force Main Casings that were not installed in accordance with the Original Approved Plans have to be completed and a determination by the City Engineer or his/her designee that the grout was correctly installed and that they can be put into service; and
  • Owner has provided the financial assurance described above.
• If the City Engineer determines the By-Pass Casings will not be an effective transmission system if there are ever problems with the Existing Force Main Casings, the Owner is required to remove and replace the Existing Force Main Casings installed and accepted by the City Engineer, with force main casings that conform to the Original Approved Plans
• No permanent Certificate of Occupancy for the existing structure and no Temporary Certificate of Occupancy or permanent Certificate of Occupancy will be issued for any other building on the property will be issued until either:
  • the By-Pass Casings have been constructed in conformance with approved plans and have been accepted by the City Engineer subject to the two-year warranty period;
  • the Existing Force Main Casings have been removed and replaced with casings that conform to the requirements of the original approved plans, a new two-year warranty has been provided for the replacement casings, and the City Engineer has accepted the replacement casings subject to the two-year warranty period.

Staff supports the development agreement and recommends its approval as the agreement provides protections for the city while ensuring the construction of a functional sewer system.