Developer unveils new version of Lilac Hills Ranch, but the density remains the same


Lilac Hills Ranch has been revamped and unveiled as the county’s “first carbon-neutral” development.

The development’s number of units remains the same as the project that voters defeated by a margin of two to one in November 2016. It has a different developer, however, Ranch Capital, rather than the Accretive Group, although Ranch Capital was always a backer of Accretive.  Project Manager is now Valley Center resident Jon Rilling.

As before, the density is 1,746 and that includes 468 for 55 plus residents/age restricted. The new plan includes numerous housing types including homes, townhomes, mixed-use, etc. “The majority of the homes will range from the $300,000s to the $600,000s for working families,” said a spokesman.

The project would still require a general plan amendment from the Board of Supervisors.  Although the voters rejected the project in 2016, nothing prevents the developer from resubmitting it in a different form.

Asked about the density, Sam Hartman, vice president for Ranch Capital, which has replaced Accretive and is now heading up the project told The Roadrunner: “The density is unchanged because lowering it would not help solve our growing housing crisis and also because the county general plan calls for a county of villages. If we decreased the density, the community would lose its Village identity and be reduced to a generic subdivision of tract homes. The resulting community would not be a vibrant, walkable Village and would not have sufficient population to support community benefits that are included in the new Lilac Hills Ranch, like a walkable town center and the new school. There is no other place like this. We will be setting a new standard for development and place making. Also, fewer homes here means more working families will be forced to move to Riverside County, for example, adding more traffic to our roads and more pollution to our air.”

In a press release this week the developer announced: “Led by a new development team, the new Lilac Hills Ranch includes a new K-8 school, a new or expanded fire station, more than two dozen road improvements, over 16 miles of trails, 11 parks, and solar panels and electric vehicle chargers with every home – all anchored by a vibrant town center. The community will be San Diego County’s first New Village, adding attainable homes, jobs and public amenities in a walkable layout. The new Lilac Hills Ranch includes more than three dozen new features and community benefits, including every recommendation made by county planning officials.”

The new Lilac Hills Ranch includes a new K-8 school, new or expanded fire station, dozens of local road improvements and other amenities.

According to the developer, “The community has been designed as the first carbon-neutral Village in the county, meaning that features like solar panels on every home, electric vehicle charging stations in every garage, and investments in renewable resources will reduce all greenhouse gas emissions to zero.”

According to the developer’s press release, “Located near existing services, the new Lilac Hills Ranch is situated along the North County Interstate-15 growth corridor and will help address our region’s growing housing crisis. With homes starting in the $300,000 range, the community will make a significant contribution to attainable housing supply in San Diego County. The new Lilac Hills Ranch is ideally situated for working families with daily commutes to jobs in North County, Escondido and San Diego. Additionally, the community includes independent and assisted living facilities for seniors and more than a dozen different housing types, including townhomes, condos, attached, detached and mixed-use.”

The press release continues, “The new Lilac Hills Ranch is designed to meet the highest fire protection standards in the county. The project will provide a new or expanded fire station that will ensure emergency responders can reach every home in the community in less than 5 minutes. The community will pay more than $1.3 million annually to the Deer Springs Fire Protection District. The funds will benefit the local district and strengthen the regional fire protection network, making North County safer. The District has approved the community’s fire protection plan.”

The new Lilac Hills Ranch is designed as the first community to meet the San Diego County’s standards for New Villages, “which is the highest standard a project can achieve under the County’s General Plan,” says the release.  The project will feature a town center with retail that links homes with amenities within a 10-minute walk from each household. The community also includes more than 200 acres of parks and open space – more than twice the size of the San Diego Zoo, according to the developer.

“Lilac Hills Ranch is the first New Village in San Diego County, meaning it brings investment in public safety to North County, investment in new public spaces like parks and retail, and needed housing,” said Larry Hershfield, CEO of Ranch Capital, LLC.

The new development team, directed by Hershfield and Sam Hartman with Valley Center resident Jon Rilling serving as the project manager, says it is committed to making more than two dozen improvements to roads and intersections outside of the project, fixing existing safety hazards and blind curves in North County. These safety improvements are in addition to the community’s transportation features designed to reduce vehicle miles traveled and ease traffic on regional roads and freeways.

According to the developer “The new development team leading Lilac Hills Ranch has also made the community a water-neutral project, meaning it will not contribute to local drought conditions and will actually use less water once completed than the site currently uses.

“We have refined and changed this plan to respond to the concerns of the community, and we are very excited to present a new plan for Lilac Hills Ranch that includes more than three dozen new features,” Rilling said. “This is not just a collection of homes, this is a complete Village that is one hundred percent carbon neutral. It’s what place making is all about – creating a safe, walkable community that will set a new standard for development.”

More information on the new Lilac Hills Ranch is available at www.lilachillsranch.com

Official Press Release: Read Here

6 responses to “Developer unveils new version of Lilac Hills Ranch, but the density remains the same”

  1. Denise Patey says:

    Crazy! I’ll never get down Cr. R Dr. without stop and go traffic if this happens. Can you imagine the problems getting on the 15? I thought this statement was interesting. “Also, fewer homes here means more working families will be forced to move to Riverside County, for example, adding more traffic to our roads and more pollution to our air.”
    Less homes equals more traffic here? I understand what he is trying to say, but, it makes no sense. The area should stay rural. Lots should all have some acreage.

  2. Enrico Ferro says:

    Another reason to vote for Jerry Kern and not Jim Desmond

  3. C Biland says:

    Stop this greedy attempt to once again circumvent what people have already overwhelmingly spoken out against. The sugar coated descriptions of a completely carbon neutral community are insulting to our intelligence. We have already sacrificed the east side of our beautiful town to development. This will simply open the floodgates. Pretty soon it will look like Temecula. Traffic, Taco Bell homogeneous aesthetics and a loss of irreplaceable habitat. No thank you. Get creative and come up with better solutions. We’re smarter than this.

    • Deborah Russell says:

      Exactly the reason I would rather pay a higher price and have open land, than to live in an area as populated as Temecula. That turned into a nightmare. SAVE OUR OPEN LAND!!!!!!!!!

  4. Kim Smiley says:

    I’m wondering where they will get their water?
    The more we develop, the drier it gets because the developed areas heat the land, which pushes the storms to the north. That’s what happened this winter according to a weather forecaster I heard being interviewed on the radio this January.

  5. Deborah Russell says:

    So, according to this article, if you do the math, $1.3 million divided by the 1746 new homes means that each homeowner is paying $750 yearly for fire protection!!!! And that is still no guarantee that in a Santa Ana Fire, that your house will remain standing. This is such a misguided and misleading article. I so agree with all the previous comments. Sounds good on the outside but it is DEFINITELY NOT what the county voted for and am so disgusted that anyone would try to undermine that vote and proceed.

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