Riverside County plans for livable communities:  The Riverside County Planning Department presented its plan to create livable communities in the unincorporated areas of Riverside County at a joint workshop for the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and the Riverside County Planning Commission on October 16, 2006.

The three implementation areas for this plan are:

ü      Lakeview Nuevo.

ü      South Valley in the Coachella Valley

ü      Ethanac Road corridor along I-215.

Lakeview Nuevo

For Lakeview Nuevo, six large specific plans would work together on planning issues covering:

• Protection of rural communities through the preparation of design guidelines.
• A detailed amendment of the General Plan Circulation Element for needed roadway improvements.
• A Community Facilities Plan providing the infrastructure needed for the area.
• Job/housing balance analysis and fiscal analysis.
• Community separators.
• Transit integrated into land use and circulation planning.

South Valley

The County planning staff has been working to develop a comprehensive implementation program which will ensure that the area developers work together to identify, fund, and construct the land use, transportation, and community facility needs of the area.  The outcomes of this work effort include:

v      Update of the County’s land use, circulation, recreation, and open space components of the Eastern Coachella Valley Area Plan.

v      Development of a community facilities phasing and funding program to ensure that necessary community facilities are provided to keep pace with future development.

v      Preparation of design guidelines for new developments that identify and protect the equestrian/agricultural lifestyles of the existing communities.

v      Community separators and transit integrated, and jobs/housing balance analysis.

Ethanac Corridor

More commercial land is designated for commercial use along this corridor in the Riverside County General Plan than is actually demanded.  Land uses would be segregated along the corridor.  Otay Mesa provides the model of high density, transit-oriented development to be used for this area. (Property Owners Association of Riverside County)

Safety Tip of the Week:  Help clients protect their belongings.  Remind clients who are selling that strangers will be walking through their home.  Tell them to put any valuables in a secure hiding place.  This includes prescription drugs.

Study finds many multi-species conservation plans lack sound science according to a recent study of 22 multi-species habitat conservation plans in California and five other states by researchers from San Diego State University and University of California, Davis found that, on average, 41 percent of plants and animals covered in such plans have not been proved to exist in the designated areas.  In addition, imperiled species covered under multi-species plans were generally less likely to be protected than species covered by their own specific plans. (Property Owners Association of Riverside County)

The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), which provides technical support to the tax-writing committees, has provided the Senate Finance Committee with eight recommendations for new information reporting.  The recommendations are all designed to close the so-called “tax gap” – the difference between what tax is owed and the amount actually collected.  Two of the eight would apply directly to real estate.

The first would require that state and local government taxing authorities or mortgage service providers report to homeowners and to the IRS the amount of property tax payable each year.  Under current law, many taxpayers erroneously deduct user and fees and special assessments.  The second would expand current mortgage interest reporting on Form 1098.  Under current law, only gross interest amounts are reported.  JCT recommends that the information be expanded to reflect whether the mortgage is the original one or a refinancing and to separately state the amounts of any points paid in conjunction with a refinancing.

These are recommendations only and are not reflected in any bill.  They are likely to be considered in 2007. (NAR)

Richard Tegley is a Realtor® and President of the Multi-Regional Multiple Listing Service Inc., (MRMLS); State Director of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and National Director of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Richard can be reached at (951) 533-9340 or email Tegley@surfcity.net

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