Judge OKs Wheeler Ranch park plan
Construction could begin next spring
Residents in the Wheeler Ranch subdivision in Plumas Lake are one step closer to getting parks in their neighborhood, after a bankruptcy judge in Southern California gave the OK Tuesday to a plan to release property for that purpose.
The decision was a critical hurdle for the plan, which the Olivehurst Public Utility District's board of directors approved last month in a settlement of sorts with Wheeler Ranch's bankrupt builder, Empire Land Co.
"I feel very relieved," OPUD general manager Tim Shaw said in an e-mail. "Obviously we were all hoping this last obstacle would not unravel all of the progress made to date by the Olivehurst Public Utility District Board of Directors and staff."
Under the agreement, OPUD will give bankruptcy trustees $2.7 million in property tax proceeds the district collected for parks and other public improvements in Wheeler Ranch. In return, the trustees released four parcels of land within the subdivision for parks, which could start construction next spring.
Wheeler Ranch residents will continue paying the tax intended for those parks, though at about half of what they'd been paying. The neighborhood still has about 200 unbuilt lots, which could see new interest with the settlement in place, OPUD officials have said.
Though some feared another creditor for Empire Land Co. might emerge at the bankruptcy court hearing to contest the agreement, none materialized.
Shaw said the judge's decision is now in a 10-day appeal period where someone could still submit an objection.
"It strikes me as improbable that a person would appeal, but not oppose at the hearing," Shaw said in the e-mail. "Nevertheless, I'm keeping my fingers crossed."
Residents said at last month's meeting they would prefer to build parks more likely to get immediate use, meaning a large park in one corner of the subdivision is likely to spring forth before smaller parks planned for the neighborhood's entrance.
Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ben van der Meer at 749-4709 or bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com. For more Yuba County news, see Ben's blog Yuba County Insider at appealdemocrat.com.
