Who Can You Trust? Could This Happen In Your Backyard?

WITH ANNEXATION, LAKE HAVASU CITY STANDS TO LOSE:

- Future Developers and Future Master-Planned Communities
- Future Home Builders and Property Investors

When a master-planned community is initially established, commitments and promises are made; agreements between developers, cities, state and/or federal entities and prospective home-land buyers are created.

This was the case when The Refuge community was developed in 2002.  Because of its unique location abutting the National Wildlife Refuge, even more stringent requirements were established (to be outlined in a future posting). 

Home builders and lot investors in The Refuge trusted that these agreements would “run with the land”, particularly with the very specific commitments outlined on the final plat map and original patent on this land.

In America, a “trust deed” is what you receive when you purchase land.  This “deed” holds within it the “trust” we all depend on as we move forward into otherwise uncertain futures.  For the home-land purchasers in The Refuge, these trust deeds included written assurances that now affect the very land attempting to be annexed and converted to an RV park. But those original assurances guaranteed that this particular land would remain an “open space” championship golf course and as such would remain an “enduring feature” of the community.  This was part of original commitment made by governmental authorities and Refuge home builders and investors relied on those “commitments.”

But what happens when an opportunistic and predatory investor comes along and changes a master-planned community by ignoring those original commitments?

In America, land use laws protect property owners from this type of shell game.  Investors and home builders must have assurances that their properties will remain intact…without that, future building suffers. If such builders sense that the rug could be pulled out from under them at any moment with governmental commitments simply set aside…who in their right mind would invest in such a place?

If Lake Havasu City officials agree to this partial annexation thus allowing the Aldridges to disregard these original commitments and replace an Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course with an RV park, what happens to future developer’s or investor/home builder’s trust? What happens to our future? 

COULD THIS HAPPEN IN YOUR BACKYARD?