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8 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | SEPTEMBER 2019 By Len Tavernetti As we edge closer to build out, it is important to understand the conservation area and our associated responsibilities. This is the first in a three-part series about our conservation area and its associated easement. The series will describe how it came to be, what it means to our HOA, and what our responsibilities will be. How it Came to Be: K. Hovnanian's original 1989 Specific Plan for this development called for 2,454 dwelling units, a commercial village center, and an 18-hole executive golf course. A government requirement necessitates that specific plans conform to local general plans which require an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Since the property was in the "sphere of influence" of Beaumont, it was annexed into the city in November 1989. The city required changes to the specific plan including reduction of residential space by 48 acres and addition of open space. In 2004, a new specific plan removed the 18-hole golf course and in its place created a network of paseo greenbelts and enhanced riparian/drainage corridors for animals and preservation of Potrero Creek. The EIR identified "unavoidable impacts" by the development affecting areas subject to jurisdictional responsibilities of regulatory agencies, including: the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE); California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW); and, because Potrero Creek is a tributary of the Santa Ana River, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board (SARWQCB). Approvals for the Four Seasons at Beaumont residential community are based on the establishment of a 37.57 acre conservation area with an association conservation easement to permanently protect those resources. This conservation easement includes multiple habitats in and adjacent to Potrero Creek and tributaries within the geographic boundaries of Four Seasons. The conservation area also includes existing trails, landscaped areas, and erosion control features plus easements for Southern California Edison, SoCal Gas Company, and an Arizona Crossing, or ford, of Potrero Creek. Establishment of a conservation easement is a typical mitigation requirement and legal tool that allows the land to remain in private ownership but permanently limits future development to protect the conservation values of the property. Some of the conservation area currently owned by the HOA is approximately nine acres north and east of the Trail B extension across Four Seasons Circle. The balance of roughly 28 acres is currently held in fee title by the builder. K. Hovnanian, in conjunction with the final remaining steps to complete the conservation area, intends to transfer these 28 acres to the HOA. The HOA will then own title to the whole of the conservation area. Responsibility for ensuring the conservation area is protected and preserved for its sensitive biological resources requires an entity acceptable and approved by the regulatory agencies. For us, this entity is the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD) (www.iercd.org). IERCD is a non-regulatory local agency currently conducting similar conservation easement services in locations throughout the upper Santa Ana River watershed. See Part 2: "What Will Our Responsibilities Be?" in the October Breeze. The Four Seasons at Beaumont Conservation Area

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