Builder Owes Taxes on Proposed Housing Site

An Irvine-based developer planning to build 3,150 homes on land it owns northeast of Moorpark has not paid property taxes on the site for the past two years and owes the county more than $420,000, records show.

Despite its mounting debt, Messenger Investment Co. has asked the city of Moorpark to annex the roughly 4,000 acres and allow it to build the housing, a golf course, equestrian center, retail-commercial area and other amenities.

The city and Messenger are preparing to ask the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission to expand Moorpark’s sphere of influence to include the vacant land. If that request is successful, the parties would then seek formal annexation.

But city officials said this week that they had concerns over Messenger’s failure to keep the taxes current on property it is asking the city to annex.

“It puts up a lot of red flags,” Councilman John Wozniak said. “It will slow the process down. It will make at least this council member take a look at Messenger a little more closely.”

Wozniak said the developer’s failure to pay taxes leads him to wonder whether they might have trouble financing the fees the city normally charges as part of the planning process. “I wouldn’t want to get too far into the process with them and then find out that they don’t have the money to pay,” he said.

According to county records, Messenger owes $422,920 in taxes and penalties on 22 separate parcels that total 3,915 acres. The company has not paid taxes on any portion of the land for either the 1990-91 or 1991-92 tax years.

Gary Austin, Messenger vice president for planning and entitlements, said he is aware the company owes the money but was unsure when it would be paid.

“We are being very frugal with our funds,” Austin said. “Right now the availability of capital for real estate is extremely difficult and we have certainly felt that.”

The company is not in financial trouble, Austin said, but has decided to reserve money to hire consultants and pay city fees needed to complete a Specific Plan for the property. Austin said he hoped construction of the project could begin in two to three years and would probably last 15 years.

The developer said he didn’t think the failure to pay county taxes would influence how Moorpark council members viewed the project or his company.

“We’ve spent a great deal of time in the community listening to the concerns and becoming familiar with the issues of concern to Moorpark,” he said. “We’ve established a relationship with the community where they know us pretty well.”

The county gives a property owner five full years to pay back taxes before it seizes the land and sells it at auction to pay off the debt, said John McKinney, assistant county treasurer-tax collector.

Stan Eisner, executive officer of LAFCO, said an outstanding tax debt would not influence LAFCO’s consideration of the planned annexation bid. “It’s not our issue,” Eisner said. “If the assessor’s office or the tax collector can’t do anything for five years, then we would be hard-pressed to take an action more restrictive than that of the agency that is responsible.”

Still, Wozniak said he thought the county would come looking for its money at some point during the development process.

“They can say no all they want, political pressure will somehow come to bear here,” Wozniak said. “That’s a lot of money, the county needs money right now, it would be insanity for the county to walk away from that.”

Told of the unpaid taxes, Moorpark Mayor Paul Lawrason said he was surprised and concerned. “I certainly intend to talk to them about that subject,” Lawrason said. “That’s something that just needs to be cleared up in the big picture.”

Councilman Scott Montgomery saw the issue as one that involved the developer and not the city.

“It doesn’t affect my ability to deal with Messenger at all,” he said. “The fact is that he’ll have to eventually pay property taxes or they’ll lose the land. Frankly, that’s their business.”