Developer Offers Simi $3.6 Million to Build Homes : Growth: Firm seeks exemption from residential limits. City Council says the deal would ensure construction of up to 550 high-quality houses while bringing in needed revenue.

A developer whose attempts to build as many as 550 homes in Simi Valley have stalled repeatedly in the past decade is offering to pay the city nearly $3.6 million in exchange for an exemption from the city’s residential growth-control laws.

The deal would allow Long Beach Equities to build the homes on an 892-acre plot, known as Marr Ranch, north of the city.

The City Council on Monday conceptually approved the plan, saying the agreement would ensure construction of high-quality homes and bring needed revenue into the city’s coffers.

“With the way the economy’s been, I think we have a little catching up to do,” Councilwoman Barbara Williamson said. “This is a win-win situation where we’ll get some beautiful homes and some funds for city projects at the same time.”

In the coming months, the City Council and the Planning Commission will hold public hearings on the matter.

“The council action is just a preliminary testing of the waters,” said Laura Kuhn, deputy director of advanced planning. “The action isn’t binding until we go through the public hearing process.”

If the plan receives final council approval, Long Beach Equities would seek to annex Marr Ranch to the city.

Bob Friedman, president of Long Beach Equities, said in addition to the cash, his company would donate to the city up to 1,800 acres of parkland in the Marr Ranch area.

“It’s been a long time coming on this project and we hope we’re going to make it happen this time,” Friedman said.

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Marr Ranch falls within Simi Valley’s “sphere of influence,” meaning it is designated for eventual annexation and is included in the city’s General Plan.

Long Beach Equities first began planning the Marr Ranch development more than a decade ago. But just as the project was getting off the ground, planning for all new developments was halted pending an overhaul of the city’s General Plan.

Then, in 1986 voters ushered in the growth-control ordinance, further delaying plans for the project.

Seeking an exemption from the ordinance, Long Beach Equities sued the city in 1988, but lost in the state’s 2nd Court of Appeal.

Under the 10-year growth-control plan, a variable, limited number of permits is available each year.

The permits are allocated annually among competing developers based on a range of criteria including project design, public amenities and the number of affordable units.

In 1993-94, applications for 320 houses were approved. The growth ordinance does not apply to commercial construction.

With the growth-control ordinance up for renewal in 1996, Marr Ranch developers resumed negotiations with the city.

Under the Marr Ranch proposal, the developer would be granted a prearranged exception to the growth ordinance, if it is renewed. The agreement would allow construction of up to 137 homes a year for four years, beginning in November, 1996.

“Basically we would eventually get the building permits anyhow,” Friedman said. “But in this case we would be able to do it quicker.”

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Several years ago the city hammered out a similar but grander agreement with the developers of Wood Ranch, exempting the project from the city’s growth-control ordinance and clearing the way for completion of the 4,000-home community on the city’s west end.

Despite funding problems and recession-related delays with the Wood Ranch project, council members said they are confident the Marr Ranch agreement will be a good deal for the city.

“This is much smaller and less complex than the arrangement we had with Wood Ranch,” said Mayor Greg Stratton, who is helping negotiate a development agreement with Long Beach Equities. “I think in this case we are going for a more straightforward approach.”