Upland Project May Be Headed Back to Court

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to set aside $500,000 for attorney fees for a legal battle over who is responsible for building flood controls for a massive residential and commercial development in Upland.

The Colonies Partners of Rancho Cucamonga and Pacific Development Group of Newport Beach are building a 110-acre retail center and 1,100 single-family homes as part of a 434-acre master-planned community next to the Foothill Freeway near Campus Avenue.

The developers and the county have battled in court for years over who must pay for flood-control improvements that are vital to the project. The cost of the improvements could exceed $25 million, attorneys for the developer say. Parts of the project have been delayed because of the dispute.

The two sides had tried to end the feud during several settlement meetings over the last few weeks. But county officials said Tuesday that the talks have broken off and the county was now ready to hire new attorneys to pursue the legal battle.

In August, a Superior Court judge ruled that the county’s flood control district had abandoned its right to land for a flood-control basin in the area years ago. The developers argued that the ruling should require the county to pay to upgrade the basin to hold floodwater and runoff from the Foothill Freeway.

But the county filed an appeal with the 4th District Court of Appeal in Riverside, arguing that the developer is responsible for the work. Settlement talks ordered by an appellate judge failed late last month, according to attorneys for both sides.

The supervisors also voted Tuesday to hire the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP to represent the county in the legal dispute, replacing Brown, Winfield & Canzoneri Inc.