Rancho Vista Development

Rancho Vista One opens today in Palmdale as the first group of single-family homes in the 1,314-acre Rancho Vista development, which is planned for a final total of 7,700 housing units along with tennis, golf and swimming facilities and commercial projects. The first phase of the eventual 96-unit group numbers 34 three- and four-bedroom, two-bath homes ranging in size from 1,359 to 1,736 square feet and priced from $93,450 to $110,450. First move-ins are scheduled in January.

Los Angeles County and the city of Palmdale agreed Friday to pay a major Antelope Valley developer $2 million to settle a 2 1/2-year-old lawsuit stemming from a dispute over development rights and water entitlements. Rancho Vista Development Co., developer of the 1,307-acre master-planned Rancho Vista community in west Palmdale, is expected to get more than $1.3 million from the county and nearly $700,000 from the city under the settlement, the company's attorney said.

Los Angeles County and the city of Palmdale agreed Friday to pay a major Antelope Valley developer $2 million to settle a 2 1/2-year-old lawsuit stemming from a dispute over development rights and water entitlements. Rancho Vista Development Co., developer of the 1,307-acre master-planned Rancho Vista community in west Palmdale, is expected to get more than $1.3 million from the county and nearly $700,000 from the city under the settlement, the company's attorney said.

Rancho Vista One opens today in Palmdale as the first group of single-family homes in the 1,314-acre Rancho Vista development, which is planned for a final total of 7,700 housing units along with tennis, golf and swimming facilities and commercial projects. The first phase of the eventual 96-unit group numbers 34 three- and four-bedroom, two-bath homes ranging in size from 1,359 to 1,736 square feet and priced from $93,450 to $110,450. First move-ins are scheduled in January.

The city of Palmdale has sued 18 developers, construction companies and engineering firms, seeking reimbursement of more than $350,000 for damage caused by floods in 1991. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Lancaster Superior Court, alleges that the companies negligently designed and constructed erosion- and flood-control devices. As a result, the suit said, commercial and residential property in the city was "inundated with water, mud and debris during rains" in February and March, 1991.

Gregg Anderson, general partner of Rancho Vista Development in Palmdale, has been named builder of the year by the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California. Anderson, a 35-year veteran of the industry, has spent the past 15 years creating one of the largest housing developments in the Antelope Valley. The 1,300-acre master-planned community, which has been under construction since 1984, has more than 5,000 residents. Construction is planned into the next century.

Los Angeles County PALMDALE: Phase 3 of Rancho Vista Four by Rancho Vista Development Co., 39 detached houses out of 102, 3-4 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms; 1,505-2,476 square feet; $149,990-$207,990; June/July move-ins; open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at 30th West and Rancho Vista Boulevard. WHITTIER: Phase 5 of Murphy Hill by Coast Construction Co., 15 townhouses out of 126, 2-3 bedrooms, 2-2 1/2 bathrooms; 1.372-1,768 square feet; $174,900-$320,900; October move-ins; open 11 a.m.-dusk at 6670 Cozy Wood Court.

In the 36th state Assembly District, which stretches from Santa Clarita through the Antelope Valley and includes most of Los Angeles County's remaining open space, candidate Hunt Braly has been fighting the label of "developer pawn" since the very first candidate forum. But campaign finance statements filed Thursday indicate that apparently only 9% of contributions to Braly came from developers--less than $10,000 of the $118,055 Braly received between March and May.

BUILDING LEADERS 1995 Company Sales in millions *--* Rank 1995 Company 1995 1996 City, Key Officer Volume Projection 1 Kaufman & Broad Corp.* 432 ** Los Angeles, Bruce Karatz 2 Greystone Homes Inc. 293.9 ** Los Angeles, Jack R. Harter 3 Standard Pacific Corp. 266 ** Costa Mesa, Ronald R. Foell 4 Pardee Construction Co. 231 297.5 Los Angeles, David E. Landon 5 Lewis Homes Group of Companies 210.5 210 Upland, Richard A. Lewis 6 Centex Real Estate Corp.* 191 212.9 Corona, Larry B.

For the second year in a row, Los Angeles-based Kaufman & Broad Home Corp. easily captured the top spot in The Times annual survey of residential building in Southern California, building almost 3,000 houses and generating revenue of more than a half-billion dollars in 1994. K&B built 2,946 single-family houses last year and sold all but 393 of them for a sales volume of $513 million, an increase of 18.2% over its 1993 revenues of $434 million.

No Mello-Roos. That's the slogan being used by developer Urban West Communities in newspaper advertising for its new homes in Moorpark. Another developer, Rancho Vista Development Co., is using a similar pitch in its ads for new three- and four-bedroom homes in Palmdale. Those newspaper ads proudly tout "a complete lack of homeowners association fees and Mello-Roos."