RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - The first phase of a 146-acre development next to Stonehouse Park – long stalled despite being entitled by Sacramento County in 2007– will soon have new luxury homes thanks to the efforts of two Rancho Murieta residents.

Bob and Michele Keil are eager for the community to explore Unit 1 of the Residences of Murieta Hills East and West. The area includes 65 lots available to homebuilders and three custom home sites. The entrance is located off Escuela Drive, and all of the lots are 10,000 square feet or more.

Their partnership, River Canyon Properties, recently closed escrow with Terrata Homes of Texas, which has purchased 31 lots on the west side of Unit 1. The Keils expect construction to begin by Aug. 1. Terrata will offer four designs, three one-story and one two-story, that it will build on already designated lots.

The Keils expect to sell the 34 lots on the east to Toll Brothers Homes, although they are still in the “due diligence” period before the close of escrow. The Keils said that prestigious home builder won’t start construction until next year.

Michelle Keil said they were “very picky” when selecting home builders.

“These are high-quality, respected builders, her husband added. “This is important since they will be in our backyard.”

Both companies have expressed interest in building in Unit 2, with 130 lots, although the Keils are also considering other home builders. However, the Keils will reserve up to 19 Unit 2 lots to sell as custom lots.

Veerkamp Construction of Cameron Park is expected to complete grading within about four weeks. After that, the developers plan to pause work on Unit 2 over the winter, with infrastructure construction scheduled to begin next spring. Unit 2 should be completed by fall 2026.

Michele Keil, marketing manager for the partnership, is the primary contact for both units and can be reached at 916-955-6905. She is currently compiling a list of interested buyers for the 19 available lots in Unit 2. The three custom lots in Unit 1 have been sold.

 “This is our baby. We eat, live, breathe and watch it from our backyard,” Michelle Keil said. “We’re proud of where it’s come, and we love sharing with others and giving them the correct information,” she said.

Ownership

Bob Keil’s roots in Rancho Murieta stretch back more than a century. He is a descendant of Sloughhouse pioneer Jared Sheldon, and his grandmother, Grace Warren – Sheldon’s great-granddaughter – lived in Bridgehouse. The small community once stood on the far side of the Yellow Bridge.

Bob Keil lived in Rancho Murieta from 1989 to 1998, and his parents, Chet and Barbara Keil, moved to the community in 1995. After he and Michele married 26 years ago, the couple settled in Granite Bay.

Bob Keil has worked in land development for 30 years, although the Residences is his largest project to date. His earlier work focused on smaller parcel maps, minor subdivisions and rehabbing “hundreds of fixer-uppers.”

Michele Keil has held a variety of roles, including 12 years managing corporate sales for a national gift company. She also successfully revitalized a struggling Beach Hut delicatessen by launching a catering program that continues to thrive in Roseville.

In 2018, a broker friend told Bob Keil that the Residences East – with its 99 lots – was available. Seeing it as an opportunity to return to a community he had always loved, they purchased the property. The Keils bought a home on Guadalupe Drive, from which they can view Residences East in their backyard.

Several years later, the late John Sullivan – best known for managing the properties of Carol Anderson Ward – purchased the Residences West, which also had 99 lots. In 2022, Sullivan purchased the Residences East from the Keils, but later brought them back in as partners in River Canyon Properties.

After Sullivan died in 2023, the Keils approached the owners of Veerkamp General Engineering of Cameron Park – who were already constructing infrastructure in Unit 1 – about joining them as partners. The family-owned business agreed.

Together, the Keils and Doug and Lori Veerkamp purchased Sullivan’s interest from his estate and chose to retain the name of the partnership: River Canyon Properties.

Bob Keil described the Veerkamps as “super solid people with a great reputation, who are very much into investing in the communities that they work in.” Michele Keil added that their company is also known for its ethical and transparent business practices.

Water Supply

The Rio Oso Water Tank was designated decades ago to supply water to the two Residences developments as part of the county’s original approval process. Prior subdivision owners also entered into a Facility Services Agreement (FSA) with the Rancho Murieta Community Services District to help fund upgrades to the water treatment plant. This agreement was entirely separate from the FSA that Sullivan later negotiated with the CSD to secure water for the hotel project and, eventually, the Rancho North subdivision.

As part of a written agreement to obtain “will-serve” letters for water and sewer service from the district, the Keils have prohibited lawns in the new subdivision to help reduce overall water demand. More recently, they agreed to implement a three-days-a-week watering schedule, with homes in the East and West sections assigned different watering days. This provision, which will be included in the CC&Rs, is intended to further minimize the impact on the Rio Oso water tank.

The question of whether the district has sufficient water tank capacity to serve the Residences has been a recurring topic at several district meetings. At the recommendation of the district’s engineer, Joe Domenichelli, the CSD Board approved improvements to the water treatment transportation system. Domenichelli told the board that the upgrades were necessary to serve existing customers – particularly those connected to the Rio Oso Tank – even without the Residences and Riverview subdivisions coming online. He also recommended constructing a new water tank as soon as possible.

Domenichelli initially estimated that the improvements would allow the Rio Oso Tank to serve 50 more units and the Van Vleck Tank another 146 units. Bob Keil said the district will determine the actual capacity once the planned improvements are completed. He noted that the Residences’ engineer, Baker Williams, is also working on additional system fixes.

Keil added that the district is not currently requiring the installation of a new water tank for Unit 2. He also pointed out that the Rancho North development will likely include a new tank, which would help reduce demand on the Rio Oso Tank.

Bob Keil said he plans to work within the existing infrastructure and wait for the community services district’s planned improvements.

“We are not going to be putting in a tank [for the broader area] as part of our project,” he said.

Michele Keil offered a pointed observation about the emotions that often accompany water disputes: “Jared Sheldon literally got shot over water, while Bob Keil is figuratively getting shot over water,” she said.

Jared Sheldon was shot on July 11, 1851, during a violent clash over water rights along the Cosumnes River, near the future site of the Yellow Bridge. Miners, angered by a dam Sheldon had built to irrigate his crops, opened fire. He died from his wounds shortly after.

Trails and Trees

Of the 146 acres in the subdivision, the developers have designated 66 acres as open space. The project’s design also preserved as many existing trees and as much of the natural terrain as possible within the developed areas.

The developers have constructed a 10-foot-wide walking path in Unit 1 that also serves as a community services disttrict access road along approximately 70% of its length. Designed for pedestrians, bicycles and strollers, the path is not intended for golf cart use due to public safety concerns. It is unlighted, with some sections running alongside steep embankments and others passing directly behind homes. Bob Keil said they plan to install bollards at all four access points to prevent golf cart access.

As part of the Unit 2 development, the developers will also install an 8-foot-wide dirt walking path through a wooded area. Following several contentious meetings with the Rancho Murieta Association Board, Bob Keil agreed to place $50,000 into an escrow fund in case the association decides to pave the path in the future. He said the trail will begin at Tierras Lane and connect with the Unit 1 path. The distance between Tierras Lane and Escuela Drive will be approximately one mile.

Fortunately, there were few oak trees in the area of Unit 1 where lots were constructed, due to the area’s poor soil. However, the developers did have to remove two large oak trees, one of them already dead. Because tree mitigation is based on the diameter of the trunk in inches, they were required to plant approximately 25 saplings for each of the big trees.

To meet the tree mitigation requirement for the entire subdivision,  they planted 100 Blue Oak saplings in a section of Unit 1 where the soil is more suitable for growth. They are also required to maintain the saplings for seven years to ensure successful establishment.

Homeowners Association

Bob Keil said he initially approached the Rancho Murieta Association Board about annexing the Residences into the association, but he was told the directors would wait to decide until completed homes were in place.

In response, the Keils formed the Murieta Hills Community Association.

“RMA is the master association. Our association is allowed to use all the roads and parks, all the amenities of Rancho Murieta. But the RMA won’t take care of our streets, sidewalks, streetlights or landscaping. That’s all handled by the Rancho Murieta Hills Association,” he said.

Bob Keil said they have modeled their CC&Rs and design requirements after RMA’s. He noted that Mark Parsons, the RMA architectural review manager, has reviewed their housing plans, and Sacramento County has also conducted a design review.

“Once we’ve proved that we’ve done a really good job, it would be my goal to annex into RMA,” Bob Keil said.

He added that he would like to see all subdivisions behind the gate eventually annexed into the RMA.

“I think Rancho Murieta should have one single association to unite the whole community,” he said.