Developer is granted an extension on IID land agreement

EL CENTRO — Despite a Moreno Valley activist warning the Imperial Irrigation District board of directors on Tuesday to cut ties with Terre Ferme LLC President Iddo Benzeevi, who in January received an option to purchase 2,880 acres of land from IID to construct an inland port, the board voted 4- 1 to give him an extension.

Activist Brandon Carn told the directors that not only should they refuse Benzeevi an extension, they should not have any future dealings with the Riverside business man.

Carn said 90 percent of the land Benzeevi owns in Moreno Valley has been and continues to be vacant with no development on the horizon.

He said if the IID does grant him the extension it can expect him to come back to ask for other extensions.

He said what Benzeevi has promised for Moreno Valley has never come to fruition.

He also brought up Healthcare Conglomerates, where Benzeevi’s brother, Benny, was the president before being charged with crimes, including larceny and money laundering.

Carn also called him an unethical person who has a thin track record of following through on his promises.

“I hope you find someone else for the property,” Carn said. “He has not kept his word on anything else.”

Benzeevi, at first, said he was not going to reply to Carn’s comments, but then said he had never met the man.

“We have been out here for many years, but there are always individuals who say inaccurate things,” he said before adding that Carn is interfering with business.

“They have been doing this for years on made- up stuff,” he said.

He added he has brought several projects to Moreno Valley and that the mayor and city council has and will continue to back him up on this claim.

Director Jim Hanks asked IID counsel Frank Oswalt if he is satisfied with the due diligence the board did to look into the developer’s past. The IID, at the board’s request, had hired an attorney to look into Benzeevi and the claims against him.

After Oswalt said he is satisfied, Director Alex Cardenas said it appears the Riverside business man agreed to the terms of the sixmonth extension.

One of the terms included Benzeevi and his company to pay

IID $ 50,000 by Feb. 5 for the six- month extension on contractual obligations. In August, annual non- refundable payments of $100,000 are scheduled to begin.

One of the concessions that convinced the IID board to move forward with the project back in January is that Benzeevi agreed to the six one- year purchase options at $ 100,000 per year, which are non- refundable.

The IID also added a 10 percent deposit that will be required at the opening of escrow, and the $ 2.1 million will only be refundable if he pulls out within six months of escrow.

The 4.3 square miles of agricultural land between Niland and Calipatria would be used to build an inland port project, and the stateof- the- art, mixed- use business park would be specifically designed to integrate manufacturing, distribution and logistics uses and facilities.

Oswalt said Benzeevi must submit a written report to IID on meeting benchmarks no later than 60 days prior to the end of each one- year extension, rather than the prior 180 days.

He must also provide evidence that he has the financial resources to purchase the property and proceed with the 36- month development of the project.

The price of the land is about $ 21.24 million, which would result in an estimated $ 15.2 million net gain to IID if Benzeevi buys it.

IID Board President Norma Sierra Galindo, who voted against the project in January, also opposed the extension.