• Planning Commission Meeting August 2016

The meeting began with the swearing in of Kim Strong and Sidney York as two new planning commissioners for the city of Wildomar. 

Both are longtime residents in the community.

City Clerk Debbie Lee swears in Kim Strong and Sidney York as city attorney Thomas Jex, and fellow commissioners Stan Smith and John Lloyd look on.

The agenda had several items, though none were of great magnitude. Three of the four were extensions of time (one year apiece) for projects that had been approved back in the pre city days.

Another dealt with signs for on-site public hearing notices. 

First, Council would like new residential, commercial and industrial development projects being considered by the Commission and Council to have the public hearing notice posted on the project site.

Second, the Council would like the new residential, commercial and industrial development projects to provide signage on the project site that outlines construction activity information. This is typically done by developers but is not currently mandated in the city’s municipal code.

Sample signage from the agenda packet.

Reading a public hearing notice can be a bit much for motorists to take in while on the road, and the freshly minted commissioners jumped right into their new posts as they showed some concern for public safety with their comments.

Commissioner York mentioned those with poor eyesight and if there would be a place to park so they could read such signs, and Commissioner Strong mentioned the idea of using real estate style signs that have boxes holding flyers with information.

Artist's concept of on-site public hearing notices.

Though planning director Matt Bassi noted that both were good ideas, he reminded them that the intent is to make such signage visible from the road, and that this ordinance wasn't the proper place to address issues of parking.

Thoughts on such signs.

Some public notice signs can be a distraction if on the wrong road. I remember one I saw within the last year on Ortega Highway in El Cariso Village. It caused undue slowing while it was up and it still wasn't readable in the amount of time it took to drive past it.

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3.0 Capital Improvement Program for Fiscal Year 2016/17 – 2020/21
This is the planning commission’s annual review of the public works department capital improvement program for general plan consistency. 

A five year rolling capital improvement plan that is brought to the planning commission so that they can determine that it conforms to the general plan.

Since there were two new members on the commission, assistant city manager Dan York highlighted many of the projects that are either in the works, or on the drawing board, for the next five years. 

Among them were:

• Traffic signal at Bundy Canyon and Sellers
• Traffic Signal at Bundy Canyon and Monte Vista
• Traffic Signal at Baxter and Monte Vista
• Bundy Canyon road improvements
• Grand Avenue multi-use trail project
• Lateral C-1 storm drain improvements (to be completed by Thanksgiving)

A look at McVicker St as it's being worked on.

Vice Chair Stan Smith asked about work on McVicker St, he was told that the work should be done there by the August 15th. 

A lot of work is going on there, raising the road, improving the existing ditch from Palomar to the creek and rebuilding three driveways on the north side of the street. 

Another question dealt with the power lines on McVicker and the policies that control them, Dan York answered it this way:

Let me talk in general about what the city's requirements are for undergrounding utilities. 

One, we have a municipal code requirement that all distribution type lines have to be underground. We have a network through our city that is more of a transmission —larger Kv Voltage, they're in excess of 33.6 Kv voltage. 

We have a substation down at the corner of Grand and Clinton Keith, we have a[nother] substation up at Mission Trail and Corydon. Those two substations —there is a transmission facility that connects those and then they run off up towards Beverly... and they run up Mission Trail towards Alberhill. 

Those are major transmission lines, those don't meet our criteria for requiring [them to be] underground.

Dan York, Public Works Director/City Engineer/Assistant City Manager

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The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.

—Margot Fonteyn, 1919-1991

Wildomar Rap welcomes the new planning commissioners and was glad to see their active participation in their first meeting.