• Hemet Perps Invade La Cresta

Burglary suspects apprehended

Here are the facts of the case as related from the Riverside County Sheriffs Department.

On 7/27/17, at approximately 12:58 PM, deputies from the Lake Elsinore sheriff’s station responded to an alarm activation in the 38700 block of Avenida Bonita, in the area of La Cresta. As deputies arrived on scene, they were flagged down by a citizen who reported seeing two subjects running down an embankment. 

He also reported a suspicious vehicle in the area. Responding deputies established a perimeter and with the assistance of a sheriff’s helicopter, one suspect was taken into custody without incident. Shortly after, the suspicious vehicle was spotted in the area and two additional suspects were also taken into custody.  

Martin was arrested for crimes related to burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, possession of stolen property and committing a felony while out on bail and taken to the Cois Byrd Detention Center for booking. One of the suspects was identified as Kassey Harris Martin, 18, a resident of Hemet. Martin was found in possession of stolen property and was determined to be out on bail for burglary. 

The second suspect was identified as Vanessa Jones, 18, a resident of Hemet and was determined to be the getaway driver. The third suspect was a 17 year-old female, a resident of Hemet. Further investigation also led to the arrest of a fourth suspect in this case, who was subsequently found in the city of Temecula. He was identified as Andru Trinidad Nolen, 20, a resident of Hemet.

Jones was arrested for crimes related to conspiracy to commit burglary, accessory to commit burglary and possession of stolen property and taken to the Cois Byrd Detention Center for booking. 

Nolen was arrested for crimes related to burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, resisting arrest and violation of probation and taken to the Cois Byrd Detention Center for booking. 

The female juvenile was arrested for conspiracy to commit burglary and possession of stolen property, and released to a parent with a pending felony case in juvenile court.

Anyone with additional information is urged to call Riverside County Sheriff’s dispatch at (951) 776-1099, or the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station at (951) 245-3300.     

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Nice job RSO, now if we can just prosecute and incarcerate this mini mob, that would be great... though with things like AB 109, Prop 47 and Prop 57, there is no guarantee that they will get any real jail time from this.

This got me thinking about the claims of increased crime rates that could hit the area if some condos get constructed on the south side of town. 

With the way that some people in the W can think of nothing other than the much ballyhooed Camelia Townhouse development lately, and how "it's going to cause a of wave of crime" while "lowering the property values throughout the city of Murrieta" (the second is a paraphrased quote from a self declared local real estate expert spoken at a planning commission meeting) I couldn't help but join in the fun with my own cockeyed thoughts on the matter that I posted on a facebook thread.

So, based on the logic of what was said during a planning commission meeting, where it was proclaimed that "Murrieta police stated that if they don't witness a person climbing my back fence, they will not pursue the perpetrator. Wildomar Police, if it didn't happen in their town, they say "it's not their issue."

I guess that means if criminals steal things from other cities, and not just from their own city... then they're in the clear? Not sure what else could have been meant by the concerned resident, but you can see that exact quote starting at the 4:07 mark of the video. Maybe I missed what he was actually trying to convey.

Below is the video where the claims of property values falling throughout all of Murrieta if Camelia is built. That assertion begins at the 4:55 mark. The rest of the video is mostly comprised of outlandish statements made during official city meetings regarding the proposed development by public speakers.

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Desperation is like stealing from the Mafia: you stand a good chance of attracting the wrong attention.
– Douglas Horton

If you're intent on jerking with the Mafia, Wildomar Rap suggests making it the last thing on your bucket list.

• First Responders Descend on Hartford Park

As the sun was setting sirens were blaring in the quiet neighborhood of Hartford Park, which is on the east side of the 15 freeway.

Many neighbors were out watching, smartphones in hand, as the action unfolded. One of the first officials on the scene was Wildomar City Councilmember Bridgette Moore. 

As it happened, she had been enjoying some music outdoors at Teakwoods. After the 4th fire truck went by on Clinton Keith, then turning north on George Ave, not to mention two ambulances, she couldn't resist the call of duty another moment and went to the scene... which was about a quarter mile away.

Mayor Pro-Tem Ben Benoit and Bridgette Moore speak to Captain Griffith of station 75.

I asked Captain Griffith for a thumbnail sketch of the call, and how many units rolled out.

Initially three engines, truck 73, hazmat, county environmental health, and a battalion chief. It hasn't turned into a medical call, so there's no HIPAA [issues]. They felt a little dizzy and they wanted to make sure things were safe. So we came in [with] monitors, cleared the area to make sure things were safe.

Captain Jeff Griffith, Station 75

As quickly as they arrived, they made sure things were all well, and left. 

I appreciate the abundance of caution, but wonder how much a call like this will ding the city's budget for such things. 

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Smiling is definitely one of the best beauty remedies. If you have a good sense of humor and a good approach to life, that's beautiful.
– Rashida Jones

Wildomar Rap is a beautiful blog as its humor forces you to smile... sometimes against your will.

• Camelia Townhouse Project: The Opposition

Still looming above the city council is the oft discussed Camelia Townhouse Project 

In short, it's a project that is set to be at the southwest end of town on the city line shared with Murrieta. The proposed project sits on about 26 acres and calls for 163 units that will also see Palomar/Washington connected to Jefferson, creating a T-Intersection where the three would meet. 

The orange circle is the location of the proposed T-intersection. 

If you're a regular reader of Wildomar Rap you've seen a lot of cyber ink dedicated to this issue. You'd also know that I've done a field trip to the site (link to blog with pics) and have spoken in front of the planning commission and the city council with my one man's opinion against it.

Is there anything new to share at this point? 

I guess it depends on what makes you tick. There has been a concerted effort against the project, and I've felt myself agreeing with several of the key points raised in the past. Traffic safety on Palomar is chief among my concerns. 

Along with the legitimate worries has come a deluge of specious ones. Some are the standard things that every modern development faces. 

Claims of diminished property values in the adjacent areas, increases in crime, less privacy, etc. Interesting points, but based on nothing more than pure conjecture, at times bordering on hysteria.

If you'd like additional details, read some of the past blogs on the subject by clicking the following link (LINK TO BLOG), or at the bottom of this blog where it says Camelia Townhouse Project.

Then there are the claims that can't be categorized as anything but misinformation at best, and disinformation at worst. 

In June there was a postcard sent to some residents in the city. Knowing it takes planning and money for such a thing, I asked 'who sent out such a card', at a social media site where it was being discussed, and the response was, "why does it matter?"

I don't know about you, but before listening to the agenda of a group, I want to know WHO is in the group or who funds it. 

Maybe you don't check such things, but I do. 

If I hear that a message is coming from the ACLU, I have a pretty good guess at what they'll be pushing, same would go if a message was being paid for by the NRA, or the California Teachers Union or the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Since the issuing of the above postcard, it can be assumed that it was done by a new group in town calling themselves Warriors of Wildomar. (Gotta love the use of alliteration)

I'm willing to cut some slack here. Let's say that in the author's haste, they mistakenly described Palomar, which is a 2-lane road in that section, as a single lane road. I get it, a single lane in each direction... but it sounds like the suggestion is that the other roads mentioned were four lanes in each direction. Still, I'm willing to call it an innocent typo/brain fart. 

But what about the claim of 30,000 more cars? That was debunked in the conversation with Planning Director Matt Bassi. (LINK TO BLOG) One person claimed 60,000 cars as they spoke in front of the planning commission (that's in the video below).

Then there is the rest of it. 

As it was discussed at the June 21st planning commission meeting, that road is slated to extend at some point in the future. It most likely would already have been done had it not been for the economic downturn in last decade.

===========================================

Here's the skinny on it. There is a townhouse project on the southwest end of town, and I wouldn't vote to approve it if I were in a position to do so.

Not because of any of the predictable caterwauling about "wanting to preserve open space" or "we'll lose our privacy" because we all know those are just poorly disguised ruses. 

At a March community meeting at Sycamore Academy, where the developer met with residents near the future site, it was clearly heard from the audience:

We'd prefer not to have any project, but if we were to have one it would be rural residential.

There are basically two groups that comprise the opposition

The first is a group of Murrieta residents that will be sharing a wall with whatever future development ends up there. I've met many of them and they have all shown themselves to be fine individuals. People I'd be happy seeing move in next door to me.

As a group, they come equipped with the standard NIMBY reasons to oppose a development of a nearby piece of property. Claims of loss of privacy, lower property values, a rise in crime and more. Things that sound good on the surface, but don't hold up under some cursory scrutiny.

Don't misunderstand. I'm sure that most people, that are facing a similar change where they live, would have similar visceral responses. However, that's why we have well defined procedures on how to handle such things. Which require the arbiters have no direct interest in the case at hand. 

They are charged to look at the facts, and see if the proposed project fits the general plan for the city. If so, it's kind of hard to tell a landowner he can't use his land. Last I checked, this is still the United States of America... though in California it's easy to forget that at times.

Behind my house is a huge open field, with a for sale sign on it. It's slated for mixed use. I fully expect there to be something other than additional single family homes there someday, and I'll miss the open field where we used to walk the family dog, but we knew that was an eventuality when we bought our home.

One person that spoke in front of the planning commission said that she'd been told by city officials that if they want to control what goes on [at the Camelia site], buy the property yourself. Her response was, "We're homeowners, we can't afford to buy the property."

Yes, welcome to real life. That's the same boat all my neighbors and I will be in when the above property starts getting developed.

The second is a group of misinformed Wildomar residents that call themselves Warriors of Wildomar. 

I'm not sure of their genesis, but before they adopted that name I even made a flyer for them to advertise a "community meeting" at Marna O'Brien park about this project. I then posted it on the WR facebook page.

Both groups have said that they'd be okay with single family homes on the site, but not multifamily dwellings. 

Thing is, that acquiescence knocks down two of their key claims. 

The first, wanting to preserve open space (last I checked, single family homes take up open space. This is one of the tenets of the Warriors.)

The second, the suggestion that single family homes would be acceptable. Let's be real, single family homes, set closer to the property line than multifamily dwellings, would come with at least the same invasion of privacy as would condos with frosted windows. 

Here's how I see the Murrieta residents' association with the Warriors of Wildomar. 

It's known as The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That's why when I've tried to tell some of them who they are buddying up to, I get the deaf ear. 

I'm sure that if they could find a reputable group to join forces with, they would... but they can't, so they have to make due and settle with whatever slop is available.

They know that there isn't much real hope to stop Camelia if standard protocol is followed, so if misinformation is what it takes, being pushed by an angry man and a misguided lonely widow from another city, what difference would it be to them? 

If they can get enough people angry, and bully the council the way they did the two newest members of the planning commission, there's a shot that the hill behind Grizzly Ridge will remain the way it has for eons.

It's worth a shot. In football it's known as a Hail Mary.

Is that a cynical view? 

Most likely, but until it's proven otherwise, I'm sticking with it. I see no lasting association between the two camps once this is no longer a rallying point.

I've compiled a video of head scratching claims made during the public comments portion of various city meetings. 

If you spoke some of these lines, you may be making my highlight reel. The comments have been snipped out and edited together. They may be out of their specific context of that particular comment, but they are ALL in the general context of over-the-top negative claims about multi-family developments near existing homes.

You have to watch/listen to some of these claims made by educated adults, to other educated adults. They run the gamut between concerns over stolen recyclables, all the way to rape and murder, all the while watching the housing prices for miles around sink if the proposed townhouses were to ever be built.

  Who are the Warriors of Wildomar and should you join them?

This is where it gets dicey for me. The woman that seems to be spearheading the opposition to Camelia, Trudy Curry, is a very nice person. I've met and chatted with her several times. She reminds me of my kindly grandmother when she was alive.

I can't imagine why she's allowed herself to be taken down the path she's on. It's truly sad. Seemingly imbued with ample amounts of credulity and few signs of critical thinking to counteract it; an unenviable mixture.

Though she's not cut from the same cloth as the long standing cranks in town, if she insists on running with them, she has to expect a degree of blow back.

Aesop didn't come up with birds of a feather, flock together for nothing.

Please, by all means, judge me by the company I keep.

Here's what convinced me that I want NO part of that group.

First, they've proven to repeatedly deal in misinformation —mixed with emotion, and I've yet to see them retract any erroneous statements they've made, or have been made by those in their cause.

Second, I've read many things from their leaders that disturb me, including the praising of Martha Bridges. 

What does that tell you? Those are clearly the words of a severely under informed person. In the world of AM Radio, it's what is known as a Low Information Voter.

I'm sure Ken also thanks her for costing the city many thousands of dollars too. On one suit alone, the cost to defend a lawsuit was over $110,000 before it was done. But hey, that was money well spent... following her heart while diligently ensuring that Wildomar stayed on the right course... right Ken? 

Heck, if you want to be part of a group that thinks the current elected officials don't have the right "answers" or that they "don't make sense", and that Ken Mayes and, through extension — Martha Bridges, are the voices of reason in this town... then sign up for their club. 

Seriously, if you think along those lines, click off of my blog now and never come back. You aren't welcome here. 

This was in response to me telling her that she'd been given false information about the Wildomar Chamber of Commerce. Fault was found with others, but not with the person that was gleefully spreading lies on the internet. Believe me, after this blog, I'll be the bad guy in some quarters... and that's fine by me. 

Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of room for widely varying opinions, but fringe-nuttery simply isn't something I'm willing to abide. 

If you don't like the direction that this city council has been taking us in, then vote them out of office. In 2018 there will be three seats up for grabs, but with the new districts we were forced to adopt, you can only vote if your district is up.

Those will be districts 1, 3 and 5. Ben Benoit, Tim Walker and Marsha Swanson respectively. 

Start getting your candidates ready now. Start making yourselves known. Be sure to elucidate the reasons why you're better suited and qualified for the job than one of those already there (assuming they will be seeking reelection that is). 

It's a real easy job being a city council member, just ask any of them. It's a walk in the park and you even get $400 a month for your troubles, plus healthcare. Sounds like a win-win. Be a new member of the city council, and then you can appoint your own planning commissioner and nix any/all projects that come before you.

Funny thing... I didn't even have a chance to throw in an additional kicker I'd been holding onto. 

I guess I'll squeeze it in here. For a group that is so worried about "high density" housing coming to town, they seemed to be asleep at the switch with what just got approved in Lake Elsinore, on Mission Trail, smack dab across the street from Wildomar. Arguably as close to the heart of Wildomar, only north instead of south, as the Camelia project.

link to quoted article below

Mission Trail Apartments would consist of 81 units in four structures that would be built on a vacant 5-acre property. The triangular parcel is directly south of the Summerly tract.

An 81 unit apartment complex on FIVE acres. That's roughly 16 units to the acre, and I never saw a word from them. Before someone says, "Yeah but... that's in another city."

That didn't deter the folks from Grizzly Ridge. Where was the social media blitz trying to get Wildomar residents to go to the Lake Elsinore meeting where this got approved? 

Could it be that the snow job only works on the most vulnerable, and even Mountain Man knew his act wouldn't work outside of halls of W'mar? Who knows, who cares. 

What you've all been waiting for... my opinion.

I'd vote against this project because adding an additional 900+ car trips onto an already burdened 2-lane section of Palomar isn't in keeping with our city's newly adopted vision statement. 

That's the real deal here, not the emotional smoke and mirrors being bandied about that is clouding the issue.

Are there other meanings to "responsibly grown" and "with quality infrastructure"?

Unless you can demonstrate how the 2-lane, future bottleneck, right next to a pre K thru 8th grade school, is in keeping with our shiny new vision statement — on two counts no less, then I can't see how this project can be approved.

That said, if the developer proposed that he'd be willing to make all the improvements to Palomar upfront (being paid back when future projects get developed), or if other financing for such improvements could be found, then I couldn't see a reason to further deny the project; emotion driven NIMBY reasons discussed above notwithstanding.

For a recent story about the housing crisis in California, and what's being batted about in Sacramento to curb local municipalities from blocking projects such as Camelia, click this link the article. It's rather timely. 

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Is there any threat worse to sanity than the unknown? And yet, faced with the prospect of death by any factor of the known, which of us would not gamble and reach for the unkown, as an alternative?
– E G Marshall, CBSRMT 1974

Wildomar Rap knows that the unknown is best conquered by facts instead of fiction.

• Wildomar Turns 9 in Style

Wildomar celebrated its ninth year as a city with a big bash over at Marna O'Brien park.

There were many vendor booths, a BBQ food truck, and a beer and wine garden sponsored by the Wildomar Rotary Club. In fact, about 80% of the park was fenced off and made into a de facto beer garden. 

Thanks to the many thirsty guests, Rotary will be able to send three more high school juniors to the 3 day RYLA camp next year.

I didn't get a chance to meet the owner of this car. Maybe next time.
My dad has a blue Roadrunner in his car collection.

There was a classic car show with many great vehicles. I had to like the 1968 Roadrunner (I think that's the year) as I spent many quality years —car seat and seat belt free, from toddler to kindergartner in. Had to also like Pete Kee's 1956 blue and white Chevy - that was one clean machine. Relic VW also had a booth and a couple of cars there.

People faced the flag as Jessi Talyor sang the National Anthem.
I've heard her sing it three times now, and every time she has made
great strides with her poise, confidence and performance.

At 6:00pm, still pretty hot outside, a crowd formed around a ribbon cutting in the parking lot, under the water tower. Eagle Scout candidate, Alec Vicnaire of troop 2011, was about to see his project dedicated to the city. 

A peek at the finished project on the left,
and the plaque on the west side of the boulder on the left.

His project involved removing old stones from under the water tower, replacing them with bark after leveling the area, and creating two DG paths to make getting from the parking lot to the grassy areas easier. 

A look at the plaque that is on the east side of the rock.
Commemorating the reopening of the parks that took place back in 2014.

Alec Vicnaire getting ready to cut the ribbon with his pocket knife. 
In the foreground, arm around his daughter, is District 2's city council representative
Dustin Nigg, and on the far right in pink is District 4's Bridgette Moore.

There were two bands that really rocked the house. One that played various covers called Big Truth, and another that was a Fleetwood Mac tribute band called Little Lies. Kudos to Robert Walker for his work as MC/DJ and being the man behind getting those solid acts into W'mar. (If you look closely in the photo of the ribbon cutting, you'll be able to spot him in the upper left part corner... wearing the shades and black shirt).

County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, Planning Commissioner Stan Smith and City Council Member Bridgette Moore pose for a picture before the event got underway. Stan was still celebrating his birthday month. Happy 78th Stan.

I didn't get a chance to take many pics from about 6:30pm on since I was conscripted... I mean, I volunteered to work in the Rotary beer dispensary. But if you're on FaceBook, you probably saw a ton of photos that other people shared of the even.

This was at about 5:30pm, before the bulk of the crowd showed up. How can you blame them? By waiting forty-five minutes people saved at least 10 degrees Fahrenheit. On the stage is Stan Smith, Dustin Nigg, Bridgette Moore and Marsha Swanson. Dustin Nigg warmed up the crowd with his rendition of Happy Birthday sung to Wildomar, Stan Smith and City Manager Gary Nordquist... who happened to work some long hours on his Saturday birthday.

It was one of the biggest crowds to be at a Wildomar park event. There will be another free concert later in the Summer. Be sure to sign up for city emails so that you'll be sure to know when it's coming.

Follow this link to the city's email program.

Can't wait to see what the city has in mind to celebrate the 10 year milestone next year.

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Whenever I was upset by something in the papers, Jack always told me to be more tolerant, like a horse flicking away flies in the summer.
– Jackie Kennedy

If you find yourself upset by something in Wildomar Rap you might want to follow JFK's advice and flick away the flies. Flies basically suck.

• Questions About The Camelia Townhouse Project For Wildomar's Planning Director

A lot has been said about the 25 acre, 163 unit townhouse project that is being pitched by developer Bill Lo and spokesman Larry Markham. Most of it has been badly exaggerated to the point of teetering between misinformation and disinformation circulating on various social media sites.

The single family homes shown on the left side of the image are briefly mentioned 
below when the discussion turned to a future signal light where the orange circle is.

I'm going to break this into two blogs.

The first will be the highlights of a 45 minute conversation I had with Wildomar Planning Director Matt Bassi. I asked him several basic questions about maps, zoning and the Camelia project specifically.

Expect it to be dry and with little (if any) opinion... just the facts ma'am. The other one will shine a light on the claims made against this project, but no need to mix the two here... making it an impossibly long read.

Link to blog about the opposition.

What is the difference between a General Plan and a Zoning Map?

Matt Bassi

The General Plan land use map, that establishes priority land uses for the city. It divides the whole city into land use categories, based on public input from the round-table prior to incorporation. 

The land use map, that's the hierarchy in terms of General Plan and zoning, the hierarchy is that everything starts with the General Plan. 

In this case, it has the existing MHDR land use designation for the Camelia project. That hasn't changed since incorporation, it's been that way. That's why you don't see the Cameila project proposing a GPA (General Plan Amendment) to increase the density.

The other thing the land use map does, that establishes all the densities for the city. (referencing the map on the wall behind me) You see all the different colors.

What people get mixed up on is they think the zoning establishes the density, it does not. The General Plan establishes the land use, what it can be used for... whether it's residential, industrial, commercial. For residential land uses the General Plan also establishes the density ranges. Whatever designation you've got, like MHDR you can build 5 to 8 units per acre, that's the range. It has to be within that range.

The zoning should match the General Plan land use. State law requires that to take place. Now, had the county gone through the zoning consistency program back in '03 it probably wouldn't have been so bad [in Wildomar]. We have a lot of non conforming parcels. Be that as it may, the zoning establishes how you develop the site. It's development standards such as setbacks, building height, parking, landscaping, where the roads should go internally. 

That's really the basic difference. This (pointing to the zoning map) is secondary to that (pointing to the General Plan Land Use map). So that's why, in [developer] Bill Lo's case, [where] the site is zoned R-R, and the R-R is the holding zoning category that the county established when they don't know what to do with the zoning. 

That's why his proposal to the zone from R-R to R-3 is necessary to match the MHDR land use designtion.

We have a zoning consistency table in the general plan. It basically [asks if a] zone is highly consistent, conditionally consistent, not consistent or inconsistent... the four categories. The R-3 is highly consistent with the MHDR [designation].

The R-3 zone allows you to do condominiums, apartments, townhouses, at the density established by the land use [element] at 5-8 units per acre.

In terms of state law, that (the general plan) takes precedence over development in the city.

If someone said, "Well, I've only heard of the zoning map, I asked when I bought my house 'What is that vacant lot behind my house zoned for?' Why are there two different maps?"

Because the state requires us to have two different maps. You have to have a land use, and you have to have a zoning map. That is the same for every city and county in the state of California.

From what you would know, other cities that have been around longer, do they have similar conflicts between the two maps?

Not to the extent that we do, because we're a [relatively] newly incorporated city. I've tried for the last three or four budget cycles to get moneys allocated so that I could do a zoning consistency program.

What that means is that we'd take... the major inconsistencies, which are the different categories, and use zone changes to match the General Plan.

That was going to be done so that the two would match —but they don't. It's not against the law, but state law says you should have it matching. So, before someone develops, what do they do? They're going to have to do a zone change to match that land use, to build their project.

That's why the zone change [for the Camelia project] has been brought forth. If the zoning was already R-3, and the land use is MHDR, all's he'd have to process are the development plans, the tract map and the plot plan to develop the site. 

So then here (pointing to the map where the proposed project is), you said that's —how many units to the acre... 5 to 8?

Area in question is the dark mustard color area near the bottom middle. 
The red has long been slated for Commercial Retail.

This (the Camelia Townhouse Project) is around 6½. It's right in the middle of that 5 to 8. Keep in mind, and we said this at the [June 21st Planning Commission] meeting, that particular site has had a density range from 2 to 8 units to the acre prior Murrieta incorporating.

[Link to blog about June 21st Planning Commission meeting]

What's the cost estimate to make the zoning map match the General Plan?

For an individual application? Our zone change fee is $3577. For a zoning consistency [of the two maps], in the past I've asked for $50,000 [from the council]. It's going to be $50,000 to $100,000 with the CEQA  —that you have to do, because it's a legislative action. 

There are exemptions within CEQA, when you do an [individual] zone change, because you're basically changing the zoning to match the General Plan. But when you do a wholesale [change] we have a little over 370 parcels in the city that are inconsistent with the General Plan.

Somehow I had a bigger figure in mind. I must have been thinking of something else. Perhaps for a complete new General Plan?

No, no... to do a whole new General Plan you're talking about a million plus; a million to two million most cities spend. 

What's the estimate of how many car trips a day will the Camelia Townhouse project generate? I ask this because one postcard that was sent out to some residents suggested that the project would usher in an additional 30,000 cars a day.

A cellphone image of the original postcard (with the pertinent quote highlighted).

This project isn't going to generate 30,000 trips.
(Mr. Bassi was unable to locate the actual numbers during the interview, but before I arrived back home they were sitting in my inbox.) 
The 163-unit Camelia project will generate 953 daily trips not 30,000 as has been stated.

When they say "30,000 additional cars" after Jefferson gets extended, and even if they were to say that the most of that number would be originating from outside of the Camelia Townhouses, I still don't buy their assertion with that number. Nobody is going to use Palomar as a shortcut to Temecula that isn't already doing so... unless you have an app that is telling you how to get around a traffic jam.

[I'm guessing that] where they're getting that number, at full build out, based on standard IT, which is Institute of Transportation Engineers, those lanes can handle 15,000 cars a day. That's where that number came from.

This project will not generate 30,000 car trips a day. That's just the capacity of the Jefferson Avenue/Palomar roadway at full build out.

When will Palomar be widened from Murrieta city limits to Clinton Keith?

As Dan [York] will tell you, and it's probably a better question to ask Dan, but he basically said, "As development occurs, that's when we get the dedication and the right of way improvements."

•    •    •

We don't have the money to go in and just do the widening now. [...] In the ideal situation it would be built out. [...] As development occurs that's when you go in [and do it]. Unless, you get money, like we did for the Clinton Keith bridge. Then you get money from WRCOG or the county to go in and just get the right of way, get the dedication and make the improvements. It can take a long time.

Typically, it's as each property is developed, the city gets the dedication and has the applicant/the developer build the right of way to its full width.

Was I hearing correctly that if the Camelia project had been half acre homes instead of townhouses, the developer would still have had to request a zoning change?

Everyone wants them to build to the R-R designation, that zoning requires half acre lots. However, we wouldn't support a tract map for half acre lots because the General Plan says 'you have to have 5-8 units to the acre'. A half acre subdivision only gives you 2 units to the acre. 

If they came in and said, "Matt, I don't like that land use category, I want to do half acre lots." We would have said "yeh", no problem, we'll change the land use from MHDR down to LDR, which is Low Density Residential — which allows 1 to 2 units per acre, so that it would match.

If the developer pays into a signal light, then how long until the next developer pays his share and the signal is installed?

They pay their fair share when they start pulling permits. When the next developer, Jeff Rhoads who has 131 lot R-1 subdivision on the west side [of Palomar] (link to agenda for December 2, 2015 PC meeting about it), when they start pulling their permits, they'll pay their fair share for that signal. Then as development occurs going up, they'll pay their fair share. 

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There are other funding mechanisms. If we got money from WRCOG we could do that (install the traffic signal). One other option would be to have the applicant pay the full cost, upfront now, enter into a reimbursement agreement so when development occurs, then they pay their fair share, and that money goes to him (Bill Lo) because he built the facility already. But that's not something we can force.

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Remember the Bundy Canyon Apartments (Link To Blog about them), the concern of people getting out of that 140 unit apartment project? Larry Markham and Dick Darling, who's developing that site, agreed to put in a temporary signal. Something could technically happen here. 

Signals aren't always needed until the traffic warrants it. There's a certain level —that's were Dan [York] would know better than me— that 'ok now we need a signal because traffic is too high'.

Does Wildomar need other types of home options besides the standard single family homes?

[With] our housing element, we're mandated by the state to provide housing for all segments of our community. From very low income to the rich, and everything in between. Condominiums generally are not as expensive as single family homes, because they're smaller usually. [...] It provides a better chance for people to enter the housing market.

What demographic is the developer thinking will purchase the condos? What will be the listing price be?

[Bill Lo] said anywhere from $300,000 to $350,000, but you should get a hold of Bill for those specifics. Like I said, typically he's probably looking for entry level folks, first time home buyers possibly. It could be people that want to downsize from a 3,000-4,000 square foot house, and all they want is a condo where they don't have to maintain any yards.

I'd like to thank Matt Bassi for his time and patience with my questions and conversation. I hope this has helped some people that have concerns over this topic.

Next blog dealing with the Camelia Townhouse Project will be about the those that are against it, which includes me at this point.

Link to blog discussing the opposition
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Fear can be a force for good or evil. It can keep us from harm or it can be a malignancy that feeds on darkness and ignorance.

– E.G Marshall, CBSRMT 1974

Wildomar Rap reminds you that fear of the facts, especially when they go against your preconceived notions, is a pitch black cancer that eats away your reasoning skills and halts your ability to grasp logic.