• Planning Commission Meeting December 2017

There were two items that drew some attention, though any potential impact wouldn't be felt for many years to come.

But let's start with public comments on non agenda items.

• Kenny Mayes was talking about bad smells all over town. He smelled them on Mission Trail, over by Barons and Stater Bros. He said the smells were all over the west side of the freeway.  

I travel all over town too, but haven't had any encounters with the effluvia he was describing. He attributes it to EVMWD venting out the sewers. Could be, but let's do the math here anyway. 

He detects foul odors everywhere he goes... what's the common denominator? Or in the parlance of tweens... could it be a simple case of he who smelt it, dealt it.

• Kathleen Hamblin asked the planning commission to start live streaming the meetings. 

I fully agree that all city meetings should be live streamed and then archived so that they can be viewed for years into the future (I've been asking for such since 2013). 

Unless YouTube changes its policies, such a thing costs nothing more than the purchase of the equipment, and the labor to run the operation. You don't have to start off with major league level cameras at first. Get the starter package, and then look to upgrade 2 to 5 years later, after it's become second nature.

Where I differ with the speaker is with her other comments that suggest some type of concerted effort to keep the people of Wildomar from having a voice.

•  I feel the residents are out of the loop and denied the opportunity to be included without live streaming. It's a disservice by the city not to make transparency a priority.

•  One of the council members suggested that we go on a blog to watch it; someone who films the meetings here, and I think that's unacceptable, we should be able to have live streaming like everybody else.

—Kathleen Hamblin, Public Comments 12-6-2017

Sorry to burst your bubble Kathleen, but it takes a paranoid fantasy that rivals The Matrix meets Shutter Island to conclude that the Wildomar city council is trying to maintain an ignorance among the local masses. It's painfully obvious that you've never had a single conversation with any of them.

As to the second point, I'm calling Fake News here and now. 

What's with these people that make outrageous claims about people, then don't have the stones to say their names? 

However, if you're willing to name the council member you alluded to, I'd be happy to retract my exclamation of fake news on your claim.

One other note. Bringing this important issue to the planning commission is akin to telling the valet parking attendant that you'd like your steak medium rare. Wrong place, wrong time.
3.1 Extension of Time (Nyiri Way)
I really didn't expect this to get too much attention. It's another of those extension of time requests for a project that was approved before we were a city, but got tabled by the recession.

It is looking to make 7 half acre parcels from an existing 3.75 acre lot. 

Off Grand, about half a mile south of Corydon.

A couple of Nyiri Way residents spoke in opposition to this project.

I thought that's what the Wildomar is Rural crowd wants... large lots.  

They were worried about being flooded out once the homes were built. It sounds interesting on paper, but when you look at the area in question, it starts to tilt to the preposterous when scrutinized.

I used to get flowers from the guy there... best place in town for day old flowers. Funny thing about it, this flower stand was going to be my first "better know a local business" blog back in 2013... but the proprietor politely declined. He seemed to be weary of drawing attention from the city (though he always had signs out on Grand). Link to blog.

Right now it's a dirt road, once the new half acre homes are constructed, they would be coming with a paved road and all the modern drainage bells and whistles that come with a 21st century home in California.

There was also worry that the homes would be on a septic system, but that was proven erroneous when the applicant said the homes would be connected to the sewer system.

Included is the 8 minute video of the item... you know, since this is currently the only source of such. ☺

3.2 Wildomar Trails Residential Project
This was listed as a "Study Session" where the applicant would talk about his proposed project, and then get feedback from the public and the commission.

This project first came to my attention back in August of 2014 when it sought a General Plan Amendment at the planning commission meeting. Technically it wasn't an actual request for a GPA, just an inquiry about a potential GPA... which is where we are now. It called for 48 homes on 15 acres off the southeast end of Baxter Road. 

You can see two roundabouts (traffic circles) in this graphic.
One on Baxter and another on Susan.
Just a concept at this point, not a tract map.

Probably because it was just a study session, but the project didn't have any set parameters. Sometimes it was 15 acres and 48 houses, then I could have sworn it jumped to 55 acres and 100 units.

Public Comments
Surprisingly there was just one, Joseph Morabito (me). Though there are many positive things that could come from this project, I'm always looking for consistency in government. (Don't laugh... well, go ahead and laugh a little.)

Unless my memory is shot, I could have sworn that the city council drew a distinction between zoning changes and general plan amendments when the Camelia project came before them last Summer... especially when it came to keeping Wildomar "rural".

(link to blog about the Camelia project)

I suggested that "it sure would seem hypocritical to think this [project] would get the green light... considering the position of the city council on that other project." 

I loved adding a quote that I'd managed to dig up from the past on this project.

You know you're in trouble when Council Member Tim Walker says, "Miss Miller was right" and Mayor Ben Benoit says, "I'm with Miss Miller here." Referring back to her public comments on the project and the area in general.
 

—From Wildomar Rap, January 2015

The commission gave guarded advice to the applicant that he consider keeping the project in the low density range if he wants a winnable battle on this.

As previously stated, this is miles off in the future. It's basically a nice looking project (though better suited for a less rural area of town). I'm just curious how this will play out at the next level. 

•                •                •

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.
– Abraham Lincoln 

Wildomar Rap is hustle.