This project has been percolating for quite some time. It's been mentioned at least half a dozen times in this blog with the earliest reference going back to May 2014.
This isn't the type of project that will cause any traffic issues, so most people don't know it's under construction... even if they're driving by it.
General area of the project and pictures below.
It's just to the east of Palomar, south of Anne Sullivan Preschool, and mostly out of sight.
It's not hard to dig up information about this project, but I asked Public Works Director/City Engineer Dan York to give a thumbnail sketch in layman's terms about it.
What you're seeing right now is that they're building the 90" section of the pipe, closest to Palomar; and it will go all the way up towards Windsong Valley. It'll run north and south along the edge of Windsong Valley and pick up a couple of different drainage courses. Ultimately it will collect 615 cubic feet per second of water, which is a significant amount of water. This project, we're hopeful that everything will be complete before Thanksgiving.
Public Works Director/City Engineer Dan York
Below are several images. The first is from last Summer, the rest were taken this week.
June 2015 Google Image of the area.
A look at the sections of 90 inch pipe required to finish this job.
A crane getting ready to place one of the 90" pipe sections.
A section of the 90" pipe that is near Palomar.
Another look at the pipe to give you an idea how big it is.
Here is a detail of the previous image for a better idea of it's size.
If it ever rains again, it'll be interesting to see how the water flows with this thing in place. Hopefully straight down to the Murrieta Creek like it's supposed to, and not onto Palomar anymore.
• • •
The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, sticktoitiveness; third, common sense. — Thomas Edison, 1947-1931
Wildomar Rap reminds you that sticktoitiveness has nothing to do with stepping on gum.
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 thatboth 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.
☺
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
• • •
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.
Before 2016 could get into full gear I wanted to ask the mayor, Bridgette Moore, for her take on the year ahead. I tracked her down at a pancake fundraiser, and here is her "snapshot" of what is in store for the city in 2016.
El Niño
January through March will be all about storm prep as El Niño is set to bring us one storm after another. There may be another sandbag event. The costs for each event is about $6000.
Parks
There will be a parks subcommittee meeting this week, Wednesday January 6th at 5:00pm, where the year's parks event calendar will be set. This is a less formal meeting than a regular city council meeting, and if you have an opinion about the parks it would be a good time to get involved.
Among the various park events there will be
Rotary BBQ in April
Egg Hunt in March
Bicycle Safety Event
Movies in the park (not sure how many this year, probably fewer)
A concert in the park
Astronomy Night Star Party
Trunk or Treat
Breakfast with Santa at the fire station
Housing Development
Development will remain strong throughout 2016. There are about 900 single family homes that have approved subdivision maps.
Commercial Development
About 250,000sf of commercial/office/retail development is in the process of development; of which 50,000sf of it will be under construction in 2016.
Walmart Update
The lawsuit against them should be received in February/March. The anticipated construction start is 2017.
MSJC update
Draft EIR in 2016.
The project will provide about 500,000sf of classroom facilities ofver a 20 year period.
Capital Improvements
Bundy Canyon Road engineering design to be completed in 2016.
Collier Elementary School sidewalk improvements from Union to Corydon to be constructed.
Almond Ave and Bundy Canyon (from Almond to Subway) sidewalk improvements.
Lateral C-1/Refa St storm drain (near Palomar and McVicar) to be constructed.
Issues that will be coming before the council
There is a March 30th deadline for city's to have regulations in place about medical marijuana. The last time this issue came before the council, Bridgette Moore was the mayor then too.
There will be time for opinions on this later on.
I just suggest that if you have an opinion about it, you get it honed to under three minutes and plan on attending an all-nighter city council meeting, that is looming in the not too distant future.
Personal Goals
More bus stop shelters and a continued push for additional RTA bus routes in the city.
Continue with CERT quarterly meetings.
Encourage community involvement.
Provide different events than the previous two years.
Though the filing date isn't until July, she's confirmed that she'll be running for reelection this year too.
If you've ever met our 2016 mayor, you quickly see how concerned she is for others. We're fortunate to have such a dedicated servant willing to put her all in for Wildomar.
Even facebook shows how much that Bridgette Moore is concerned with Wildomar.
It's a lot easier to write a Year in Review than it is to write about things that haven't happened yet, but I wanted to take a stab at it anyway. Hopefully, as 2016 comes to a close, Mayor Moore will give us her take on how the year went.
2.1 Resolution of Necessity for Property Acquisition - Wildomar Master
Drainage Plan Lateral C-1 Storm Drain
This has been perculating through the system for awhile now, and finally has come to a head. It has to do with the long awaited storm drainage improvements that will improve the flow of runoff out of Windsong Valley into the Murrieta Creek. Currently, if someone even spills a glass of water in that area, it floods on Palomar in front of Plow Boys veggie stand.
The city had been acquiring the necessary fragments of property so as to install a new Lateral C-1, but hit a snag with one property owner. This project was mentioned in the past couple of meetings, and that it has been on the verge of settlement each time.
Tonight's world record shortest council meeting ever was only dealing with this one issue. The property owner was in the council chambers as was his lawyer. As it turned out, it was all really just a formality, though I had to find humor in the property owner's trepidation as both Mayor Ben Benoit and Mayor Pro-Tem Bridgette Moore came up to introduce themselves before the meeting.
As you can see by the graphic above, the landowner is being fairly compensated by the terms of the deal:
The proposed acquisitions include:
One flood control (storm drain) permanent easement of 0.27
acres or 11,761 sf located along the northern property line;
One Temporary Construction Easement (TCE): 0.51 acres or
22,216 sf, adjacent to the storm drain easement and also along
a portion of the eastern property line. The TCE will be for a
period of four months.
My office and city staff have been in contact with the property owner and the property owner's attorney and we've been discussing what's commonly referred to as a friendly condemnation. Essentially what that means is, there is a process by which the property owner, and the public agency, can agree ahead of time to the terms of a court judgement. That will essentially lay out the terms for the city to acquire the property, but you agree to all that ahead of time. What it does is make the imminent domain court process go faster. We can still file Imminent Domain lawsuit but then skip to the end and have the judge enter judgement that we've already agreed to ahead of time.
— Thomas Jex, City Attorney
The process has been very professional, you're well represented. As Tom [Jex] has mentioned, it protects the property owner and it protects the city. The protections that we wanted and to make sure that were in place and the certain protections that the city should have. Doing it this way seems to give both parties the protection that they need. I commend your choice in council, he's done a very good job.
— Attorney for the landowner
So if everything is so going well, then why are we going to court to follow through on the imminent domain action, friendly as it may be, to acquire the necessary property? Do any of you remember the recent $120,000 payout to the AIPs? Where Wildomar basically had to fork out $200,000 in settlement, and our own legal fees, because of some wording that could have been better in a document the state of California said passed their requirements?
Yeah, people that are willing to agree with each other still have to seek the protection of the courts because of the actions of shady people.
• • •
False friendship, like the ivy, decays and ruins the walls it embraces; but true friendship gives new life and animation to the object it supports.― Richard Burton
It was a fairly long meeting since it was actually 2 meetings in 1, starting an hour earlier.
The first meeting was billed as a Study Session with both the city council and planning commission at the dais. It dealt with frequent requests to change the general plan, usually from lower density housing to higher density housing. The key area being discussed tonight was on the east side of the freeway on Baxter.
A look at the council members and the planning commissioners.
Bob Cashman didn't come to this meeting since his property is too close to the area in question.
A developer would like to develop a large percentage of the area that fronts the road, but to make it feasible he can't keep the lots at an acre. There are new laws (newish anyway) that don't allow septic tanks on properties that are less than 2.5 acres, and since there isn't sewer already in the area, the only way to make it practical is to jam more houses into smaller areas.
If you know me, you've heard me poo-poo the idea that Wildomar is "rural". However, that side of the freeway IS rural and I'm glad that the council and commission seemed to put up a slow sign, if not a stop sign, to just turning that area into more tract housing.
You can see the "Spaghetti" in the lower left corner. AKA Windsong Valley.
Had to love council member Tim Walker's description of "spaghetti" when describing subdivisions. It used to be "cookie cutter houses" now it's "spaghetti" because on a map, the streets make more of a design than empty land.
There was a call from some that if this area was going to be rezoned, then the entire general plan should be redone. Har Har... that's only about a $2,000,000 dollar hit. Even to do a mini general plan for the area in the above map is estimated to cost between two and three hundred thousand dollars.
Now the Planning Department will take what they learned from tonight's meeting and will incorporate it into how they do business.
☼
In the actual city council meeting it started with a presentation. A certificate of appreciation for Vantage Oncology.
Vantage Oncology
In the consent calendar there were a couple of agenda items that council member Bob Casman wanted to discuss. It was about Community Facilities Districts (CEDs). This is a bit wonky, but in the end I agreed with him.
The gist of the argument was that new housing developments will be saddled with two taxes, that aren't allowed to be called taxes, but are still money you owe the government or you face the wrath of big brother if you try and skip out on them.
Some CFDs allow for much needed infrastructure to be paid for over many years, sort of like a bond. Sometimes they come off the books, and sometimes they just take up permanent residence on your tax bill.
Part of these special taxes are to pay for police. On the surface it sounds great. Make the new people pay their fair share you may be saying... but is their share fair?
I don't know how it's fair when a tax is subject to going up every year, that most of the rest of us don't pay, to pay for something we all need (the police and fire services).
There are good arguments on the CFD side, but I can't get past a few islands of development paying many hundreds of dollars a year more than I pay in Windsong Valley. Even their property taxes will be dwarfing mine. Hey, don't get me wrong, I love having someone else foot the bill... it just isn't right.
Council Member Marsha Swanson made a good point when she said that the fees and taxes aren't hidden, and those that buy into such developments will know fully what they will be paying. True enough. Looks as though my house just got a little more valuable by doing nothing more than getting a day older.
The next thing on the agenda worth mentioning was item 2.4
This is about the much needed Lateral C-1 storm drain. There has been one holdout for months. It's gotten to the point that the city has started eminent domain proceedings. Most of the deal has been worked out to acquire the needed land to complete the job, but something has made the property owner dig in his heels.
Mayor Ben Benoit has offered to speak to the owner in efforts to avoid the legal action. Let's hope that works, otherwise the project will be pushed back at least another five months. There will be a special council meeting in two weeks to finish dealing with this issue.
Now for the big news, the news you've all been waiting for. How we, the people of Wildomar, got soaked for $120,000.
Bet that got your attention. I'll give you a brief recap, but I've included the 7:35 min video so you can take it all in yourselves.
We authored a document, that the state mandates cities have, called The Housing Element. After much wrangling, we got ours in on time and APPROVED by the state (a major pat on the back moment).
However, the disgruntled misfits that make up Alliance for Intelligent Planning (pronounced APEs) thought they knew better than the professionals at the state level and so they sued.
They lost on all parts of their suit, but one. Where the judge told the city they should tighten up the wording in one part of the document. For that, the city is now paying the apes 120 large. Well, the money is going to their attorneys, where it goes from there... nobody knows.
Listen to the video to see why we are smiling (through gritted teeth) to pay them that money instead of potentially squandering $400K with further fruitless litigation.
Council Member comments on the item.
Bob Cashman
I think we'll have to pay this.
Tim Walker
This was a hard nut to swallow. Knowing fiscally we couldn't afford to keep going farther and farther into this (fighting the lawsuit). These are the things that nobody else gets to see, unfortunately, with the closed sessions items when we deal with all the stuff like this. So you don't know what the sweat and the tears were [like] in the room to have to come to these conclusions to end up paying extortion money. As far as I'm concerned it's extortion.
What really bothered me with this whole situation is that the judge says, "You just need to prop up this little section, just a little bit more with a little bit better language."
Is that worth $120,000?
Marsha Swanson
This was one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make. When you think of one or two people can cost the city $120,000 when we desperately need every penny, every dime that we have.
Bridgette Moore
This doesn't change anything. Our 700 page plan was approved by the state. We did nothing wrong, this does not change anything but we have to do it (pay the settlement).
(To the city manager Gary Nordquist) Who's the signer on their side?
(Nordquist's response) [former Wildomar Council Member] Cheryl Ade.
Ben Benoit
This is one of those times that you have to hold your nose and move forward.
But if that doesn't make you want to go out and give the nearest ape a bear hug, the question was asked, "How much did we spend on that lawsuit?"
City Attorney Thomas Jex sheepishly replied, "In the neighborhood of $70 to $80,000."
So, because a former city council member can't get over the fact that she got bounced off the council at the electorate's earliest opportunity (2010), the residents of Wildomar are going to have to tighten our belts to absorb this mindless, but necessary expenditure.
Thanks to city manager Gary Norquist's steady hand on the rudder, we can pay this "extortion" (council member Walker's word) and still not have to dip into our reserves as many things will be cut back or pushed to another year.
Kind of funny to think of Ken Mayes' lament during the public comments that public record searches aren't being turned around fast enough... and he suggested we hire someone dedicated to that task.
Why am I thinking that my house would be safe if I were to bet it against a box of day old donuts that Kenny didn't participate in the failed letter writing campaign seeking our $2M per year back from the governor's clutches? I love unintended irony.
Information straight out of the agenda.
The Lawsuit and Settlement
After approving the Housing Element Update, the State Department of Housing and
Community Development certified it as in compliance with State Housing Law.
Thereafter, the City was sued by a group known as the Alliance for Intelligent Planning
who challenged the environmental analysis in the City’s EIR. After over a year of
litigation, a judge ruled that only one section of the 750 page EIR needed to be revised.
The judge ruled in the City’s favor on the remaining sections such as traffic, noise,
health risk, greenhouse gas and project alternatives.
While the City may not agree with this ruling, the City has entered into a settlement
agreement as a means to end the on-going legal costs and uncertainty of appealing the
decision.
Under the terms of the settlement, the City has agreed to:
1. Hold hearings on minor modifications to Chapter 17.305 – Mixed Use Overlay
District
2. Hold hearings on certain zoning and land use designation changes to the Baxter
Village project which are identical to the changes being requested by the
developer
3. Payment of $120,000 to the law firm representing the Alliance for Intelligent
Planning.
It is important to note that this payment is not a monetary award to pay for any alleged
damages. State law regarding the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
requires payment to the attorney in order to settle.
Benefits of Settlement
Entering into a settlement agreement does not mean the City did anything wrong.
CEQA law is technical, complex and unclear in many areas. The City believes that it
complied with CEQA law in all respects, but also understands that continuing the
litigation by appealing is both extremely costly and uncertain due to the unclear nature
of the law in this area.
Therefore, complying with the above terms is a better use of City resources than
potentially paying $400,000 or more to continue down the unclear path of litigation.
The best use of City resources is to end this litigation through settlement and use the
funds saved for more worthwhile and needed City projects.
By agreeing to this settlement, the City keeps its entire Housing Element project in tact
as well as the EIR. Importantly, the City will be able to remain in the 8 year cycle which
means it will not have to spend funds to update its Housing Element until 2021. Not
settling may have caused the City to have to update its Housing Element again in only 4
short years from the approval date – in 2017. Doing another update so quickly would
have cost additional time and expense.
Therefore, staff recommends that the City Council allocate the necessary funds to make
the payments required under the terms of the settlement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Allocation of $120,000
This came at the end of the meeting and I found it to be a head scratcher. 3.5 Planning Commissioner Appointment
I figured this was a slam dunk (good thing I didn't wager my house against an opened can of warm Coors Light or I'd be sleeping in my VW Bug about now). Seriously, why would there be any debate about appointing John Llyod to the Planning Commission?
But there was.
Council Member Marsha Swanson, invoked a quote from local fussbudget Shelia Urlaub, from the special meeting dealing with the sudden vacancy on the commission, where she urged the council not rush to fill the vacancy.
Seemed like a reasonable suggestion, and if a guy like Israel Leija had been the only guy to put his name forward, I can see why it would be met with a big eye roll (no offense Izzy).
Let's all remember that the post is supposed to be filled by an interested member of the community. This isn't a professional position. We have pros in Wildomar, and they make pretty good money as planners. Their names include Matt Bassi, Alfredo Garcia, Mark Teague and I'm sure there are others but my memory is only what it is. The planning commission is made up of everyday people that are willing to put the time in.
Baseball Analogy Time
If you're keeping score at home, Bridgette lead off by nominating Mr. Lloyd, we'll call that a four pitch walk. Followed by Marsha who hit into a fielder's choice, but Bob Cashman laced a single in the five/six hole, when he strongly voiced his support of the applicant. However, Tim Walker promptly agreed with Marsha that we needed more time and more candidates (let's call that a dribbler back to the pitcher with the runners advancing).
That left it up to the clean up hitter Ben "The BenBino" Benoit. I talked to two people that were very interested, they came in and got applications, but didn't turn them in. I don't know what more we can do to get out the word that we're looking for a planning commissioner and John Llyod has stepped up. —Mayor Ben Benoit
I'll call that a Luis Gonzalez broken-bat Series-winning bloop single over a drawn-in shortstop Derek Jeter. Not off the wall, but enough to give the home team a 3-2 win.
Now that I'm done with the baseball analogy, I can say this. I thought the council discussion about only having two applicants was spot on. However, when it was clear that this vote was going to be a yes, I was dumbstruck that there were actually two nay votes.
In all seriousness (and returning to the baseball analogy for a sec), John Lloyd may not be Clayton Kershaw or Madison Bumgarner but he sure is a Don Sutton and a Wildomar Hall of Famer. This one will remain a head scratcher to me.
• • •
Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he's losing; nobody wants you to quit when you're ahead.—Jackie Robinson
In Wildomar Rap's five part series on what does 'Thrown Under The Bus' mean, he reminds you that publishing quotes about people that sue the city is NOT an example of the idiomatic phrase in question.
First there was a brief presentation where Mayor Ben Benoit presented the VFW with a check for $365 on behalf of Wildomar Chamber of Commerce. The moneys were from the Wildomar Night at the Storm game.
CORRECTION: The money was donated by the city not the Chamber. The Chamber had sold the tickets to the Wildomar Night event. It's part of the Storm's give back to the local communities efforts. Without them, there wouldn't have been the funds to be donated in the first place.
Mayor Ben Benoit and Mick Seidler.
Public Comments
My brother Jeff (with a different last name, though it's spelled the same way as mine), along with two of his colleagues (Julie Miranda, Diana Fitch) thanked the city for helping with the Sycamore Academy project, and that a grand opening will be on October 16th.
1.2 Freedom Swing Reinstallation
This item was in the part of the agenda that only gets discussion if a member of the council, or the public, asks to speak about it. Ken Mayes talked about "an arrogant city council" that is going to spend money installing a swing designed for those in wheelchairs. (Here is a blog to the swing's unveiling last year).
I like the definition of "arrogant" when it's used against people that don't see eye to eye with an individual.
This project has had problems in the past, but life isn't perfect and we can either kvetch about imperfection, or we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and make it right. That is what is happening here as the swing will be getting a new home in an adjacent area at Marna (see image).
The plan is to do a dedicated blog about this shortly.
2.1 Elm Street Residential Project
Jumping to the conclusion, this was approved by a vote of 3-1 with Council Member Marsha Swanson being absent, though she did email her support for it.
Also, Martha Bridges, and her invisible lackeys, wrote a letter about this project... smells like the seeds to future litigation to me.
The big hang up was changing the zoning from R-R to R-1.
This project is going to be 15, one story homes on the property. Both sides of the argument (to allow the project or not allow it) made good points. Sorry, but the NIMBY excuse may be the loudest, but it's also the least impressive. Many (most) people that live in the area are against it.
This project has gone through many makeovers that date back to before Wildomar was a city.
Council Member Bob Cashman was against this. He was worried that "this is going to be a community that sits by itself." •"Fifteen houses in a row, all on the same size lots, you're going to have a bank of lights along that [area], and it's going to obliterate the character of the area right now." •"Not only will they not be integrated with the rest of the neighborhoods, because there's just no way for them to talk to anybody in those neighborhoods."
Fair enough, but can I ask you something Mr. Cashman?
I've not been to your house, but I've been led to believe it's in the "rural" part of town. That usually means you don't really have any next door neighbors like I do in Windsong Valley. Kind of odd to be worried if a row of 15 houses "sits by itself".
Also, if I may add, I live in a neighborhood, and though I see cars go up and down the street, there is no 1950's style bond between the neighbors... unless a smile and a tip of the cap suffices as a close knit community these days.
As far as "obliterating the character of the neighborhood" goes... you didn't really say that did you? There are some nice places there, and then there some are junk piles. I'm guessing that those that take care of their properties would be happy to have that infamous character "obliterated"... or at least upgraded a bit, but maybe it's just me projecting again.
Mayor Pro-Tem Bridgette Moore questioned the applicant about if the proposed HOA would be responsible for future graffiti removal (on a perimeter wall). She also addressed Bob Cashman's concerns about how "close the neighbors" would, or wouldn't be, and that it's not for them to make decisions based on such things.
•"It's hodgepodge all over Wildomar. In my housing tract I have a grove butted up to one side and on the other side is another big acre parcel. I think this actually fits in because it's hodgepodge everywhere [in this part of town] and I don't see an issue with the fifteen homes."
It looked as if Council Member Tim Walker was going to be against this by the comments he was making.
•"I have a few issues. Number one, there are too many houses, I think it's too much to put on that row. I understand the economics of doing the sewer and why they did this (planned for fifteen houses). If you look at the 1886 map, they have it all one thing (one long parcel), that's exactly what's across the creek. Where the [owner] took that same amount of property and made four pieces of land. Houses on them with their own barns and everything, all four of them. That's my concern. Why would I want to infill something like this, crowd it in even more, when right across the creek you have four places that are perfect?"
•"My personal opinion is it's too many houses, it's too crowded." •"Other people are coming up to us now (developers) and they're asking us, "What do you want to see when we buy up this property?" Half acres. That's it. That's what I'm for."
Mayor Ben Benoit asked staff for their opinion of Martha Bridge's letter:
City Planner Matt Bassi answered that "our response is adequate [to her concerns] and we respectfully disagree with the contention that we didn't respond properly."
Here are some of the Mayor's key thoughts on the matter.
•"If you look at that [project] map and see what's currently there, and the densities that are there, it fits in with Medium Density Residential (MDR). Most of that area is smaller lots." •"It'd be nice if we could put half acre lots everywhere, and I know you (Tim Walker) enjoy living on a larger lot; I really enjoy living on my 7,000sf lot. My weeding is done in about 15 mins." •"I can see why people would like to live on a slightly smaller lot, and if that's what that owner of that property wants to do, and it fits into our general plan... when it's almost identical to the [nearby houses] that's what this owner wants to do."
At this point, Planning Commissioner Stan Smith spoke as a private citizen. It was like being in school... in a class you like that is. Sharp as a tack and very informative as he was here during the days when the local population was about a baker's dozen. He was filling in some of the history around this project's locale.
As Council Member Walker was softening a bit, a lot hinged on his concerns about the developer pulling a switcheroo and sticking mobile homes in there. Those concerns were alleviated when the developer agreed, on the record, that mobile homes would not be part of it. Though, they are leaving the door open for prefab homes.
Walker then made the motion, which was seconded by Moore, and it was passed 3-1.
3.1 Wildomar Master Drainage Plan Lateral C-1
This is dealing with water drainage out of Windsong Valley. For those of us that are familiar with the area on Palomar, near Plow Boys, when it rains, it floods there. Especially near Arnold Lane.
"The last thing is for us to finish securing all the rights of way. We're every close. We have one last property that we're working through." — Dan York
I asked about the last hold out, but no specifics could be released. He told me that more will be revealed at the next council meeting.
3.2 ZIP Code Boundary Review
This is an odd one. It's also what happens when a town is last to be a city in the area. We have 10 different zip codes in Wildomar that affect over 800 parcels. It's easy to see how there would be some spillover from Lake Elsinore, Menifee, and Murrieta, but there are zip codes from Temcula, Sun City, Winchester and Perris within Wildomar's boundaries too.
I'm not sure how long this will drag out, but the last two times that US Representative Ken Calvert was in the council chambers, this was an issue.
3.3 Construction Contract Clinton Keith Resurfacing
Project
The contract allows 25 working days to complete the required work. Based on
construction starting within 15 working days after this award, construction would start on
October 13, 2015 and the contract completion would be as early as November 16,
2015.
Project will resurface 98,000 square feet of pavement on Clinton Keith
Road between Stable Lanes Way and George Avenue. Work will include placement of
road resurfacing, base repair, and traffic striping.
Please call City Engineer Dan York and ask him to tell you about the polymer modified emulsion that's in the liquid asphalt for this project. "It's really cool stuff" and he'd be happy to tell you about it.
☺
3.4 Hidden Springs Traffic Signal Modification
This is the most important item in my opinion. For those that either live in Windsong Valley, use the Sater Bros shopping area, or the shopping area on the south side of Clinton Keith we've come to loathe that intersection.
If you are traveling south on Hidden Springs and you need to either go straight or turn left, it's a nightmare since there isn't a dedicated turn light. Add to that, the intersection isn't flat, and you have a ready made blind spot.
If you're traveling north on Hidden Springs, leaving the dentist or Tacos Tijuana perhaps, then you hope and pray that those heading south and turning left onto Clinton Keith know that you have the right of way when going straight.
This is the next best thing to when they put the stop sign in at the other end of Hidden Springs where it tees into Catt Rd. This should be done by mid December. The reason this wasn't done concurrently is due to hang ups trying to deal with CalTrans.
3.5 Grand Avenue Bike Lanes and Multi-Purpose Trail Update
This is still a ways off. Earliest start date would be Spring of 2016. It'll be done in several phases and I liked the new edition of the multi-purpose trail on the west side of Grand. Tonight's action was just for the city council to receive the report and file it.
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