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I'll keep this blog short and to the point (beware, it's all opinion).
First, take a gander at only a smattering of what is being floated up in Sacramento aimed at removing local control.
Think of Tres Lagos and The Cottages (recently rebranded) in Sedco the city had no say in.
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| Cal Cities is opposing this bill. |
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| Scott Weiner is truly one of the worst people to ever serve in the California Senate. |
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| Imagine 7 stories of high density being shoved into our city. |
Did someone say carwash? lol
Meeting Recap
Item 2.1 will allow Stiiizy to open a second location. They are going into the storefront formerly operated by Culture Cannabis at the corner of Bundy Canyon and Mission Trail.
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| The location is within the yellow square. |
Item 3.1
Wildomar Crossings Retail Project first came onto the radar in very early 2018. Originally it was going to bring in three large national chains: Wendy's, Autozone, and Dollar Tree.
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| This project saw large attendance at planning and city council meetings back in 2018. |
Link to 2018 blog regarding this development
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| If by May of next year, the applicant doesn't begin construction, all the work leading to this point becomes null and void. |
Item 3.2 Clinton Keith Marketplace Retail Center - EOT #1
I'm less familiar with this development as it didn't need to come before the city council. I am going to ask that this come before the city council after watching the video of the meeting.
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| Here's a mashup of the site map and Google maps. |
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| The video of the meeting was interesting. It's less than 30 minutes. I suggest watching it to get all the info. Link at bottom of the blog. |
The meeting started off with a goodbye to retiring Community Development Director (formerly: Planning Director) Matt Bassi. He's been with Wildomar for 14 years and has done a great job for our young city.
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| The city council bid farewell to Community Development Director Matt Bassi. Joseph Morabito is pointing to the spot he used to report from when he was the resident blogger. (Sorry for speaking in the third person) lol |
Meeting Recap
Not a lot of sexy headlines from this meeting, but let me share a few nuggets just the same.
It was good to hear from our code enforcement team. They've been on the job about five years now and for those of us keeping an eye on such things... it's a night and day difference.
There are several different ways to contact code enforcement. The easiest is through email: codenf@wildomar.gov
Use this link to access the entire 19 slide presentation
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| If you see something, say something. Don't wait for others to let the city know of an issue, you do it. Remember, it's better to have multiple reports than no reports. |
Item 1.4 Bundy Canyon Road Widening Project (West of I-15)
The City is prepared to move forward with the design of the Project, which will include widening Bundy Canyon Road from two lanes to four lanes and constructing bike lanes, sidewalks, and traffic signals. Staff is currently preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the design of the Project.
It's very early in the process, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
1.7 The Nature Education Foundation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for The Kid's Ride into Nature Car Show May (10am to 3pm)
(From the agenda) This initiative seamlessly aligns with the City’s ongoing commitment to fostering community engagement, promoting cultural enrichment, and providing unique experiences for residents.
As a free public event, it invites attendees to immerse themselves in history by dressing in their favorite time period, creating a dynamic and interactive atmosphere.
With an anticipated attendance of over 1,500 guests during the five-hour event, this gathering presents a valuable opportunity for community engagement.
Attendees will enjoy diverse activities, including a curated car show, live music, a vibrant selection of food and specialty vendors, and a dedicated children’s play zone.
Save the date, and be on the lookout for more information as we get closer to May.
Item 2.1 Proposed Revised Fee Schedule for the Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee Program
TUMF is collected and administered by WRCOG (Western Riverside Council of Governments) and in short, TUMF ensures that new development pays its fair share for the increased traffic that it creates.
The rates needed to be adjusted up and from a flat rate to a sliding scale due to recent legislation out of Sacramento.
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| I'm curious if this will be enough to encourage building smaller homes or not. We shall see. |
Anytime bonds are listed on the agenda I want to get information to the taxpayers what that entails. Short answer, these are not paid by Wildomar.
From the agenda packet:
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact to the City of Wildomar.
The cost of financing, staff administration, and the debt service on the bonds will be paid through Special Taxes levied within CFD 20222 (Horizon Place.) The bonds are not obligations of the City, but are rather secured by the Special Taxes of CFD 2022-2.
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| The owners of Horizon Place will be paying these bonds, not the average Wildomar Taxpayer. |
The other items of note came in the city manager's report
1. Planning Commission Alternate
The first was regarding the consideration of adding an alternate planning commissioner. Without getting too deep into storytime here, I'd heard about the concept through my dad who recently was appointed as an alternate on the planning commission in his Arizona city.
If you're interested in the details of the city manager's comments, cue up the video and listen. I'm sure that it's under three minutes.
The bottom line is that I believe having an alternate planning commissioner could be a valuable tool if there was a ton of work on the horizon (Imagine the Southwest region in the late 1980s early 1990s).
We're past the boom times of the past, and we've never had to cancel a planning commission meeting due to a lack of a quorum. It would take a lot of legal work (money) to research and craft an ordinance so I withdrew my future agenda item.
As in the words of Councilman Dustin Nigg, the juice wouldn't be worth the squeeze.
2. Facebook Streaming
I noticed that many other local cities have their meetings available on Facebook live stream. I asked for the city manager to research how they pull it off. I'm happy to report that in the next few months (perhaps July) Wildomar city council meetings should be available for viewing on Facebook.
The current method is very good, but it's not as easy to maneuver as facebook, especially on a phone.
3. SCAQMD Rules 1111 and 1121
These rules, if adopted, would essentially outlaw gas appliances in most circumstances. I don't just mean in new construction, but also if your stove, water heater or HVAC needed replacing.
I asked that we add this item to the agenda so that the council have time to send a letter of opposition to the AQMD. I'm not so starry-eyed as to think our letter will be what breaks through the cloudy thinking of the unelected body of the AQMD, but I didn't want us sitting this out... plus Lake Elsinore had already sent a letter of opposition.
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| Wildomar is akin to the little boy in Horton Hears a Who. |
The Mayor will be sending a letter of opposition on the city's behalf.
UPDATE/CORRECTION
It was brought to my attention that these two rules do NOT mention stoves and ovens. However, the general consensus is that once the rules regarding water heaters and HVAC units are approved, they will open the path to banning other gas appliances.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Threat of Gas Appliance BanThe South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) is taking steps to ban gas appliances - starting with furnaces and water heaters in 2026! As a result, gas furnaces, stoves and water heaters are in the regulatory “crosshairs” at SCAQMD, and regulators want to force property owners to start replacing gas models with all electric heaters and water heaters starting in 2026, and later eventually ovens and other appliances.—Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, Feb 13, 2025
The following link will take you to the full opinion.
https://members.aagla.org/news/important-notice-threat-of-gas-appliance-ban
Rare news out of the Cemetery District meeting
The topic of graveside services (something currently forbidden) was discussed and the five trustees (the city council moonlights as cemetery trustees for about three minutes each month) directed staff to get this option moving forward.
It may be at an additional cost, and that's ok, we just want the option available.
One of the longer meetings in the history of Wildomar... it lasted until past 9:30pm (If council members from other cities read that they'd be rolling their eyes since most would love for their twice-monthly meetings to end that early).
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| If you're a hater who doesn't like the new signs... don't look at them as you drive by them. |
I have several headlines for you but not really enough time to get into any of them... which means you won't have to read through a lot of my usual noise to get to a few nuggets of information.
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| Plan your route accordingly. |
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| Well, that's a welcomed relief (as a soupçon of sarcasm is noted in the delivery accompanied by an eyeroll). |
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| Standing conventional wisdom on its head one slide after another. |
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| 163-unit, gated townhouse-condo community on the city line with Murrieta where Palomar St runs into Washington Ave. |
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| Let's name this park... actually, that is something coming to the city council soon. Be part of the process. |
*If you buy one of those new homes off of Palomar in the Avalino development.
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| Measure T is asking for $28 per $100k of assessed value. |
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| These are my most recent property taxes. I can only imagine how much higher the taxes a newer home, sold recently must be... and that's not factoring in the crazy new insurance rates or HOA fees. |
Though I voted against Measure V, and will be voting against Measure T (knowing full well that my fellow residents love raising their own taxes every chance they get), I'm already prepared to shell out another $76.69 per year.
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| A lot of money is going into this campaign. Don't worry Pro-Measure T peeps, Californians love higher taxes, and with the paltry 55% threshold to get over, it's a lead pipe cinch. |
In preparation for this blog, I went and read my opinions the last time LEUSD asked for $100,000,000 from the property taxpayers (2016), and my opinions really haven't changed on the subject.
Link to 2016 blog regarding LEUSD's previous bond
There were a couple of images I created for that blog that I'll reuse here since they are still applicable and make the point.
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| If you vote against school bonds, you're a big meanie! (It's always with the heartstrings to get into your wallet) |
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| Sometimes it's just fine to not try and keep up with the Joneses. |
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| Do what the old Washington Senators fans used to do when reading the standings... turn it upside down and you'll see that we are actually doing better than all the others listed. |
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| Maybe all these NEW taxes are something that you welcome. I just wasn't raised that way. |
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| There is something about qualifying for matching grants if this is passed. Just another way the state jerks around with the voters. Giving us "damned if you do, damned if you don't" options at every turn. |
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| Lucky me, the average will be paying $104 per year, and I'll be under $80. Being below average never felt so good. Until you factor in Measure 2016's Measure V that is. |
