• Planning Commission Item: Wildomar Trail Town Center

I'm going to try to make this blog quick (famous last words).

Thank you to the planning commission for really going deep into the proposed Wildomar Trail Town Square development and getting many important questions addressed.

To get more details on Wildomar Trail Town Center use this link to the blog covering it.

Let's start with the planning commission recommending approval of the four phase development... which rests with the city council at 6pm on Wednesday, September 8th. 

Take a look at this slide from the presentation and then sit back and thank our lucky stars that we are getting 109 townhomes, and NOT 227 apartments (which a large number had the low income designation).

Be careful what you wish for. Consider this, if the city council derails this project, it leaves those 227 RHNA units on this property. 

You'll find a link to the video of the meeting if you'd like to hear the staff presentation, the applicant's presentation, questions from the public, answers to the questions and solid input by the commission members.

To keep this short, this won't be an exhaustive review of the meeting, just highlights that stuck with me.

In no particular order...

There will be no improvements to the Wildomar Trail overpass or on and off ramps... That's a Caltrans thing, and they thought there wasn't a need. NOT EVEN FOR A TRAFFIC SIGNAL HEADING EAST. 

To me, that is one of the biggest affronts imaginable. We pay ridiculous amounts of gas tax, but somehow something as obvious as better traffic control isn't understood by whatever matrix is coming out of Sacramento? 

Where the city does have control, Wildomar Trail will be a four lane road along with turn pockets into both developments at the new street of Margaret.

It's already challenging to get to the freeway in the AM rush, but I was glad to hear that the city will be putting in an additional lane for right turns only onto the southbound onramp at Wildomar Trail. 

That will help some, but once Wildomar Trail Town Center and Baxter Village (the spot with the hotel and medical building) come fully online, it's going to be a nightmare if Caltrans holds that line.

Plus, imagine how much easier it would be to put in the improvements now, and not after they are desperately needed... and to think, some people want the government to get more control over our lives??? Well, this is what that looks like in action when they are. 

There were a few things that the developer didn't want to agree to that were part of his conditions of approval. One of those was a 10 foot sound wall where the carwash is slated to go. 

I get it, those are probably very expensive, but the residents don't want to hear your jet driers and I was glad that the commission didn't agree to any of his challenges.

I had nearly two dozen questions and concerns, but half of them were answered with the presentation and first round of commissioner questions.

1) what are their plans to mitigate rodents as they disturb their habitat with grading?

Before grading vector control will be onsite. For those that don't live right near the field, you may not understand how many rodents live there at night then invade the nearby houses in the daytime. I'm glad that this is a priority.

There will be no parking along Cervera or Wildomar Trail.

3) What is the timeline for completing Wildomar Trail improvements? 

I was happy to learn that the entire stretch from Cervera to the freeway will be completed before they can start doing business.

Also, the entire 26 acre, 4 phase project will be graded at once instead of piecemeal. 

There was a concern about privacy between the homes on Hunwut that will share a wall with the townhomes. The commissioners got the developer to plant the vegetation that will be along the shared wall with phase 1. 

Knowing how slow these types of projects can take, that is an amazing get. Phase 4 could take many years before it's built, and that means according to the conditions on this project, the trees and vegetation will have many years' head start.

Something most other neighborhoods don't enjoy when new developments come in next to existing homes.

Another thing that I was very concerned about was the Cervera green belt. 

The developer initially was going to remove the trees when he graded with no particular timeline to replace them. 

I was yelling at my computer as I was hearing that over the zoom platform... much to my delight Commissioner Eric Filar really pressed that point.

Written into the conditions was that the Cervera green belt will also be dealt with during phase 1. 

Part of my comment said, "When will it be planned, and will you take input from the residents? This needs major league community outreach before anything is done. There cannot be a lag between removing what has existed for 30 years and planting new vegetation and trees."

I asked about a left turn pocket on Cervera to enter the proposed townhome community, but didn't like the answer I got. I'll have to bring it up at the city council meeting. It sure sounded like they weren't going to make any changes to the lane striping, and that's after extending Prairie into the new area.

There were a few questions that I asked that didn't get answered. 

I'll be speaking as a resident at the city council meeting and I'll be sure to ask the mayor to get his pen ready so that the questions get answered this time.

1) What about the turn pocket on Cervera, something must go there before they can build those townhomes?

2) Will there be walkable connectivity between the commercial retail and Cervera? 

3) I asked the developer by name about his trashy fence along Wildomar Trail, but he must have been inundated because he didn't answer that one. 

"Mr. Kofdarali, have you seen the condition of the perimeter fence on your property? Some of it is very beat up and looks terrible. I know that you want to be a good neighbor, can we get that fixed and maintained until it gets taken down?"

That fence looks like crap, and he needs to show that he cares as much as he claims by sinking that gimme.

He actually shared his phone number during the meeting, I'll just give him a call and see if I can scratch that one from the list.

The last question I have, more of a bonus question that came to me after hearing residents speak on it... Mr. Kofdarali, why can't you put your gas station and car wash closer to Wildomar Trail, and not so close to the backyard of existing homes that have been there for more than 30 years?

Last note, I don't get why people in my own neighborhood, that live within 100 feet of my house, have not asked me questions about this. I brought this up to all that would listen in 2018, and even in 2019, before Covid. 

I've written blogs on this, and posted on social media multiple times

I'm here on your behalf, you should use me as a resource. I'm very easy to get ahold of, and would be happy to meet with you, or just exchange emails if that's all you want. Showing up at a city meeting without pressing me first is very odd. 

When I speak on September 8th, I'll have three minutes. If someone that is attending wants to donate their 3 minutes to me, I'll be happy to speak for you if you're on the shy side.

Anyone that is reading this, please email me and we can set up a meeting or a phone call. 

Penultimate last note 

I received zip, zero, nada emails or calls about this project (facebook posts don't count in the real world), and very little input on social media either. I got more people wanting to comment about who parked in a handicapped parking space or if there is a gate across the private dirt portion of Wesley than I did over this very weighty matter. 

That tells me that you don't really care, and that's what it tells the rest of the council too. We all want to hear your thoughts on the issues, but if you'd rather just announce that you're moving instead of emailing me, I guess that's an option you'll be exercising. 

There were a lot of concessions tonight. It was because of the public's input which was then pushed by the commissioners. That made for a good one-two combination the community is well served keeping in mind.