Thursday, February 13, 2025

• City Council Meeting February 2025

 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).

TOP NEWS FROM THE MEETING
  • Clinton Keith Widening
  • Bundy Canyon Phase 2
  • Signal light at Harvest Way
  • City Welcome Signs to be Installed
  • Parks Naming Subcommittee
  • Cannabis ordinance changed


Public Works Quarterly Report

• Clinton Keith widening, final design wrapping up. Waiting for the environmental documents. The bid is anticipated to go out in August and construction beginning in December lasting through mid Summer 2026.

• Bundy Canyon Phase 2, the design is wrapped up but still working on the the utilities being moved (utility coordination). EVMWD will be moving their water line while keeping it functional throughout the process.

The goal is for the bids to go out in June with the contract being awarded in late Summer and the beginning of construction in early 2026, finishing late in 2027.


• Traffic signal at Harvest Way and Bundy Canyon. Construction anticipated to begin in August of 2025, and finished by early 2026.

• Construction to begin on the unnamed 27-acre park (near Ronald Reagan Elementary). Contract Award set for mid-summer, construction to begin November 2025, with completion around July 2026.

• Unnamed 20-acre park (near Anne Sullivan Preschool) to begin construction on phase 1 by September 2025 and completed late 2025. 

• Wildomar Trail restriping near the freeway is still in the conversation stage with Caltrans, so as much as I'd like to say it's coming soon, all bets are off when Caltrans is in the mix. Also a remedy for the illegal left turns leaving Kaiser is being discussed. 

Likely there will be a temporary median that looks somewhat like the one between Wildomar Elementary and the tamale shop. 
•

Eventually, when the south side of Wildomar Trail is developed, the center median will be widened. 

It was also learned that a green arrow at Orange and Bundy is in the works. With, according to my notes, completion before the end of Summer.



City Welcome Signs to be Installed
Installation is expected to be complete by April 2025.
If you're a hater who doesn't like the new signs... don't look at them as you drive by them.

To get current information on road projects throughout the city, please visit the website. From the front page you can launch into the section that covers active projects... give it a whirl!

Parks Naming Subcommittee
Joseph Morabito and Bridgette Moore were appointed to a subcommittee to finally name the unnamed future parks... and other city facilities. 

Reminder, there are three undeveloped parcels and one that is developed (on McVicar) that have no names at this point. 

We will want public input. Please be part of the process when the public meeting(s) are announced.



Cannabis Ordinance Update.
The changes from the original ordinance include matching the setbacks from residential properties to that of alcohol sales (600 feet). It was originally set to 100 feet. 

The change won't affect any current location or any that are already in the planning process. 

Though there have been no inquiries in all the years that the ordinance has been in existence for production facilities, including testing, it was enshrined into the new ordinance that such uses are prohibited in Wildomar.

The last of the changes, brought by Joseph Morabito (that's me), was to put it in writing that "cannabis cafes" are banned too. 

Wildomar Rap opinion time


Community Development Director Matt Bassi said that since such a use wasn't specifically mentioned as an approved usage in the existing ordinance, that meant it wasn't allowed. 

Still, since a new law was signed by Gavin Newsom late last year making them legal in the state, I wanted to have specific language stating that such businesses aren't allowed in Wildomar.

I was the swing vote to allow cannabis into the city and since that time the city has already received over $5,000,000 in revenues. I stand by that decision.

My thinking has always been that adults should be able to partake in legal intoxicants if they so choose, and it's better to regulate than leave it open to an unregulated market.

That said, I can't imagine one of our shopping centers having such a business in it. If you want to do your drugs, do them at home. 

Of course, it was a Scott Weiner bill.
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Monday, February 10, 2025

• News Around Town February 2025 Edition

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.

Current Info You'll Want To Hear
  • EVMWD is looking to raise rates
  • Road construction on Palomar to begin this week
  • Tres Lagos occupancy is said to be April 2025 
  • Camelia Townhomes expects to see grading this Summer 
  • Beazer Homes to install dog bag stations at new park
  • New four-way stop at Prielipp and Elizabeth

EVMWD Rate Increase
Their rates have gone up and they will be passing on the higher rates to customers. The amount I heard was over 20%. More to come as the weeks go by.

Palomar Road Construction
This construction will extend from the intersection of Wildomar Trail to beyond the cemetery heading north, and partly on Gruwell.

You will see many of the trees removed that are along Palomar in front of the cemetery. It's sad to see them go. I don't have the specific reasons at my fingertips, so I don't want to just make a guess as to why. I anticipate more information at this week's city council meeting.

This is anticipated to last until November. 
Plan your route accordingly.
Use this link to get more details

Tres Lagos 
I heard this morning that Tres Lagos has a target of April 2025 to begin occupancy. I've not heard any word as to whether there will be any open house type of event to allow the neighborhood to see what's on the other side of the walls. 
Well, that's a welcomed relief (as a soupçon of sarcasm is noted in the delivery accompanied by an eyeroll).

Standing conventional wisdom on its head one slide after another.

Read more from their website at this link.

Camelia Townhomes
It looks as if grading will begin on this project after many years of languishing. 

This caused a huge ruckus back in 2017. Several planning commission meetings and a city council meeting that were packed to the gills.

If you want to go down the memory lane rabbit hole, here's a place to begin, though there are at least twenty blogs where it's mentioned.


163-unit, gated townhouse-condo community on the city line with Murrieta where Palomar St runs into Washington Ave.

New Park
The still unnamed park on McVicar is said to finally be getting dog bag stations and trashcans. I heard that the trashcans are on order and are still MONTHS away, but the dog bag stations are said to be on a quicker track. 

Though there was a ribbon cutting last Summer for this park's opening, it has still not been accepted by the city. 
Let's name this park... actually, that is something coming to the city council soon. Be part of the process.


Other News
Bundy Canyon road construction phase 2 and Clinton Keith widening are on a collision course to be happening at the same time. It wasn't planned, the stars just aligned that way. More details at this Wednesday's city council meeting. 
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