• City Council Meeting August 2026

Two big items were pulled from the agenda (*2.3 and 3.2) and are said to be slated for next month's agenda. That, in my estimation, reduced the number of newsworthy items to one, 3.1 (see below). 

The meeting started with a presentation to two local Eagle Scouts, Canyon Dannenberger and AJ Acosta of Troop 332.

  

A twist with one of the Public Comments on non-agenda items in that a proclamation was given to the Council (it's usually the other way around). 

It was recognizing the 250th year of the United States of America from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and for the service the council does for the community. 

The presenters were Malia Olsingh and Susan Lovett. Also in the photo are Malia's mother, Carrie, and little brother (I didn't get his name). 

Top News From The Meeting

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• Still unnamed 20 acre park opening is delayed again

Before getting to the key news story, let me add highlights from the Community Development Department update first.

Several projects that are in the process of being built were mentioned. 

Wildomar Crossroads (Sprouts)

The construction of the apartments has begun, but there is a delay with the commercial side of the project. 

Marriot (Townplace Suites, 102 Rooms)

This is immediately to the west of the new Kaiser medical office building. They are still in the grading part of construction and no dates were given as to when it would open, or even when we will see "vertical" construction. 

Stable Lanes (Carwash on Clinton Keith)

This is located between Barons and Starbucks. It's about 13,000sf of commercial that, at one time, was said to be the future home of an auto parts store and A Better Buzz coffee dispensary.

I asked staff if they knew which tenants were going in alongside the carwash, and there wasn't a definitive answer, but there was a drive-thru pad mentioned.

Camelia Townhomes (Palomar and Washington)

This development caused a lot of commotion back in 2017, but that was before all the low-income apartments that Sacramento started forcing into every community up and down the state. Now I'm sure people are happy to see market-rate, for-sale condos (about 163 units in a gated community). 

Reminder, these are FOR SALE units, with a price point of half a million dollars. 

The original price points, if memory serves well, were around $200K, but I asked last night, and the number being batted around at this point is closer to half a mil. 

There is serious road realignment going on there. Historically, Palomar curved into Washington around the city line with Murrieta, but that's changing.

Palomar will now be going straight into Jefferson with Washington being a T intersection. Before there is a certificate of occupancy, all the roadwork will need to be buttoned up. No timetable for that at this point. 

Tres Lagos (Phase 3)

They've done work on their drainage mitigation measures, but they don't have any other permits pending at this time.

Walmart

Building permits have not been issued. There wasn't a guesstimate of when they'd be open, but based on past statements, we can anticipate before Christmas 2027. 

Unnamed 20 Acre Park

Brief background.

In 2023 I helped spearhead the acquisition (without using general fund dollars) of twenty acres adjacent to the Windsong Valley community. The other option was for the previous owners to sell it to a developer who could have built about 80 homes (that's not taking into account "density bonuses" the state encourages). 

The twenty acres are already a quasi natural park with a loop trail, and converting it to public use would be a relatively easy lift compared to other undeveloped parkland in Wildomar. 

In short, the dollar amount necessary to open this park is far smaller than to open the 27 acre park next to Ronald Reagan Elementary School or the 11 acre park next to David A Brown Middle School. 

Ok, with that established, we've been eagerly awaiting this park's opening for well over a year, and the date keeps getting pushed back.

I don't know who to throw under the bus, so I'll lay it at the feet of the previous Wildomar city manager. A lot was going on in 2025, and dealing with the opening of this park in the promised amount of time, obviously slid off the important things to attend to list. 

I will slot myself as the key proponent of this park, even, dare I say, ahead of Bridgette Moore (who loves parks more than Spiderman loves shooting webs and traveling from building to building down city blocks. lol), but in this case, I asked my council colleagues to NOT go ahead with a temporary entrance off Gierson Ave. 

Let me back up again

The original plan was to put the entrance off of Palomar, with a secondary entrance off of an extended Gierson. That's the part that fell by the wayside. 

This is the location of the entrance and parking lot off of Palomar St.

There was an artificial urgency to get the park opened, though there weren't any contractual obligations to do so, as most of us shared the same misapprehension that there were. 

Once it was clearly established that we don't need to do a rush job trying to open this new park before it's ready, we stopped rushing.

The denouement (yes, I love 10¢ words 😁), the city will not be opening the new natural park with a temporary entrance on Gierson Ave. 

This is the dead end street of Gierson Avenue. When it's time to create this entrance to the park, it needs to be done according to the approved plans, not any temporary measures.

The original plan of the primary entrance off Palomar is back in place. There was no estimated opening date, but based on previous estimates to open that entrance, it could be September 2027, but let's wait for the official words from the Public Works department. 

Remember, when money becomes available, there are plans for a full extension of Gierson and a proper parking lot and entry point. 

When this happens, I hope that whoever is on Wildomar's city council will demand that the entrance to the newly extended Gierson be where the gate to close the park is set, and not allow for the new cul-de-sac to be an after hours hang out. 

Also in the mix was an alternate entrance off of South Pasadena St, which looks like a good spot for on street parking and another way into the park. 

Thank you to staff for coming up with this suggestion. Now, let's work to make it happen.

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There are two ways to watch this city council meeting. One is on YouTube, the other is through the city's website. Both have their own advantages. The YouTube option comes with its standard player and the ability to jump throughout the video. 

The option on the city's website lets you go into the agenda and click the exact item you're looking for (no guesswork involved). 

Video on the city's webpage

Link to the full agenda

*2.3

Municipal Code Amendment No. 2026-03 - 2026 Spring Bi-Annual Code Update

*3.2

Approval of the City's First Memorandums of Understanding with Teamsters

Local 986 for the General Employees, Supervisors, and Managers Bargaining

Units Effective August 13, 2026, Updated Personnel Rules and Regulations,

and Revised City Pay Plan

• City Council Meeting April 2026

The meeting began with a couple of proclamations (an Eagle Scout and Donate Life), an introduction of the new Fire Chief, Robert Fish, and Wildomar Battalion Chief, Shawn Burris, followed by a League of California Cities (Cal Cities) update from the Riverside County division Public Affairs Manager, Jesse Ramirez. (See meeting video at bottom of blog for full details)

There were three big takeaways from the meeting.

1) Wildomar Elementary's Stella's public comment

She spoke about the things she likes about Wildomar and Wildomar Elementary School, and then spoke about the desire to see a Wildomar Museum come to town.

Hey Historical Society, I think she's speaking your language. 

2) Community Development Update

I highlighted many of the slides from this presentation in a preview blog for this meeting. It was a somewhat shorter part of the meeting than I'd anticipated.

The presentation was about 6 minutes, and the question and answer portion was about another 6 minutes. 

I had questions regarding Walmart, Tres Lagos, and Camelia Townhomes. 

Let's Go Down The List
1) Walmart

Community Development Director Robert Flores went over entitlements (see video below for full exchange. Q&A begins at the 6:10 mark).

 "Entitlements are usually issued by the city and the property owner... through the entitlement that they receive, they have the ability, if the entitlement has not expired or if they meet all the conditions of approval, and they build the project in accordance with what was approved... they have the ability to build the project as approved. Unless the city revokes the permit for some reason" [04:46]

Q: On Revoking Entitlements

• Joseph Morabito: "You had said... 'unless the city revokes for some reason'... I'm assuming that those must be extraordinary reasons?"

• CDD: "There are particular findings we have to make... in order to revoke an entitlement; it's either that they're not complying with it, or they're not meeting the conditions of approval, or they're just not operating or using the permit as envisioned and as approved." 

• Joseph Morabito:  "So, a preponderance of comments on a Facebook post is not enough to stop it." 

Everyone at City Hall has been watching the responses on Facebook. Personally, I've answered many different comments on Facebook, and some through email or in person meetings.

The facts since 2015 have always been that the project is a done deal. 

One that I supported then and that I support now

When I announced that Walmart was going to finally get off its derriere and use its entitlements, I was somewhat taken aback by the comments.

To keep things in perspective: The approval vote was done back when today's high school seniors were still preschoolers. 

The video below is from February 2015. This is the council discussion before the Walmart vote. It has 32 views over all that time. 

I'm one who always gives the residents the straight answers as I know them. That seems to rankle some. They think I'm not nice enough (or something). 

I'm very nice, but I'm not going to lie to you, and I have very little patience with grown adults who push misinformation, needlessly upsetting the community on social media.

It's an election year and I could play it safe, or I could be the type of elected official you want representing you. 

The one who asks questions, gets answers, and tells it to you straight... even when the answers aren't what you want to hear.

2) Camelia Townhomes (163 attached condos)

The key for the community here is when the road work will be done. When it's complete, Palomar will connect to Jefferson and Washington will T into Palomar at a traffic signal. 

No dates as to when that will occur, but it will be before Camelia is granted rights of occupancy. 

This is an image I used back in 2017. The orange circle is the location of the future T intersection. Most of the homes on the left side of the image have been built as of 2026.

3) Tres Lagos phase 3

I asked if there was going to be any further road improvements (to Catt) and though the answer was 'no', the road is already being fixed.

Though I'd have liked to have seen that done by the developer, we all know about the special status of these types of SB35 projects that can, essentially, do anything they want with no requirements for approval that every other development would face. The bad part of Catt Rd is being redone as I'm typing. 

Ok, I mean the "really bad part" from where Tres Lagos ends and the stop sign at Hidden Springs.

Rough grading has occurred, and they're looking for permit for precise grading at this point. It sounds as if the developers are still looking for funding before they can start building phase 3. 

I inquired about their perimeter wall and if they'll get it in before the next rainy season. The usual order of things starts with perimeter walls going up before the rest of the construction, but there are no timetables at this point. 

3) Wildomar Cemetery Master Plan Update: Veterans and First Responders Memorial Stakeholder Engagement Workshop

This took up the lion's share of the three-hour meeting. 

It began with a brief presentation and then the original idea was to leave the dais for the workshop before getting into deeper opinions. 

Here is the location of all the cemetery land. Pay no attention to one of those street names. 

I try to stay away from quoting my colleagues for obvious reasons, so I'll just sum up what I got from this part of the meeting and suggest that you watch this item on the video if you'd like details.

In short, all five members of the city council are interested in having an official Veterans Memorial, but the level of enthusiasm for it being part of the cemetery (currently in the gravel parking lot of the ball fields to the east), varied greatly.

Cities can have more than one such memorial in town, and though one at the cemetery isn't a bad idea, I'd rather have "The Veterans Memorial" in a high traffic area. 

I'm not sanguine about either option.

I've been to these workshops many times in the past. Both as a general member of the public and a city councilman, and I can say with a high degree of confidence after participating in the workshop that NOTHING is going to happen anytime soon.

I'd be stunned if something demonstrative happened in less than five years... even ten, for that matter.

(For the record, I left my Cheerios at home. Inside joke you'll understand if you watch the video)

If you're going to watch the complete video, the item begins at the 1:35:00 mark of the video below.

• City Council Meeting Preview April 2026

If you're interested in hearing the facts about various development projects wending their way through the Wildomar city machine, I strongly urge you to make it a point to watch the coming Community Development Department & Development Update staff presentation that will be coming in the first half of the meeting.

Your other option, one I'd suggest avoiding, is to get misinformation from people on Facebook.

Slides from the coming presentation are already available to review. Here are a few that I pulled to share. 

Use this link to access the full slide presentation

Phases 1 and 2 are basically complete at this point, and phase 3 isn't far behind. 

This project has caused a lot of recent consternation due to incorrect information being circulated on Facebook though it was a done deal back when Obama was still in the White House. If you'd like to hear some facts, tune in.

You can see the rooftops from the freeway as you're leaving Lake Elsinore. This is another SB 35 Low-Income housing special, where they were allowed to cram a crazy number of units into an entirely unfit spot, and the city was barred by Sacramento from having any discretionary opinions on it. 

This is going to turn into a living hell for those who live near it. 

Camelia Townhomes caused a big ruckus back in 2017. The council chambers were jammed with people (mostly from Murrieta) for both the planning commission and city council meetings. 

Link to one of many 2017 blogs covering this.
https://wildomarrap.blogspot.com/2017/08/camelia-townhouse-project-slated-for.html
Remember, these are For Sale units, not apartments of any type. 

Unless you've driven past this, it's not easy to see much movement from Wildomar Trail to this point.

This is the final slide in the deck, but this is a department update, so it won't come with public comments attached to it. If you have questions you'd like addressed by staff during this item, you can email them to the city clerk, asking her to forward them to the Community Development Department. 

jmorales@wildomar.gov

You can also send any questions to the city council members, too. My email is jmorabito@wildomar.gov.

I won't be looking for questions on Facebook, so to ensure that your questions get addressed, please use email.

There is also a consent calendar item of interest, but I imagine it'll be brought up during the Community Development Department & Development Update already mentioned.

 1.11 Parcel Map No. 36612 (Westpark Promenade) Subdivision Improvement Agreement

191 housing units that were approved well before Wildomar Rap was even a twinkle in my eye... but it's finally starting to move forward. 

Located just north of Clinton Keith on the east side of the freeway. 

Here is a link I found online that goes into more details from the developer's POV. 

https://www.wdland.com/westpark-promenade

 

• 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

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• 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

https://www.wildomar.gov/264/Palomar-Street-Road-Widening-Cemetery-Im

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.

https://www.palmcommunities.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Tres-Lagos-Deck_Final_For_Web.pdf

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.

https://wildomarrap.blogspot.com/2017/04/planning-commission-meeting-april-2017.html

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. 

• City Council Meeting May 2019: Commercial Cannabis

I'm not going to get deep into the weeds on this (and yes, that bad pun was intended). ☺ 

Addendum at the top

Uh oh, I think I'm may have gotten more long winded here than I'd anticipated. The worst part... there are NO pictures, cartoons or graphs... just words and two video links. If you want to click out, I wouldn't blame you at all.

I just thought it better to have this issue separate from the park plans and the commercial design standards that were also discussed at the May meeting. 

(link to that blog)

Let me begin by saying it's a shame that deeply divisive matters are part of our lives, but they are. Thankfully, in Wildomar, such matters aren't a regular occurance and I hope that after the dust settles on this, we'll be able to set aside the rhetoric, and get back to the business of being a small town community.

When it comes to the opinion piece of this blog, it's all things I would have gladly shared from the dais, but aren't we all glad that I didn't prolong the meeting by another 30-45 minutes, and am posting my thoughts here instead?

In the end, after more than 35 minutes of council discussion, the vote went 3-2 in favor of creating a subcommittee to work alongside staff and create ordinances dealing with the various prongs of commercial cannabis.

Though most people tend to picture ratty illegal dispensaries when they hear commercial cannabis, like the type that have been in Lakeland Village on Grand Ave throughout the years, there are other businesses besides store front stores, aka dispensaries. 

The subcommittee will craft ordinances using both Riverside County's and Lake Elsinore's ordinances, and tailor them to Wildomar.

Time for a little housekeeping
For those that aren't aware, my name is Joseph Morabito and I'm the recently elected city council member from District three. I spoke for about six and half minutes. Below are the notes I spoke from. 

Or, you can skip reading them and just watch the video further down.

Where to start? 

I’ve never used it. I’ve never even experimented with it. But I’ve known plenty of people that did use it, and all were average everyday types of people. My interest in seeing this moved forward stems from a couple of things. Primarily, my libertarian leanings. 

This is America, and law abiding adults shouldn’t have big brother looking over their shoulders. It’s stunning that something like cannabis was ever made illegal in the first place was based on lies and propaganda which lead to near hysteria in the decades that followed. (I’m sure that’s a key reason why I never had any interest in it)

This used to be a very easy “slam dunk, NO” issue. 

Those days are over. 

I posted this topic on social media and asked for comments in several popular facebook groups. 

There was very little input. 

I saw the post of my fellow council member that also asked for input, it had about 30 responses. I’d estimate that they were at least 60-40 in favor.

Two and half years ago California, and Wildomar, voted to legalize it for adult recreational use. There is no stopping this as it becomes less and less stigmatized.

The amount of fear mongering put out by those that prefer the black market to remain intact is staggering, and if you are against a well regulated cannabis industry, by default, you’re for the status quo: the black market.

The city council received a handful of emails on the subject. My count had them divided 3 to 3 until another 9 were delivered to me moments ago.

One resident mentioned that the cannabis consumers he knows prefer either to have their product delivered, or “purchase from the black market, which is thriving, for the simple reason of no taxes being charged by the black market.“

I make my own pizzas. That doesn’t mean a pizzeria would fail because some people make their own.

A different emailer said, “As a former resident of Wildomar, yet still a resident of Southwest Riverside County, I find I am still a frequent visitor and shopper in your city. I strongly support the regulation of retail marijuana in Wildomar. Please be a leader in SW RivCo and allow for safe, regulated access to what has already been made legal in California.”

Here is an excerpt from another resident: I am a resident of Wildomar, having lived here for 36+ years, not that it matters. I am NOT in favor of unlicensed, illegal dispensaries in our town, but I AM in favor of fully-licensed, legal facilities that benefit us tax-wise AND are certified 'clean green', with easily available/verifiable labs to prove potency and being GMO/insecticide-free. I am not as concerned with those who use recreationally as I am those who have genuine medical necessity, though both should be protected from unscrupulous dealers who might deceive their customers, providing product that is 'not-as-advertised'.

Here’s an email in opposition, “I do not want to see this type of business in Wildomar. I moved here 17 years ago so we could enjoy a new growing community. We have good businesses here and already have enough homeless people on the streets. We do not want to draw more of them to our city!”

I don’t see the correlation between well regulated cannabis businesses and homelessness. 

There was a survey done last year that asked two questions. 

Respectfully, I consider it a flawed survey on several grounds. 

(I’ll try not to get too wonky here) The survey asked if the voters would approve of an additional one penny per dollar sales tax increase. The survey came back with 68% were in favor. The measure only ended up getting 58% at the ballot. That 10 point difference equals 17% off the mark. Well outside the usual margin of error.

Then there was the second question asking about cannabis businesses in Wildomar. The survey came back with 55% opposed, 42% in favor with 4% unsure. This was asked of the same pool of people, registered voters. 

I’m sorry, but legal residents that are also non citizens and therefore ineligible to vote, or people that choose not to vote, still have a say in what goes on in our community outside of ballot box issues, but they weren’t asked. The survey was deeply flawed.

One last thought about surveys and polls. How is everyone enjoying President Hillary’s time in office? Yeah, polls and surveys. 

I am NOT in favor of unlicensed, unregulated cannabis businesses in our city. If anything, I would want stringent regulations, with serious consequences to any cannabis business owner that didn’t take their responsibilities to the city seriously. 

I’m against blight in the city, and the last thing I’d do is invite it in. If we can’t come up with demanding, yet realistic, ordinances, then I would be a no vote. I believe such ordinances can be hammered out, as they have been in many other cities in Riverside County alone, including Lake Elsinore with which we share a police department. 

There are more types of cannabis businesses than just dispensaries, but dispensaries are the only type of cannabis business that was opposed in the all the emails to the city that I read, and the various comments on social media. 

Please note: I'm not going to do pull quotes of what the other council members said like I would have when I was just blogger guy in the front row.

The next to speak was Councilmember Bridgette Moore. She picks up around the 6:50 mark of the video. She was opposed and she initially spoke for about 3 minutes.

Mayor Pro-Tem Dustin Nigg was next up (10:15 of the video) and spoke from notes he'd taken during this agenda item. Through all his fine points, "Damn Apple Store" seemed to be the most memorable line... my "How is everyone enjoying President Hillary’s time in office?" took a distant second in that department.

Councilmember Ben Benoit's part begins around the 16:30 minute mark. Followed up by Mayor Marsha Swanson's first comments that pick up the 19:00 minute mark. 

Both Mayor Swanson and Councilmember Moore reiterated that they think that no matter how much time goes by that there will always be a black market. I have to agree with them, there always will be one. 

This is where I wish I could have had a Mulligan and changed it from "the black market" to "a THRIVING black market".

There are people that still buy illegal bathtub cheese and get unlicensed dentistry done by their hairdresser, but it's not the norm, and those aren't thriving black market industries... just pathetic black market/under the table industries, and that's what I'd like to see when it comes to the old way of buying marijuana.

None of us were around during prohibition, but those bootleggers (the whiskey version of the black market) all but disappeared within a couple of decades of prohibition being repealed. 

It didn't occur with the stroke of the pen, or in a couple of hours, days, weeks, months or years... but it did eventually die, and long before any of us were born.

Please don't come back with, but I have a neighbor that brews his own beer or that you have an uncle Jed that has a still in his basement and makes the best shine around. Those stories are an indication that regulation has given that black market a forearm shiver to the jaw and it's down for the count.

The same will happen with the cannabis black market... give it a couple of decades to die out, no one has ever suggested it would be like flipping a light switch.

I've answered many comments on facebook as fairly and directly as I could. 

Let me debunk something right here and now. I must have counted at least a dozen comments suggesting that the 3 yes votes disregarded the will of the voters.

I'm sorry, but I have to think that ALL FIVE of us, which would include the two in opposition, would agree that a survey does NOT have any similarity to a certified election conducted at the ballot box. 

I'd been urging the city council to put this on the ballot since at least the March 30, 2017, special Prop 64 workshop meeting, but that window closed with the 2018 election.

link to March 30, 2017 blog

In the blog I quote then Mayor, Tim Walker, when I thought I heard him say he wanted it to go to the ballot. As it turns out, I took him more seriously than he intended.

Below is a copy and paste from the blog mentioned above.

• It doesn't say anywhere in that law that we have to allow a dispensary in our city. We have the right to stop the dispensaries. That's the issue with me. Whether 53% [voted for Prop 64 or not], we'll put it back on the ballot, and say "Ok folks, you want a dispensary? You come up and put your name on the line, if you get over 50%, then you can have a dispensary in your town.

[original Wildomar Rap commentary]

This is a good idea, and I think that such a thing should be the main focus of the council on the issue of dispensaries in Wildomar.

Wildomar Rap, March 30, 2017

Based on the record, it's fair to suggest that the opposition, in 2017, all the way through my upset election against incumbent Tim Walker, by a 57 to 42 margin, never had any intention of putting it on the ballot. 

They had ample time to get something ready for 2018, and didn't make that a priority.

What I find a bit odd is that the opposition that remains on the council appears to be indignant that the will of the people is being ignored. To the point that many people on social media are parroting that very sentiment, yet none have asked, why didn't they put it on the ballot when they had the chance?

Our city manager was asked how much it would cost to put this question on the ballot. His response was between $20K and $30K. That coincidentally is the ballpark figure of what the ordinance would cost to prepare.

Why does the opposition want to pay double? Can we afford that? The cost of putting together an ordinance is about the same as putting the measure on the ballot.

You elected the city council to make these decisions, and you trusted your elected representative to act in accordance with the will of the community. This is a lose-lose for every member of the city council whether they are in favor or opposed.

If you do not like the job your elected official has done while in office, you have the right to vote them out, and you don't have to justify your vote to anyone.

No matter how you slice it, between 35%-40% of the people were going to be displeased with the outcome of the council's vote. For everyone that is unhappy with the vote, understand that an equal number of people are happy with it, and are telling each of us so. This has been a damned if you do, damned if you don't proposition for all five of us from the get go.

Here is why I am not in favor of putting this on the ballot in 2020. 

The public showed very little interest in this issue. There were 16-17 emails (half of which were in favor), and only three public comments in opposition.

There was also very little input on social media, and two council members specifically asked for input on facebook. 

There were only six public comments in total, and though everyone's view is worthy of being heard, let's face it... there were no new faces among them... and, for some reason, Kenny Mayes didn't write an email or speak on this though he was in the front row. 

Let me give you two recent examples of what public outrage can look like.

First, back in 2017 there was a proposed townhouse project called Camelia Townhouse for the southwest end of Wildomar. We're talking about condos that people were going to purchase (or so said the developer) not another Bandini Mountain, and that brought a storm of protest.

To the point of having to have extra seating in the council chambers, and there were dozens of speakers. That held true for both the planning commission meeting and the city council meeting.

If you're interested in my takes about how the Cameila issue went down, please follow the key words at the bottom of the blog.

Secondly, in Temecula, on April 23rd of this year, at their city council meeting, a resolution was put forth that declared socialism and communism are threats to the US Constitution. That triggered a backlash from residents, over concerns of free speech, and the city council meeting lasted nearly five hours as it dealt with the fallout, and then the resolution was ultimately withdrawn.

Had there been any sort of public outcry at Wildomar's most recent city council meeting, the yes votes would have had to take that very seriously. Yet, there was no impetus to spend city money, putting something on the ballot, when clearly this was a non issue to the balance of the residents. 

Another thing to give some consideration. 

I think we all can agree that the general sentiment about cannabis has changed greatly since the '80s or the '90s.

With every year going by, and most of the younger generation not having any hang ups with it, as the old guard dies off, their replacements don't share the same angst and fears. 

In 20 years people will look back and scoff at all the wasted energy trying to prohibit cannabis... just like those in my dad's generation would have about the prohibition of alcohol. 

The above is just a hunch, and I could be wrong, but I don't think so... and this coming from someone that has no interest in it as a product and doesn't own any shares of stock in such companies.

Here are some questions put to me from a facebook user. I responded by saying those were great questions to ask at the first subcommittee meeting.

But since I doubt I'll be on that subcommittee, being that I'm the rookie on the council, I'll try to answer them here.

• If these drugs dispensaries are safe to have in Wildomar, why armed security guards? 

The opposition throughout the nation have made this the boogeyman. As a concession, to ease their fears, such measures have been added.

• Why does Councilman Dustin Niggs [sic] want camera systems that would make the US Mint jealous? 

Please see the answer above.

• What kind of activities could come with marijuana dispensaries to bring this kind of security needs, if they’re safe?

Ditto the first answer again.

• What should we expect? Should we be worried about drug cartels retaliating in Wildomar for profits lost?

Is that a thing? This is a fair item for the subcommittee to ascertain. Are other municipalities facing reprisals from drug cartels over losing much of their black market? Perhaps the FBI will share their stats on it with the subcommittee.

• What kind of crime should we expect when there is a known cash only business in our Neighborhoods? 

There will be no cannabis businesses in the neighborhoods of Wildomar. The black market is what sets up in neighborhoods. They do not care what you or I think. They are criminals. Criminals do what they please. 

• What kind of security will the city staff require when the dispensaries pay their fees and taxes in cash? What will that cost? Will the staff be safe? 

Good questions. I don't know what the protocol is in areas that already have licensed and regulated cannabis businesses. That sounds like something the subcommittee will be addressing.

• What effects will the marijuana dispensaries have on our local Emergency Rooms and Urgent cares when the customers smoke or eat too much?

Why would there be any difference depending on where the consumer obtained their product? 

• What effect will this have on the cost of Wildomar residents home owners insurances when they learn there is a dispensary nearby?

Another fair question. This should be studied by the subcommittee and be part of any reports that are shared during the public meetings.

• What research has the Wildomar City Council done on marijuana dispensaries, cultivation, and testing, other than a survey that concluded that the majority of it’s [sic] residents don’t want them, before 3 of the 5 council members decided to possibly move forward? Besides talking to a few drug users that seem “regular”. 

If any, at what cost?

I can only speak for myself, and as I've mentioned more times than I can count, the survey was deeply flawed. Even if you prefer slightly flawed, flawed is flawed.

The last half of the question looked like a jab at part of my comments during the council meeting. It's very difficult to take people seriously that speak with hyperbole in every sentence. 

If the everyday productive people I know/have known (which number in the multiple of dozens, if not hundreds), that coincidentally are marijuana consumers, are "drug users" then so are those that drink beer. Alcohol is every bit as much of a drug as cannabis.

Video live streaming of meetings is still pretty new in Wildomar, and at this point the only meetings that are streamed are city council and planning commission meetings. I think it may be wise to make an exception for any and all cannabis subcommittee meetings.


That's the update. I'm sure I could have let my occasional logorrheic impulses perpetuate this, but I bet you've had a bellyful of my opinions for a good long time, I know I sure have.

Below is the full video of the entire meeting. 

Item 3.1 begins at the 57 minute mark. It starts with a presentation by city manager Gary Nordquist, then public comments, and then council discussion leading up to the vote, but I suggest the video above when it comes to the council comments. I adjusted the audio up. The unedited video below has low volume.

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Truly good advice is seldom welcome, and those who need it most, appreciate it least.
– EG Marshall (CBSRMT 1977)

Wildomar Rap is confident that when it comes to opposite sides of a contentious topic, BOTH are applying the above saying to the other.

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