• City Council Meeting July 2019

There were three key items that came from the July city council meeting.  

2.1 Faith Bible Church
The general plan amendment from commercial office and medium density housing to commercial retail was approved by the city council 5-0.

The blue star denotes the location of the project.

This allows Faith Bible Church, not to be confused with Wildomar's Faith Baptist Church, to take the next step in building their church.

It's visible from the freeway, about halfway between Clinton Keith and Baxter on the east side of the freeway, just north of the Hartford Park community. Access will be from Depasquale Road, which starts at George Rd (shortly to be changed to Wildomar Trail).

Still shot from an animated visual of the future campus.

I didn't see any serious opposition to the project, and the residents from Hartford Park are said to be in favor of it... one added bonus to a church being on that land is that it can no longer serve as an illegal offroad park. (I can't wait until Baxter Village gets underway, if for no other reason than to take that "motocross park" off the list too.)

They are hoping to get through the permitting process by December/January, begin construction in 2020 with a grand opening for phase one in late 2020 or early 2021.

This item begins at the 1:03:00 mark of the video below.

2.3 Urgency Ordinance Regarding Tobacco Retailing

This still has some moving parts to it (which is a fancy way of saying I can't talk too much about it) so I'll just report the final resolution. The urgency ordinance was extended another ten months and forty-five days, for a total of a year if need be. 

A carve out was added to the ordinance which would allow other such tobacco retailing businesses (including the applicants here at a different location) to open in the city as long as they're a minimum of 600 feet from a public or private school. The final details of the ordinance will be hammered out over the next several months.

Opinion Time

None of the members on city council have a problem with this type of legal business. The problem has always been the extreme proximity to Wildomar Elementary. 

I was sorry to hear the story of the young entrepreneurial partners that one moment were getting ready to go into business, and the next moment see the city breathing down their necks.

They seemed like the type of eager businessmen we'd love to have in town, just not 150 feet from the school. The city will be working with them in efforts to untangle this mess... but the old Jolie Day Spa will NOT become a smoke shop. Hopefully they'll be able to find another location in town.

This item begins at the 1:45:40 mark of the video below.

3.3 Establishment of the Sign Code Update

Ben Benoit and Joseph Morabito were chosen to be on an Ad Hoc subcommittee to help guide staff in the creation of a sign ordinance. (I want to hear your opinions on the topic)

Again, keeping the Brown Act in mind (not being able to say much at this point) we're looking to improve the quality of life and the community in Wildomar. Over the past several years signage has gotten out of control here, both with random signs in the right of way, and even banners hanging on buildings.

You can see how signs multiply like rabbits when left unchecked.

I look forward to working with Ben, Planning Director Matt Bassi and our new Economic Development Director Kimberly Davidson on this matter. We'll be looking to balance the needs of the business with the needs of the community at large. 

One suggestion, if any of those rogue signs are yours why not cut out the middleman and take them down without being told to? 

Of course there was a whole lot more to the meeting, but I ran out of time this week and have to stop here. I invite you to watch the entire meeting in the video below. 

•                •                •

No one is served by speculation in the absence of facts
– Brian Whitman

Wildomar Rap isn't on a first name basis with speculation, and that's a fact.

This blog was produced for viewing on a desktop or a laptop. Though it's been optimized for smartphones, the formatting can look odd on a smartphone or if you get this delivered through email (such as missing video links). Link to proper format.

• Drive-In Movie Night 2018

This was the fourth annual drive-in movie night in Wildomar, and it was a packed house. All the parking spaces were taken, and that counts a few instances of creative parking too. (A total of about 60)

The spots were mostly taken by 7:30.

On hand was Faith Bible Church dispensing free ice cream. This group has been very generous with the community, and they don't even have a church here... yet. 

Kids love ice cream,

They do have some property on the east side of the freeway, and something in the works with it, but I'm guessing they're still years away from holding any services in town. 

(Link to 2016 blog talking about it)

What better combo could there be than a free movie with free ice cream?

Finding that perfect spot.

Also on hand was Wildomar Little League, it was sort of a home game for them, being that it's the same parking lot they use; they were selling sodas and water for a dollar.

About 30 minutes before show time, from behind the screen.

With a view of the cemetery and the hills beyond.

The movie was Jumanji (2017), and though I headed back home before the 10 minute mark had been eclipsed, the vibe was well established that people were having a good time on a balmy Summer evening. 

Drive-ins aren't just for cars, ask Mike Sheehan and he'll tell ya. ☺

Events like this are what memories are made of. 

It was actually much darker than it appears in this photo. Taken at about 8:20pm.

UPDATE

It appears that mother nature put the kibosh on the movie sometime after 9pm... knocking down the screen. 

Even with the movie being cut short, I stand by my original assessment that events like this are what memories are made of, even if they include wonky playback and then the screen collapsing. The pre-movie time with the ice cream and running around in anticipation is what kids remember most about drive-ins anyway. 

•                •                •

"The covers of this book are too far apart."
– Ambrose Bierce 

Wildomar Rap invites you to notice that there are no covers on blogs to be concerned with.

This blog was produced for viewing on a desktop or a laptop. Though it's been optimized for smartphones, the formatting can look odd on a smartphone or if you get this delivered through email (such as missing video links). Link to proper format.

• Planning Commission Meeting November 2016

Two items on the agenda tonight. 

Both dealt with the same basic area of town.

Westpark Promenade is denoted by the blue star.

Item 2.1 Westpark Promenade
The project starts just east of the 15 freeway, sandwiched between the housing tract known as Hartford Park, off Depasqule Rd, and the USA gas station that is on Clinton Keith.

This project calls for 118,354 square feet of commercial retail space and 191 condos.
The retail portion will go along the freeway, with the condos on the eastern half of the project.

•
If you'd like to get a better view of the project, use this link to the agenda packet. Once there, just scroll down for various images and maps.

It was established that these units will not be rented out like apartments, but sold like any other home would be. 

Which brought up the question raised at the last planning commission meeting, will they be paying the full $28 Measure Z park maintenance fee or not?

Planning Director Matt Bassi and Assistant City Manager Dan York answered that (yes they will be) in the short video below.

Item 2.1, was comprised of seven resolutions, all passing, sending it off to the city council for a final vote. Each passed 4-0, with Commissioner Sidney York being absent for the second straight meeting.

He's going to be the new record holder for fewest meetings attended by a sworn Wildomar Planning Commissioner, with a final count of one. His term ends when Councilmember Bob Cashman's does (next month), which means his tenure is in the history books now.

○     ○     ○

Fun fact, this project is already in line to get the CEQA shakedown from the new kids on the Wildomar block→ SoCal Environmental Justice Alliance. 

The same group that threatened legal action against the Baxter Village project... last I heard there was a settlement (cha-ching) so the project can now go forward.

Tons of papers have already been going back and forth between their lawyers and the city and the project's legal representatives, regarding the Westpark project .

Apologies to any Canadian Mounties that may be
offended by this characterization of Dudley Do-Right.

If you want to know a major reason why there is a housing shortage in California, and why the prices are ridiculously high here, look no further than the self proclaimed activists that make everyone's lives difficult as they're busy playing Dudley Do-Right. 

Lawsuits costs money and the ones that end up paying the freight are the future homeowners... if the units get built in the first place.

Below is a link to SCEJA's website. By the looks of it, it takes a whole lot of greenbacks to be green with all the people working for them.

SoCal Environmental Justice Alliance Website

The other item on the agenda was another GPIP. I thought we'd gotten past the need for these... I guess I was wrong.

Brief recap. There are General Plan Amendments and then there are General Plan Amendment Initiation Requests (better known as GPIPs). It's a way for an applicant to size up his chances of approval before actually deciding to go for an actual GPA.

A couple of years ago I came up with a four panel cartoon that sort of illustrates a GPIP (at least how I see it). 

Hint: Mario is a random developer, and Peach is the city.

The GPIP was being sought by Faith Bible Church, for a 600 seat church (with potential expansion to 1100) on 24 acres. It's located directly north of the Westpark Promenade project. 

Based on the usual pace that a Wildomar project takes, the Faith Bible Church project is a long way off at best.

Planning Commission Chair, Veronica Langworthy left them with, "It's important that if you see the need that you feel free to go after that vision. We have a vision in Wildomar that we are community, we are rural and we are family oriented. So if what you're proposing fits within that and within our general plan, pursue it."

But remember, this was only a GPIP. So nothing actually happened... other than the applicant asking if it would be ok to ask more formally in the future.

•        •        •

“The price of freedom of religion or of speech or of the press is that we must put up with, and even pay for, a good deal of rubbish.”

—Robert H. Jackson, 1892-1954

Wildomar Rap hates it that good people are forced to pay a toll for freedom, to scoundrels.