Elsinore sphere of influence request of Wildomar property approved by LAFCO

Riverside County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) commissioners approved an expansion of the city of Lake Elsinore’s sphere of influence (SOI) into the boundaries of the unincorporated community of Wildomar in a 4-1 vote on October 26. The next step for the south Orange County-based developer Trumark Companies and the city of Lake Elsinore will be annexation of the approximately 246 acres currently located within Wildomar.

Speaking on behalf of Trumark Companies, Jeremy Krout of Rick Goacher Planning and Associates (RGP) in Irvine told the LAFCO panel the developer proposes to build approximately 300 homes on the acreage in a development called Canyon Hills Estates.

“The site is separated from the main body of Wildomar,” said Krout of the hills and valleys in the area, and is a natural extension of Lake Elsinore. “The property owners identify with Lake Elsinore, shopped at Lake Elsinore businesses and want to place the property within the city’s boundaries and control.”

Besides the natural topography of the hillsides that separate the property from Wildomar, he said, the public services and infrastructure improvements would come from Lake Elsinore.

Primary access to the residential neighborhoods would be via Cottonwood Canyon Road to Railroad Canyon Road. The developer would create a secondary entry on Navajo Springs Road to gain access to Lost Road. There would be traffic impact but figures were not available at the meeting.

About two dozen local (Wildomar) residents, including representatives of Wildomar Incorporation Now (WIN), the Wildomar Land Development Review Committee, Wildomar landowners in the private rural neighborhood of Oak Springs (which overlooks the property), a Lake Elsinore resident with a petition of more than 700 Lake Elsinore residents in nearby Canyon Hills neighborhoods and others appealed to the commissioners in opposition to the proposal.

Similar presentations were made twice before. In February, the city of Lake Elsinore Planning Commission deadlocked on a series of resolutions and failed to garner enough votes to make a recommendation to the city council. In a 4-1 vote in April, the council approved the developer’s request paving the way for a final determination by LAFCO, the county-wide agency that determines boundary changes.

With assurances from LAFCO executive director George Spiliotis, Krout asserted the SOI would not affect the unincorporated community of Wildomar’s efforts to become a city. According to Spiliotis, voters could have a chance to vote on cityhood by next November.

“This is not a land grab or an attempt to foil Wildomar’s incorporation,” said Krout.

Lake Elsinore City Councilman Daryl Hickman spoke in support of the SOI amendment, saying the developer’s request to bring the property back into the Lake Elsinore boundaries was unexpected. He also felt the land fit within the topography of the existing community.

WIN Secretary Sheryl Ade said the SOI amendment was premature since the city’s general plan would not be completed until the early part of next year, according to the city’s Community Development director, Rolfe Preisendanz.