New City Eyed For Southwest Riverside County: 33,000 Added Homes, Biz

WINCHESTER, CA — Winchester, known for its open space and rural living in an unincorporated area, is laying the groundwork to become a "model city" the size of Temecula, but not everyone is happy.

Temecula City Council members are gearing up for a possible battle with the county over the "Winchester Community Plan" — or what the city calls a lack of infrastructure to support the project.

Temecula City Councilmember Maryann Edwards dismissed the plan, likening it to trash.

"We're looking at 33,000 homes and no roads," she said.

Her comments came during Tuesday's City Council meeting after Deputy City Manager Luke Watson provided an overview of the county plan for Winchester.

County documents show that "one of the objectives of the plan is to increase the residential development potential of the Winchester area." As outlined in a draft Environmental Impact Report, "it is estimated the Winchester Community Plan will potentially generate 33,569 new residential dwelling units."

The plan also calls for a revitalized downtown, as well as commercial, industrial, retail and mixed-use development with open space, recreation and parks over land that is approximately 50,000 acres or 42 square miles. The area is surrounded by unincorporated land and Hemet to the north and east, unincorporated area and Murrieta and Temecula to the south, and Murrieta and Menifee to the west.

"The Winchester Community Plan looks to change multiple General Plan Land Uses primarily for the purpose of creating a downtown core area with residential and commercial mixed uses," according to a statement released Friday by county spokesperson Brooke Federico. "This is a reflection of the need for more housing as mandated by the State, and is consistent with the desires expressed by the Winchester community through an extensive community-based planning effort."

As for increased traffic that would result from population growth under the plan, Federido said "substantial improvements to the roadway network through the Winchester area have already occurred and will continue as the community grows ... ." The plan also includes provisions for connection to future commuter rail, and a new development impact fee to pay for a future rail station and park-and-ride, she said.

If the Winchester Community Plan is approved, Winchester would also be set up for cityhood. Incorporation takes time — years — but the plan is a foundation that gets the wheels spinning.

The plan's draft EIR has been circulated, and public hearings before the county’s Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors are expected to begin this winter, with final adoption of the plan targeted for spring 2023. In addition to environmental concerns, zoning changes and general plan amendments are part of the document.

While the plan does not result in construction, it does create a framework upon which future development can occur.

Temecula wants a seat at the planning table because much of Winchester's southbound traffic flows through the city.

Temecula Mayor Matt Rahn said his city's quality of life was being "put at risk because of this project."

Temecula isn't the only city with concerns. Traffic from the Winchester community flows through Murrieta, Menifee and into Lake Elsinore. During the Oct. 19 Menifee City Council meeting, the county plan was discussed. Menifee, like Temecula, wants a voice. To achieve that, the northern city is considering extending its sphere of influence into the Winchester Community Plan area.

That doesn't bode well with Andy Domenigoni. He is among those heading the Winchester cityhood effort and is a proponent of the Winchester Community Plan. He's a descendant of the community's earliest years — his great-great grandfather came to the valley in 1879 and became the town's first postmaster in 1881.

Domenigoni was at Menifee's City Council meeting.

"We are trying to become a city, too, someday," Domenigoni told the audience. The process is in motion and the Winchester Community Plan "fills in the doughnut holes."

Domenigoni sees Menifee's efforts to extend its sphere of influence into the Winchester Community Plan as a "land grab," but councilmembers insist they just want a voice on the project.

"If you're going to build a new city right next to us, the only way for those people to get to the freeway and get out of there is right through the heart of the city of Menifee," City Councilmember Bob Karwin said.

Speaking by phone this week, Domenigoni said Winchester has more roads already in place than many other cities did during their infancy. He pointed to state Routes 74 and 79 (the latter of which is slated to undergo a $1 billion alignment), Domenigoni Parkway and Scott Road, which currently all serve Winchester.

The future Winchester will be "a model city," built on examples of successful incorporations in Northern California, Orange County and Arizona, Domenigoni said. He also pointed to Soboba's plans to build a 200-acre resort off Domenigoni Parkway.

The Winchester Community Plan "sets the roadmap for growth," Domenigoni said.

Surrounding Southwest Riverside County cities will undoubtedly have concerns moving forward, and it's unclear what legal challenges might pop up.

"The county team recognizes that there are concerns expressed by some cities and other entities on the draft environmental impact report," according to Federico's released statement. "Staff is committed to engaging in dialogue with our cities and community partners to hold further discussions on the plan, work to address concerns, and further consider opportunities to improve the plan to make it the best possible."

Menifee, Murrieta and Temecula are just some of those cities.

"The City of Menifee recognizes that the Winchester Community Plan will result in regional impacts, and we will continue to work collaboratively with our regional partners to help ensure that any issues are appropriately addressed and mitigated," the city said in an emailed statement Thursday.

According to an emailed statement from Murrieta, the city provided comments on the EIR and anticipates "that an informational item will go before City Council in the next two meetings to review impacts on Murrieta."

Federico added that the Winchester Community Plan "is intended to set a cohesive long-term vision that will be built over several decades."

Correction: This article was updated to correctly state that Andy Domenigoni's great-great grandfather became the town's first postmaster in 1881.