NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
AND
NOTICE OF INTENT TO CERTIFY A
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
TIME OF HEARING: 6:00 p.m. or as soon as possible thereafter.
DATE OF HEARING: February 7, 2024
PLACE OF HEARING: MENIFEE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
29844 HAUN ROAD, MENIFEE, CA 92586
A PUBLIC HEARING has been scheduled, pursuant to the City of Menifee Municipal Code, before the CITY OF MENIFEE CITY COUNCIL to consider the project shown below:
Project Title: “Menifee Valley Specific Plan” General Plan Amendment No. PLN 21-0336, Change of Zone No. PLN 21-0335, Specific Plan Amendment No. PLN 21-0221, Specific Plan No. PLN 21- 0217, Tentative Tract Map No. PLN 22-0033, and Development Agreement No. PLN 21-0338 and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (State Clearinghouse No. #2022030233)
Project Location: The Project is generally located within the Menifee Valley Ranch Specific Plan No. 301 (SP 301) in the northeastern portion of the City of Menifee in Riverside County, California. The Project site is generally bounded on the north by State Route 74 (SR-74) and the west by Menifee Road, both identified in the City’s General Plan as designated truck routes. Directly south are the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks (BNSFRR), SCE transmission facilities, and Matthews Road (a dirt road designated only as a paper street). Directly to the east is Briggs Road. The 590.3-acre Project site consists of multiple parcels (Assessor Parcel Numbers [APNs] 331-260-005 through -009, 331-270-005, 331-280-005, 331-290-004, 331-300-002, -004, -005, -007, and -013, 333-170-006 and -011 through - 013). Reference Figure 1, Project Location.
The City Council will consider whether to approve the following entitlement applications at a public hearing:
General Plan Amendment No. PLN 21-0336 proposes to change the General Plan land use map to include the MVSP land use designation and remove the portion of SP 301 proposed to be removed under Specific Plan Amendment No. PLN 21-0221 (as described below).
Change of Zone No. PLN 21-0335 proposes to revise the City Zoning Map to include the Menifee Valley Specific Plan (Specific Plan No. PLN 21-0217) zone. The change of zone is required to change the SP 301 zoning designation to Specific Plan No. PLN 21-0217.
Specific Plan Amendment No. PLN 21-0221 proposes to remove parcels located north of Matthews Road, south of Highway 74, east of Menifee Road, and west of Briggs Road from SP 301. The removal of this area from SP 301 would reduce the size of SP 301 from 1,548.3 to 942.0 acres and would reduce the number of permitted residential units within SP 301 by 1,718 units.
Specific Plan No. PLN 21-0217 proposes the separate and distinct MVSP described above on 590.3 acres.
Tentative Tract Map No. PLN 22 -0033 includes a subdivision to establish the boundaries and dimensions of streets and the proposed mass grading for the MVSP. Following map recordation, the final
map would become the legal document that identifies the lots and backbone infrastructure to allow for future subdivision maps to be filed.
Development Agreement No. PLN 21-0338 between the Applicant and the City identifies the terms for development of the Project site and identifies the Applicant’s obligations associated with the proposed Project. The DA refers to the MVSP for the allowable land uses in the Specific Plan area and outlines other terms and conditions of approval associated with the Specific Plan’s approval and implementation.
Project Description:
The Project includes the Specific Plan area (approximately 590.3 acres) and two sets of off -site improvement areas. The first set of off-site improvements includes improvements to existing roadways (e.g., Menifee Road, SR -74, and Briggs Road), utility connections (e.g. , water, sewer, stormwater, electricity, internet, and natural gas), landscaping, and construction of a non-vehicular bridge to connect the Specific Plan site to the Heritage Lake community to the south (up to 59.0 acres total).
In addition, a second set of off -site roadway improvements are proposed to address circulation issues and to implement the level-of-service (LOS) goals set forth in the Circulation Element of the City’s General Plan. These roadway improvements, which include widening and additional turn lanes as required, include Matthews Road/Case Road (between McLaughlin Road and Ethanac Road), McLaughlin Road (between Matthews Road/Case Road and Menifee Road), widening McCall Boulevard (between Encanto Drive and Menifee Road), and enforcing diversion of southbound project truck traffic to the Ethanac Road interchange using the McLaughlin Road extension to Matthews Road/Case Road. Roadway improvements include possible relocation of overhead and underground utility infrastructure, additional road signage, traffic rerouting, road resurfacing and expansion, and walkways and road lighting. These improvements would result in these roadway segments being built out to their ultimate configurations as identified in the City’s General Plan Circulation Element (Circulation Element Exhibit C-3). These roadway improvements were identified in the General Plan Circulation Element and included in the Final General Plan EIR (certified on December 18, 2013) which evaluated impacts related t o the adoption of the Circulation Element.
The proposed Project would facilitate the development of the 590.3-acre Project site as a mixed-use, master-planned community through the approval of the Menifee Valley Specific Plan (MVSP). The planned community would provide economic development and jobs to the City and improve the ratio of jobs to housing in Menifee while delivering a mix of uses while maintaining the maximum residential unit count of 1,718 that was previously approved for the Project site by SP 301.
The MVSP Land Use Plan divides the 590.3-acre property into 13 “Planning Areas”. The southern and eastern portions of the MVSP will accommodate the 1,718 housing units, providing an array of housing types and neighborhood amenities, including greenbelts, trails, a public sports park, open space and an elementary school site. The northern and western portions of the MVSP area are reserved for Civic Node Public Facilities, Business Park, Commercial Business Park, and Commercial areas that will allow uses which foster economic activity and promote job growth. A Civic Node positioned in the southwest portion of the MVSP site where the City may locate a fire station, train transit stop, and/or other needed public or quasi -public uses. Reference Figure 2, Conceptual Land Use Plan and F igure 3, Off-Site Improvement Areas.
Environmental Information: A Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was published in the Press Enterprise on Thursday, October 19, 2023, sent to responsible and trustee agencies, and mailed to surrounding property owners within 300 feet and interested parties, stating that copies of the DEIR were available for public review at the City of Menifee City Hall, the Sun City Library and Menifee Library.
The public review period was for the State-mandated 45 days, from October 19, 2023 through December 4, 2023. Analysis presented in the DEIR indicated the proposed project would have certain significant and unavoidable impacts related to air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, land use and planning, and transportation, as described in detail in the DEIR. The DEIR also presented mitigation measures, which will reduce project-specific and cumulative impacts. All other environmental effects evaluated in the DEIR are considered less-than-significant or can be successfully mitigated below the applicable significance thresholds.
The Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) responds to the comments and includes text revisions to the DEIR in response to input received on the DEIR. If written comments are received, they will be provided to the City of Menifee City Council as part of the staff report for the Project. The DEIR and FEIR will be submitted to the City Council for requested certification and action on the Project.
The FEIR is available on the City of Menifee Community Development Department website:
https://www.cityofmenifee.us/325/Environmental-Notices-Documents. Additionally, hard copies of the FEIR can be viewed at:
• Menifee City Hall - 29844 Haun Road, Menifee, CA 92586
The Project site is not included on a list of hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5 (California Department of Toxic Substances Control list of various hazardous sites).
Any person wishing to comment on the proposed Project may do so in writing between the date of this notice and the public hearing and be heard at the time and place noted above. All comments must be received prior to the time of public hearing. All such comments will be submitted to the City Council, and the City Council will consider such comments, in addition to any oral testimony, before making a decision on the proposed Project.
If this Project is challenged in court, the issues may be limited to those raised at the public hearing, described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City Council at, or prior to, the public hearing. Be advised that as a result of public hearings and comments, the City Council may amend, in whole or in part, the proposed Project. Accordingly, the designations, development standards, design or improvements, or any properties or lands within the boundaries of the proposed Project, may be changed in a way other than specifically proposed.
For further information regarding this project or to provide written correspondence, please contact Ryan Fowler, at (951) 723-3740 or e-mail [email protected].
City of Menifee, Community Development Department
Attn: Ryan Fowler, Principal Planner
29844 Haun Road
Menifee, CA 92586
Service Layer Credits: Copyright:(c) 2014 Esri
ÄÆ74
MENIFEE RD MATTHEWS
RD
BRIGGS RD
SIMPSON RD
MCCAL
L BLV
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NEWPORT RD
ETHANAC RD
BRADLEY RD
LEON RD
LINDENBURGER RD
City of
Menifee
Unincorporated
Riverside County
City of
Perris
BNSF
§¨¦215
SOURCE: Google Imagery (2021)
I:\CIM2106\GIS\MXD\EIR\Vicinity_EIR.mxd (9/13/2023)
FIGURE 1
Project LocaƟon
0 2000 4000
FEET
LEGEND
Proposed Menifee Valley Specific Plan
Approved Specific Plan 301
Menifee Valley Specific Plan EIR
Riverside
County
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Project
Location
§¨¦10
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§¨¦215
Project Vicinity
SOURCE: ESRI, Nearmap Imagery (2022), RCTLMA (2022)
FIGURE 2
MVSP Conceptual Land Use Plan
Menifee Valley Specific Plan EIR
I:\CIM2106\G\Conceptual_Land_Use.ai (8/11/2022)
0 500 1000
FEET
Figure 1. Project Area and Off-site Improvements Map
SOURCE: Paleo West
LEGEND
Project Area
FEET
31251562.50
FIGURE 3
I:\CIM2106\G\Off-Site_Improvement_Areas.ai (9/13/2023)
Menifee Valley Specific Plan EIR
Off-Site Improvement Areas
Off-Site Improvement Area #1
Off-Site Improvement Area #2