151-Acre Housing Project Gets Final Sign-off From Wildomar City Council

Wildomar City Council has sealed its approval of the Oak Creek Canyon development that calls for 275 homes and a commercial center to be built along Bundy Canyon Road near The Farm community.

During a Wednesday night meeting at City Hall, council members voted 4-1 on a second reading of a zoning ordinance on the 151-acre housing project that is drawing threats of lawsuits.

Councilman Bob Cashman cast the dissenting vote.

The second reading confirms a zoning change that allows for development of higher density in part of the project. The ordinance also changes zoning in another part of the development to general commercial, which allows for a five-acre commercial center to be built.

Cashman, who was patched into Wednesday’s meeting via phone, said he could not approve the project because it conflicts with Wildomar’s vision.

“My belief is the people of Wildomar don’t want this [higher] density,” he said, noting that the area is mostly rural. “It’s a whole philosophy of what Wildomar wants in the future.

“When we do these things, it’s permanent,” he continued.

Cashman also argued the city should require that the commercial component of the project be built. As it stands now, there isn't a mandate to construct a center, despite the zone change approval.

Without the commercial, the project doesn’t pencil for the city, Cashman said. 

Mayor Pro Tem Marsha Swanson argued that a mandate to build out the commercial center would be too burdensome on the developer.

“We’re not a Gestapo,” she said. “Free enterprise -- that is what we have in Wildomar.”

In a heated exchange, Mayor Tim Walker questioned why Cashman was addressing the zoning ordinance at the “eleventh-and-a-half hour,” and he criticized his colleague for not meeting with the consultant on the project, Larry Markham.

Cashman shot back.

“I was believing it [the project] would not pass CEQA,” he said.

CEQA, or the California Environmental Quality Act, requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts on projects and to avoid or mitigate those impacts where possible.

Following Wednesday night’s vote, the applicant on the project -- William Lo of Sunbelt Communities -- was asked whether he plans to sell the project off. 

Lo was not firm. 

If he does hang on to it and see it through, Lo said the issue of financing is still up in the air. 

“We’ll have to wait and see,” he offered.

There is no scheduled construction start time on the project.

Long-time Wildomar resident Craig Davis is supportive of the project. He lives near the area and owns many acres there, he said.

Davis recalled a similar housing proposal for the area in the early 2000s. He remembered the now-defunct plan and how the county weighed in on it.

“This guy’s plan [Lo’s] is far superior,” he maintained.

Development is inevitable, and “we’ve got to start somewhere,” Davis added. “Some of the lots are a little small, but I think it’s a good project.”