Rural Property Owners Sway Lake Elsinore Planning Commission

More than 20 residents turned out Tuesday night at the Lake Elsinore Planning Commission meeting to protest zoning that would have seen high-density housing encroach on their rural neighborhood.

The residents got a partial victory: The commissioners voted 4-0 to adopt a resolution recommending that city council approve zoning for the 3rd Street Annexation project. As a condition, however, the commissioners scrapped zoning that would have allowed medium- and high-density housing inside a swath of the proposed annexation area.

Commission Chair Shelly Jordan recused herself from the vote because she lives near the project.

The 3rd Street Annexation, if approved by city council and the county, will see Lake Elsinore expand by 320 acres. The proposed annexation area is bordered by SR 74 to the north and Interstate 15 to the west (see attached map).

Tuesday's meeting was a requirement of annexation: In order for the project to move forward, the city must first adopt a “pre-annexation zone change." Several years ago, 75 acres of the 320 were zoned for residential and some open space as part of the Ramsgate Specific Plan; Tuesday's meeting laid out zoning for the remaining 245 acres.

to read more about the 3rd Street Annexation and the “pre-zoning” process.

The 3rd Street Annexation has been a long time in the works, but had been put on hold pending approval of the city’s General Plan in December.

Now it’s on the fast track and some residents inside the project’s boundaries complained Tuesday that they only heard about new zoning after March 2 – the date the city mailed out information on the project.

Most of the residents who showed up Tuesday live in a rural area inside the project’s northern boundaries (see yellow area of attached map). The area has been zoned R-E or “estate single family residential,” which allows the residents – many of whom keep animals on their acreage – to preserve a rural lifestyle.

But city staff did designate a small section of that neighborhood as R-2 and R-3, medium- and high-density residential, respectively.

City staff contended that the higher density could provide a buffer between the R-E and proposed commercial zones.

But after hearing from the residents, the commissioners changed the R-2 and R-3 designations to R-1 (single family residential).

“If this is what you folks want, this is what you should have,” Commissioner Rick Morsch told the residents.

City staff said there isn’t any current interest by developers to build on the land in question. As an aside, Morsch noted that Walmart had recently closed escrow on land bordered by Cambern Avenue and SR 74; the area sits just outside the proposed annexation area.

The only commissioner who was not in complete agreement with the R-1 designation was Vice Chair Michael O’Neal.

Although he voted to approve, he said, “If I had my druthers, I would make it R-E.” The R-E designation was not allowed without an amendment to the newly adopted General Plan, according to staff.

In addition to the R-E and R-1 zoning, if approved the 3rd Street Annexation project will also see commercial zoning. Additionally, there will also be a sliver of open space and some commercial mixed use.

The mixed-use designation is new to the city. During Tuesday night’s meeting, the commission also voted 5-0 to approve the mixed-use concept for pockets of residential and commercial areas throughout the city.

In a separate 3-2 vote, however, commissioners John Gonzales and David Blake voted against an action to allow cigar and Hookah lounges inside residential mixed-use areas. Both commissioners argued that such businesses pose a danger to public health and should only be allowed to open shop in commercial zones. Morsch and O’Neal countered that technology exists to prevent the threat of secondhand smoke and said that such projects would be subject to a conditional-use permit.