Wildomar City Council looks at amended cannabis and affordable housing ordinances

Tony Ault Staff Writer

The adoption of a zoning ordinance amendment that would restrict the transportation of cannabis delivery businesses to operate only in the city’s industrial areas was tabled after a lengthy discussion at the May 10 Wildomar City Council meeting.

The question was raised why such an amendment would be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act and if it would encourage new transportation-only cannabis businesses to come into the city even in the industrial zone.

While two current cannabis businesses that cultivate and distribute their products (in store) do operate in the city’s industrial and commercial zones, there are no transportation-only cannabis businesses in the city. Those current cannabis businesses are carefully controlled by city ordinances providing any health or safety infraction may result in the business closing.

It was the staff’s desire that if any transportation-only cannabis businesses wanted to come into the city, they could if they stayed in the industrial zones only by ordinance. The discussion opened a public hearing that brought one resident to the podium who said she was unaware that the other cannabis businesses cultivated and distributed their product in the city, voicing her concern that the ordinance might bring in new cannabis transporting businesses even in the allowed industrial zones without a proper environmental study through CEQA. She argued that maybe the entire cannabis ordinances should be reviewed again because of the potential of more businesses coming into Wildomar that many residents don’t want.

While the Wildomar Planning Commission recommended the amendment be placed in the cannabis ordinances, the council said it may bring other problems from new cannabis businesses that may not be subject to a CEQA review. The five council members agreed that the amendment should be further studied and tabled the public hearing until the June council meeting.

During another public hearing, the council reluctantly agreed for a resolution to approve a density bonus and parking concessions to a new proposed affordable housing project at 36750 Mesa Drive that would bring 130 new apartments into the city.

The affordable housing project, Wildomar Cottages, is already tentatively approved by the Wildomar Planning Commission abiding by California’s SB35 for cities to add affordable housing to families making under $70,000 per year.

Each city in the state was ordered to provide a certain number of affordable housing units within their boundaries to overcome the state’s housing shortage for low income families. While a city had to follow the SB35 mandate, they could still require their own design standards by ordinance. But they still had to allow enough parking areas and more affordable housing without regard to the surrounding traffic patterns or adjacent lower density single family homes.

The ordinance before the council dealt only with the number of parking spaces to be allowed for the increased family size and the number of residential apartments and their sizes (for higher numbers of family members expected) or density allowed which was more that other similar surrounding housing projects.

Even though questions arose that the number of parking spaces for possibly larger older families with cars were insufficient, and the lack of other parking areas on nearby narrow city streets that might create more traffic hazards, the council reluctantly approved the bonus parking and density of the 13 apartments going on 6.9 acres of land. The vote was 4 to 1 with one council member giving a no vote.

Earlier in the meeting, Jason Farag, from the public works and engineering department, gave reports on the road construction throughout the city and reported that the Bundy Canyon capital improvements project to widen the roadway, is nearly complete with new traffic signals being coordinated and final striping underway. There was some indication, however, that parts of the newly constructed roadway were still “bumpy” and the problem is being looked into with the contractor.

City Manager Daniel York in his comments said he was extremely pleased with efforts of the code enforcement and sheriff’s department special teams to help clear up most of the homeless problems in the city during the past few years. He said at this time there was only one outstanding person left in the city looking for a home or help. Most of the homeless encampments in the city have been removed and the land cleaned up. An update on the 2023-2024 planned budget was provided for police and fire departments. Both are expected to increase by next fiscal year with the police department (sheriff’s contract) going from $5,619,000 to $5,894,900 and the fire department (County/

CalFire contract) from $4,602,468 to $4,829,398 with Measure AA funding. The increased expenditure is expected to help fund 13 more sheriff’s patrol hours and new traffic community service and special enforcement officers and improved higher paid firefighters and paramedics with better hours and plans for a new utility truck and the planning and land acquisition for a new future fire station in the city. The final General Fund and CIP fiscal year budget is still being reviewed and must be presented by the end of June.

Tony Ault can be reached at tault@reedermedia.com.