Growth that serves families

Menifee’s growth has helped bring new stores, parks, roads, and services. The next step is to make more of that growth work for the daily needs of families.

The city’s 2026 economic strategy identifies approximately $2.2 billion in annual spending occurring outside Menifee on shopping, dining, and entertainment. The same strategy reports that approximately 93 percent of employed Menifee residents work outside the city, with an average commute of about 42.5 minutes. That is families driving out of town for a sit-down dinner, a doctor’s appointment, and a paycheck.

Northeast Menifee just saw an important win. The shopping center at McCall Boulevard and Menifee Road was approved under a plot plan the city numbered 2009-051, and Stater Bros. broke ground in July 2026 on the first supermarket to serve the Heritage Lake community. The city could not control the company’s market timing or guarantee where private companies invest. It can keep sites ready, remove unnecessary local barriers, make permitting predictable, and provide reliable public updates on major projects.

I have looked at available commercial space in Menifee and found only a few smaller spaces for lease. A business cannot open here if it has nowhere practical to operate. The city cannot make a private developer build that space, but it can make sure future plans and zoning leave room for it.

The direction I will advocate:

• A broader mix of restaurants and gathering places, including more sit-down dining.
• Medical and dental offices, so more routine care is available close to home.
• More private childcare and preschool options. Make it easier for qualified, licensed providers to open and expand through clear zoning and predictable permitting. Countywide, a licensed space is available for only 15 percent of Riverside County children age 12 and under whose parents are in the labor force.
• Room for the local entrepreneur. Use future planning and zoning to allow more small bays and flexible workspace, then let private builders respond to demand.
• Schools that keep up. Share growth forecasts with school districts early and coordinate on the facilities growing communities will need.
• Somewhere to take the family. Support completion and programming of the Central Park amphitheater, and make Menifee a practical place for private entertainment businesses to invest and open.

Good commercial development means more of daily life can happen here. The General Plan already directs the city to locate needed goods and services close to where residents live. I will use that policy, fair economic-development outreach, and clear permitting to make our side of town ready for private investment.