Where I stand

The regional housing assessment assigns Menifee 6,609 housing units to plan for between 2021 and 2029, a number the city did not choose.1The city’s adopted Housing Element plans against that same obligation.2

State law now requires cities to approve qualifying duplexes and lot splits in single-family neighborhoods ministerially, without discretionary review or a public hearing,3 and accessory dwelling unit applications the same way.4 Decisions that used to be made at a podium in Menifee are now made in the Government Code. Ignoring those laws is not an option: a city that falls out of compliance hands Sacramento even more leverage over what gets built here.

The pushback is being organized right next door. Murrieta submitted Resolution No. 1 to the League of California Cities, calling for a working group to pursue a state constitutional amendment or other initiative to ensure final local authority over housing and land-use decisions. The cities of Banning, Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Moreno Valley, Norco, and Torrance and the mayors of San Jacinto and Temecula signed letters of concurrence,5cities as far north as Crescent City have joined, and the resolution goes before the League’s General Assembly in Anaheim on September 25, 2026.6Murrieta’s council has also formed a subcommittee to explore sponsoring a statewide local-control ballot initiative of its own.7Its mayor put the argument plainly in a June 2026 letter to an Assembly committee: the state “cannot continue to mandate housing outcomes while also limiting the ability of local governments to plan for the impacts of those mandates.”8

On September 2, 2026, the Menifee City Council voted to support Resolution No. 1 and directed the city’s voting delegate to support it at the General Assembly.9I support that decision and will push for Menifee to follow through with a council resolution of its own, participation in the working group when it forms, and local-control language in the city’s Legislative Platform.

Menifee’s growth has brought new stores, parks, roads, and services. More of that growth should meet the daily needs of families who live here.

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 city’s 2026 economic strategy identifies approximately $2.2 billion in annual spending outside Menifee on shopping, dining, and entertainment. It also reports that approximately 93 percent of employed residents work outside the city, with an average commute of about 42.5 minutes.1The city’s economic development director repeated the spending figure to the Planning Commission in July 2026.2 Countywide, licensed childcare capacity is available for only 15 percent of children age 12 and under whose parents are in the labor force.5

Northeast Menifee recently saw an important win. A shopping center at McCall Boulevard and Menifee Road had been approved under Plot Plan 2009-051,3 but the Stater Bros. serving Heritage Lake did not break ground until July 2026.4Its timing was the private market’s decision. The city’s role is to keep sites ready, remove avoidable local barriers, make permitting predictable, and provide reliable public updates.

The General Plan already directs the city to locate needed goods and services close to residents.7 The Central Park amphitheater can also give families another reason to spend an evening in Menifee.6

I started my business at my kitchen table, and the hardest step was the first commercial lease. Small bays, light industry, and flexible workspace can help a resident’s side business become an employer. Menifee’s 2026 economic study reports that approximately 93 percent of employed residents work outside the city.1

City and state records show millions of square feet of industrial projects at stages ranging from proposed to under construction. The pipeline includes the Trumble and Watson project and a 1.26 million square foot distribution center approved in July 2026.23

California’s warehouse law, AB 98 as amended by SB 415, does not apply to projects whose local entitlement process began before September 30, 2024, or that were approved before the law took effect.4 Some projects are under construction, some are approved but unbuilt, and others face litigation.5Each one must be reviewed under its own approvals, vested rights, law, and record. The council can still set fair rules in advance for future policy and applications, including lawful updates to the city’s Industrial Good Neighbor Policies.6

A council cannot make private builders deliver a particular kind of space. It can make Menifee competitive for investment through clear zoning, predictable permitting, and fair review.

I grew up here when open fields still separated the neighborhoods. Menifee cannot stay frozen in time, but growth and preservation do not have to be opposites.

Menifee’s General Plan calls for five acres of public open space per 1,000 residents,1 and the parkland ordinance sets the same standard for neighborhood and community parks.2 The Parks Master Plan separately found 2.6 developed active park acres per 1,000 residents, about 255 acres short of its five-acre active-park goal. It projected that the city would remain about 300 acres short in 2035 even after planned parks were built.3

Active parks and preserved open space are different, and both matter. In 2025, the council unanimously approved the 398-acre Menifee Hills acquisition for $1.15 million using a developer community benefit instead of the general fund.4 The regional Salt Creek Trail plan also includes segments Menifee can help deliver.5

Menifee already generally prohibits new off-site commercial signs and new electronic display signs, with limited exceptions.6 The General Plan also bars billboards within 660 feet of designated scenic corridors, including the entire length of I-215. It specifically distinguishes those billboards from signs identifying a business on its own property.7If a proposal comes before the council to loosen those protections, I will put Menifee’s scenic views and community character first.

Menifee has completed major transportation projects, and that progress matters. District 4 still feels daily pressure on Newport Road and McCall Boulevard. The General Plan identifies Newport near I-215 as a location requiring eight lanes,1 and an official project forecast put traffic there at 62,000 vehicles a day by 2030.2

The Holland Road Overpass shows how a large project can move without relying on one funding source. Its $38.6 million cost combined the local sales tax measure, regional developer fees, road fees, benefit-district funds, and the general fund.3 Developer fees and growth-related programs carried roughly two thirds of the cost.

Menifee rebuilt the Newport interchange in 20174and Scott Road’s in 2020.5 Garbani remains under study,6 while the city calls the McCall interchange inadequate for current traffic and has not yet assembled its construction funding.78 A July 2026 city update listed a dozen active street projects across Menifee, with none on Newport Road.9 District 4 needs a public funding and construction schedule.

Menifee has placed in SafeWise’s top twenty California cities for three straight years, ranking 17th in 2026 among cities that met its criteria.1 The streak began after Menifee established its own police department in 2020.2 That is a real accomplishment for residents and the Menifee Police Department.

The department’s quarterly update reported the most urgent calls essentially on target, with Priority 2 and Priority 3 response times well ahead of their goals.3 The department deserves credit for both the results and making them easier to see.

Response time alone never tells the whole story. The annual review also reports officer counts and 9-1-1 call volumes,4while the city’s financial report provides broader staffing context.8 Those measures should be read together with geography, vacancies, traffic, and available resources rather than turned into a political scorecard.

Menifee Police credits its Flock cameras with more than 120 arrests.5 The department publishes its procedure and usage portal, reports a 30-day retention period, and requires at least two audits each year.67 Publishing audit results, corrective actions, and outside-agency access would help residents see both the value and the safeguards.

Fire and emergency medical services are provided through CAL FIRE and Riverside County Fire.9 Response data should inform station and resource planning as northeast Menifee grows.