LAFCO
Temecula MSR Draft March 2009 dudek
Read the report at Local Agency Formation Commissions ↗
Prepared for:
Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission
3850 Vine Street, Suite 110
Riverside, CA 92507-4225
Prepared by:
1650 Spruce Street
Suite 240
Riverside, California 92507
Contact: Wayne Fowler
DRAFT – MARCH 2009
City of Temecula Municipal Services Review
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page No.
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...............................................................................................1
1.1 Background.............................................................................................................1
1.2 Statutory Requirements...........................................................................................1
1.3 Service Review Process & Methodology………………………………………....2
1.4 Determinations from Prior MSR…………………………………………….…….3
2.0 CITY OF TEMECULA.....................................................................................................4
2.1 Overview.................................................................................................................4
2.2 Planning Boundaries and Growth...........................................................................6
2.2.1 Sphere of Influence……………………………………..…………………6
2.2.2 Planning Boundaries...................................................................................6
2.2.3 Growth Projections.....................................................................................8
2.3 Administration and Operations.............................................................................12
2.3.1 City Governance.......................................................................................12
2.3.2 City Infrastructure.....................................................................................12
2.3.3 Municipal Services....................................................................................13
2.3.4 Finances....................................................................................................14
2.3.5 Capital Improvement Plans.......................................................................18
2.4 Municipal Services................................................................................................19
2.4.1 Public Safety Services...............................................................................19
2.4.2 Community Development Services..........................................................25
2.4.3 Public Works and Transportation Services...............................................25
2.5 Temecula Community Services District...............................................................28
2.6 Redevelopment Agency..................................................................................…..29
2.7 Park, Recreation and Library Services…………………………………………29
2.7.1 Parks and Recreation…..…………………………………………………29
2.7.2 Library Services. ...………………………………………………………34
2.8 Solid Waste Collection and Disposal Services ………………………………… 35
2.9 Other Services……………………………………………………………………36
2.9.1 Animal Control…………………………………………………….. ...…36
2.9.2 Information Technology...........................................................................36
3.0 OTHER AGENCIES PROVIDING SERVICES WITHIN THE CITY OR WITHIN
THE SPHERE OF INFLUENCE AND PLANNING AREA.......................................37
3.1 Services Provided by County Agencies................................................................37
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3.1.1 Sherriff Services........................................................................................37
3.1.2 Fire Protection Services............................................................................38
3.1.3 Library.......................................................................................................38
3.1.4 County Service Areas...............................................................................38
3.1.5 PublicTransitServices...............................................................................41
3.1.6 Regional Park and Open Space District……………………………….…42
3.1.7 Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District……...42
3.2 Special Districts………………………………………………………………….44
3.2.1 Eastern Municipal Water District.........................................................................44
3.2.2 Western Municipal Water District........................................................................45
3.2.3 Rancho California Water District………………………………………………..47
3.2.4 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California……………………………..49
3.2.5 Valley Wide Recreation And Parks District.........................................................49
3.2.6 Du Luz Community Services District...................................................................51
3.2.7 North County Fire Protection District……………………………………………52
4.0 SERVICE REVIEW DETERMINATIONS..................................................................54
4.1 Growth and Population.........................................................................................54
4.2 Present and Planned Capacity of Public Facilities, etc.........................................54
4.3 Financial Ability of the City to Provide Services.................................................56
4.4 Status and Opportunities for Shared Facilities......................................................57
4.5 Accountability for Community Service Needs.....................................................58
4.6 Other Matters........................................................................................................60
10.0 REFERENCES.................................................................................................................61
MAPS
2-1 Vicintiy Map...........................................................................................................5
2-2 Temecula, SOI & Planning Area Boundaries .........................................................7
2-3 Municipal Services Locations…………..…………………………..…………....22
3-1.4 County Service Areas……………………………………………………………40
3-2.1 Eastern Municipal Water District ………………………………………………..45
3-2.2 Western Municipal Water District ……………………………………….………46
3-2.3 Rancho California Water District ………………………………………………..48
3-2.5 Valley Wide Recreation & Park District …………………………………….…..50
3-2.6 DeLuz Community Services District …………………………………….………52
3-2.7 North County Fire Protection District ……………………………………………53
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FIGURES
2.2-1 Taxable Sales........................................................................................................11
2.3-1 General Funds ………..…………………………………………………………14
2.3-2 General Fund Revenues........................................................................................15
2.3-3 General Fund Expenses ........................................................................................16
2.3 -4 RDA & TCSD …………………………………………………………………...17
TABLES
2.1-1 City of Temecula Statistics.....................................................................................5
2.2-1 Demographics ........................................................................................................8
2.2.2 Housing Projections................................................................................................9
2.2-3 Employment Projections.......................................................................................10
2.3-1 CIP Budgeted Projects..........................................................................................18
2.4-1 Police Stations.......................................................................................................19
2.4-2 Police - Average Response Times........................................................................21
2.4-3 FBI Part One Crime Statistics...............................................................................21
2.4-4 Fire Stations..........................................................................................................24
26-1 Significant CIP Funded Road Improvement Projects ..........................................26
2.5-1 TCSD Zones of Benefit ...…………………………….…………………..……..28
2.7-1 Parks ……………………………………………………………………………..30
2.7-2 Joint Use School Sites……………………………………………………………32
2.7-3 Recreation Facilities .............................................................................................33
2.7-4 Library Facilities…………………………………………………………………35
3.1.6 Bus Routes……………………………………………………………………….41
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1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1 Background
This Municipal Service Review (MSR) focuses on the City of Temecula and has been prepared
to assist the Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) in meeting the
requirements contained within the Cortese/Knox/Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization
Act of 2000 (CKH2000). CKH 2000 requires LAFCO to review and update as necessary the
spheres of influence (SOI) for all applicable agencies within each County not less than once
every five years. A sphere of influence is defined by Government Code 56076 as “…a plan for
the probable physical boundaries and service area of a local agency, as defined by the
Commission …” This MSR is intended to assist Riverside LAFCO, affected agencies and the
public in evaluating municipal services provided by the City of Temecula and identifying
possible future constraints or challenges that may impact service delivery specifically within the
incorporated boundary, the surrounding sphere of influence and planning area of the City.
This MSR reviews the municipal services provided by the City of Temecula and the Temecula
Community Services District (TCSD) a subsidiary district of the City. In addition this MSR will
discuss (but not review or make determinations) service providers which provide services within
the existing SOI, the planning area and possible areas of SOI expansion. Those agencies
include:
Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District (VWRPD)
DeLuz Community Services District (DCSD)
Rancho California Water District (RCWD)
Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD)
Western Municipal Water District (WMWD)
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD)
North County Fire Protection District (NCFPD)
Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
Riverside County Regional Park and Open Space District
County Service Areas (CSA) 103, 143, 149 and 152. (CSA)
1.2 Statutory Requirements
In 2000, the California State Legislature broadened the authority of LAFCO’s by directing the
Commission of each LAFCO to conduct comprehensive reviews of the delivery of municipal
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services provided within each county and any area deemed appropriate by the Commission,
Government Code Section 56430. Additionally, legislators directed LAFCO’s to complete
sphere of influence reviews and updates of agencies not less than every five years, Government
Code Section 56425(g).
The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 requires that
LAFCO review municipal services prior to updating an agencies sphere of influence and prepare
a written statement of determinations with respect to each of the following:
1) Growth and Population projections for the affected area.
2) Present and Planned capacity of public facilities and adequacy of public services
including infrastructure needs or deficiencies.
3) Financial ability of agencies to provide services.
4) Status of, and opportunities for shared facilities.
5) Accountability for community service needs, including governmental structure and
operational efficiencies.
6) Any other matter related to effective or efficient service delivery as required by
Commission policy.
The Municipal Service Review process does not require LAFCO to initiate changes of
organization or spheres of influences based upon service review findings; it only requires that
LAFCO make determinations regarding the provision of public services per Government Code
Section 56430. MSR’s are generally not subject to the provisions of the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because they are only planning studies for possible future
action that LAFCO has not approved (California Public Resources Code 21150). The ultimate
outcome of conducting a service review, however, may result in LAFCO taking discretionary
action on a change of organization or reorganization.
1.3 Service Review Process & Methodology
The service review process was initiated by the City of Temecula upon the direction of Riverside
LAFCO. The City’s sphere of influence was recently reviewed by LAFCO (LAFCO 2006-20-
1&3) on July 12, 2007, with no changes to the existing SOI. Timing was a critical issue with the
recent SOI review with LAFCO needing to meet the statutory date for the completion of the first
round of MSR’s (December 31, 2007) and the City needing additional time to carefully study
and prepare required General Plan amendments and associated CEQA documentation for a
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proposed SOI amendment which was too early in the planning process to allow it to be
considered under the prior MSR. This MSR is prepared with enhanced focus on service
provision details from the prior MSR (LAFCO 2005-47-1&3) which was adopted by the
Commission on September 28, 2006.
To begin the MSR process, the consultant contacted Riverside LAFCO to determine the scope of
the MSR and what kind of detail LAFCO was seeking with this MSR. The consultant then
began the information gathering process utilizing information obtained on the City’s website.
While the City’s website contained much of the required basic information, meetings were
conducted with representatives of City departments to obtain additional details on services and
finances. Follow up phone calls and e-mails to the department representatives continued to
provide requested details as preparation of the initial draft of the MSR was being written.
Additionally, website searches, phone calls, e-mails and meetings were conducted with
representatives of various County departments, and special districts to obtain information on
services provided by those agencies.
When the Initial Draft of the MSR was prepared, it was forwarded to the City for review with
areas which were still missing information highlighted so that the missing information could be
added. Upon City review of the Initial Draft it was returned to the consultant which
incorporated any additional information into the Draft MSR. That Draft MSR was then
forwarded to LAFCO for its initial review. LAFCO was requested to review the draft and make
any request or comments on the MSR and then return the Draft to the consultant. Any LAFCO
comments or changes were incorporated into the MSR and an Agency/Public Review Draft of
the MSR was returned to LAFCO for circulation to all affected agencies and for public review.
Comments received from the agency/public review were then incorporated into the Final Draft
MSR which is submitted to the Commission for comment and adoption.
1.4 Determinations from Prior MSR
The prior MSR, adopted by the Riverside LAFCO in September 2006, found that parkland
acreage and levels of sworn police officers to population were below City adopted standards for
service. Temecula since the adoption of the earlier MSR has reviewed its standards for service
provision in several areas, including parkland acreage. This City has increased the service level
standards from 3 acres of parkland / 1000 residents to 5 acres of parkland / 1000 residents in
order to provide a higher level of service to its residents. The City has also reviewed standards
for sworn officer to resident ratio’s and has adopted new and higher service levels. The new
service levels reflect the levels adopted county wide by the Riverside County Board of
Supervisors for police protective services. The earlier MSR showed that the City was slightly
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below the earlier service standard of one sworn officer per 1000 residents. The revised service
standard is 1.2 sworn officers per 1000 residents.
2.0 CITY OF TEMECULA
2.1 Overview
The City of Temecula was incorporated as a general law city on December 1, 1989 becoming the
County’s 21st City. At the time of its incorporation, Temecula had a population estimated to be
28,750 persons with a land area estimated to be 26.25 square miles. Today, the City
encompasses an area of approximately 30.1 square miles with an estimated population of 97,934
persons living within the City’s incorporated boundaries (Riverside County Center for
Demographic Research 2008). (See Table 2.1-1, City of Temecula Statistics). The City is
located in southwestern Riverside County, and is bisected by Interstate 15. To the north lies the
City of Murrieta which Temecula shares it’s northern boundary. Southeast of the City is the
Pechanga Reservation, and to the south is the Riverside / San Diego County boundary. West of
the City lies the Santa Rosa Plateau, noted for its rural atmosphere, mild climate and the Santa
Rosa Plateau Ecological Preserve. Northeast of the City, along Winchester Road lies French
Valley and French Valley Airport. French Valley is home to significant urban development and
is within the City’s existing SOI. Easterly of the City lies historic Wine Country, and slightly
south along State Highway 79 is Vail Lake. (See Figure 2.1-1, City of Temecula Regional Map,
and Figure 2.1-2, City of Temecula Planning Boundary and Sphere of Influence). The City is
located within a region often referred to as the ‘Inland Empire.’ Temecula’s early history is
associated with local agricultural enterprises but has within the last three decades experienced
significant growth both in population and in job development. Between 2000 and 2006 the City
of Temecula’s population increased over 62%, expanding from 57,716 to 93,923 persons
(Riverside County Center for Demographic Research 2008).
Since incorporation, Temecula has worked to attract manufacturing, commercial and retail
businesses and today, the City is home to 2,967 firms with a payroll of $2,230,000,000. The
largest share of workforce living in Temecula, are highly educated and professionally employed.
The majority of these highly skilled workers commute to their jobs in locations outside of
Riverside County to areas in San Diego, Orange, or Los Angeles Counties (Husing 2007). As of
the spring of 2008 it is expected that the pace of growth in the City of Temecula to slow in the
short term due to the national, state and local economic forecasts (O’Leary 2008). Over the
longer term the Temecula Valley is expected to return to an expanding period of growth due to
the limited expansion capacities of nearby coastal communities (Temecula 2008a).
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Table 2.1-1
City of Temecula Statistics
Incorporated Date December 1, 1989
Incorporated Area 30.15 square miles
Average Personal Family Income $85,244 annually
Number of Employees 210.75
Altitude 1000-1200 Feet
Annual rainfall 19.52 inches
FY 2007-08 General Fund Total Revenue $62,943,670
FY 2007-08 General Fund Total Expenses $58,664,836
General Fund Ending Balance June 30, 2008 $44,464,197
Source: Temecula, City of, 2008. Finance Department, City of Temecula
The City of Temecula’s sphere of influence includes an additional 21.7 square miles of territory
outside of the corporate limits of the City. This SOI is split into several smaller areas that include
several growing residential areas. These areas are included within the SOI as the City would be the
most logical enhanced service provider in the future (Temecula 2005). The City of Temecula’s
General Plan addresses the existing SOI and the area referred to as the Planning Area Boundaries.
The Planning Area extends beyond the combined City boundary and sphere of influence by an
additional 10 square miles. At the time of incorporation, the City was served by several County
Service Areas, most notably CSA 143 which provided a large number of municipal services. In
order to fund the services being provided by the CSA’s in the proposed city, it was decided to form
a subsidiary Community Services District as part of the incorporation. Thus upon incorporation,
the Temecula Community Services District was also formed.
Figure 2-1 Vicinity Map
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2.2 Planning Boundaries and Growth
2.2.1 Sphere of Influence
The City of Temecula’s 21.7 square mile Sphere of Influence, established by LAFCO, includes
French Valley, Silver Hawk and areas along the west of the City which include sloped view-shed
areas of the Santa Rosa Plateau. The City’s initial SOI was established with incorporation and
was coterminous with the incorporation boundaries. The first SOI review for the City, LAFCO
file number 1990-118-3 was adopted in August 1991, establishing a sphere of influence of
approximately 26 square miles beyond existing City boundaries (total SOI which includes the
incorporated City is approximately 52 square miles) which is largely the sphere which exists
today. Under the requirements contained within the CKH 2000 rewrite of the Cortese Knox
Local Government Reorganization Act of 1985, an MSR (LAFCO file number 2005-47-1&3)
was prepared for the southwestern region of Riverside County which included the City of
Temecula. LAFCO initiated a mandated review of Temecula’s SOI – LAFCO file number 2006-
20-1&3 which was heard before the Commission on July 12, 2007. This sphere review,
recommended no change to the existing SOI of the City. The City has annexed significant
portions of their SOI with the inhabited annexations of Red Hawk (LAFCO file number 2003-
26-3), Vail Ranch (LAFCO file number 2000-10-1) and the uninhabited Roripaugh Ranch
(LAFCO file number 2001-22-3). The City is proposing a large SOI amendment to the west of
the City, know as the Santa Margarita area, which would add approximately 1443 additional
acres to the existing SOI if approved.
2.2.2 Planning Boundaries
The City of Temecula’s current General Plan was updated in 2005. The Temecula General Plan
describes how citizens will work to retain the natural and aesthetic qualities that make their City
unique, while at the same time, respond to the dynamics of regional growth to meet changing
community needs. The General Plan serves as a policy guide, balancing these inter-related
factors to Temecula’s community vision (Temecula 2005).
The City’s General Plan is a document which focuses primarily on the City, but it also looks at
the unincorporated areas around the City which includes the existing SOI and the larger regional
area beyond the SOI. This area is referred to as the “Planning Area,” and includes a total of
approximately 60 square miles (See Figure 2-2, City of Temecula Planning Area and Sphere of
Influence). While territory beyond the City limits are under the land use jurisdiction of Riverside
County, those areas within the SOI and Planning Area, bear a critical relationship to Temecula’s
planning activities. The mountains which lie to the west of the City, form a significant visual
backdrop for the City. Territory within the planning boundaries may at some time be included in
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the City’s SOI or annexed into the City and it is sensible that the City plan for the extension of
municipal services and infrastructure into these areas.
Figure 2.2 City of Temecula, Planning Area and Sphere of Influence.
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2.2.3 Growth Projections
Temecula’s location, together with the City’s close attention to economic development policies,
has made Temecula one of Southern California’s newly prosperous communities. Though
Temecula has experienced many of the same housing market difficulties affecting Southern
California, the long term housing demand still exists. The City of Temecula’s residents enjoy a
comparatively milder climate than other cities in the Inland Empire due to the City’s relative
proximity to the Pacific Ocean, just 21 miles distant. This allows for cooler coastal temperatures
to reach the City through a mountain gap in the located in the Santa Rosa Plateau. Though the
City of Temecula is approximately 85 percent built out, the vast bulk of Southern California’s
undeveloped land remains within the Inland Empire. Between 2005 and 2020 the Inland Empire
is expected to add 653,388 jobs and 42,898 new firms, more than San Diego, Orange or Los
Angeles counties. Under current economic conditions, the City of Temecula is expected to
continue to grow, although at a slower pace than in the recent past (Temecula 2008a).
Population: The Riverside County Center for Demographic Research estimated the 2007
population for the County of Riverside at 2,031,625. The County covers approximately 7,295.6
square miles. The City of Temecula, encompasses approximately 30.1 square miles in the
southwestern portion of Riverside County, and has an estimated population of 97,934 as of 2007
(Riverside County Center for Demographic Research 2008). Table 2.2-1, City of Temecula
Population Demographics, lists recent and projected population estimates for the City of
Temecula, Western Riverside County, and all of Riverside County.
Table 2.2-1
City of Temecula Population Demographics
Geographic Area 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
Historical Projections
City of Temecula 51,600 81,804 99,387 103,150 112,551 117,800 121,495
Western Riverside County 1,200,065 1,503,383 1,918,962 2,096,544 2,262,992 2,414,256 2,550,867
All of Riverside County 1,725,890 1,885,627 2,242,744 2,509,330 2,809,006 3,090,001 3,343,778
Source: Riverside County Center for Demographic Research, 2008, accessed on August 18, 2008. http://www.rctlma.org/rcd/default.aspx
The City of Temecula’s population grew by 59% between 2000 and 2005. By 2010 the City’s
population is expected to continue to grow by an additional 17,583, or 21% of the 2005
population (Riverside County Center for Demographic Research 2008). As indicated in the table
above, after 2010 population growth within the City of Temecula, Western Riverside County,
and Riverside County is expected to continue, but at a slower pace.
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Housing: In 2007 there were approximately 31,501 dwelling units within the boundary of the
City of Temecula according to the Riverside County Center for Demographic Research
(Riverside County Center for Demographic Research 2008). Table 2.2-2, City of Temecula
Housing Projections, lists recent and projected housing estimates for the City of Temecula,
Western Riverside County, and all of Riverside County.
Table 2.2-2
City of Temecula Housing Projections
Geographic Area 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
Historical Projections
City of Temecula 19,099 26,007 32,970 34,567 36,364 37,763 38,939
Western Riverside County 412,599 503,116 589,689 658,412 726,846 785,347 841,388
All of Riverside County 584,674 689,866 831,040 936,353 1,047,563 1,151,149 1,245,676
Source: Riverside County Center for Demographic Research, 2008, accessed on August 18, 2008. http://www.rctlma.org/rcd/default.aspx
Between 2000 and 2005 the number of housing units in the City of Temecula grew by 36%. By
2010 the number of housing units is expected to grow by an additional 6,963 units, or 27% from
2005 numbers. Similar to population growth, after 2010 the number of housing units within the
City of Temecula is expected to continue to rise, but at a lower rate. The City is has
approximately 309 acres of undeveloped land that is zoned residential (Temecula 2008a).
Industrial Real Estate: Temecula’s industrial real estate market is closely linked, due to
geography, to Northern San Diego County’s industrial real estate market. As of March 2008,
Temecula’s industrial real estate asking rate of $0.63 per square foot / month was the highest in
the Inland Empire, but still lower than the cheapest rate in Northern San Diego County ($0.70
per square foot / month). As of June 2008 the City of Temecula had a total of 10.5 million
square feet of industrial real estate in existence or under construction (approximately 5,937
square feet of this was under construction). Of the total square feet of industrial real estate,
approximately 249,715 square feet or 2.8%, a relatively low amount, was either vacant,
becoming available or under construction but not yet leased. The availability of space is
important to the City as it looks to accommodate new firms. Unlike the majority of the Inland
Empire, Temecula’s industrial real estate tends to be smaller and orientated toward
manufacturers and small distributors. Temecula’s office space is currently comprised of 20.5%
small size space (5,000-24,999 square feet) 35.4% medium size space (25,000-99,999 square
feet) and 44.1% large size space (100,000 square feet and larger). Businesses seeking larger
industrial real estate tend to locate around March Air Reserve Base, which has plenty of large
tracks of flat and inexpensive land and a larger pool of blue collar workers. Since the commute
to March Air Reserve Base is within easy reach of the City’s residents, jobs added in this area
are also considered a benefit to Temecula (Temecula 2008a).
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Office Real Estate: In June 2008 the City of Temecula had approximately 1,468,299 square
feet of office space existing and no office space under construction. Of this approximately
292,483 square feet was available. From 2005 to 2007 Temecula’s office real estate vacancy
rate was approximately 7.0%. After 2007 the City’s office real estate vacancy rate began to rise
due to the completion of several projects and a decline in demand by the residential development
industry. In 2008 the office space vacancy rate returned to 2002 levels or 17.5%. In June 2008
the Temecula-Murrieta’s Class A office real estate market had an average asking monthly lease
rate of $2.25 per square foot. This is just over the Inland Empire’s average rate of $2.19 per
square foot / month, and two Northern San Diego County City’s average rates: Oceanside ($2.15
per square foot /month) and Vista ($2.09 per square foot / month). All other Northern San Diego
County cities were significantly higher, with San Marcos having the lowest rate of $2.72 per
square foot / month. When the growth trends in the Inland Empire return as they are expected to,
Temecula’s will have capacity to absorb the demand for office real estate (Temecula 2008a).
Employment: Within the City of Temecula in 2005 there were approximately 47,284 jobs
according to the Riverside County Center for Demographic Research. By 2007 employment
within the City of Temecula was up to 58,136 jobs according to the City of Temecula, Unnamed
draft demographics document (waiting for final document.) This is over 4,000 jobs greater in
2007 than the 53,783 jobs projected by the Riverside County Center for Demographic Research
for the City by 2010 (Temecula 2008a). Table 2.2-3, City of Temecula Employment Projections,
lists recent and projected employment estimates for the City of Temecula, Western Riverside
County, and all of Riverside County.
Table 2.2-3
City of Temecula Employment Projections
Geographic Area 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
Historical Projections
City of Temecula 47,284 58,136* 60,098 66,929 73,777 80,806
Western Riverside County 484,985 588,523 691,260 797,626 901,163 1,005,923
All of Riverside County 650,319 784,998 911,381 1,042,145 1,168,769 1,295,487
Source: Riverside County Center for Demographic Research, 2008, accessed on August 18, 2008.
http://www.rctlma.org/rcd/default.aspx
* Source: The City of Temecula reported 58,136 jobs in 2007. This report assumes that the employment within the City
boundary by 2010 will not go down from the City’s 2007 reported jobs number. The County Center for Demographic Research
estimated 53,783 jobs within the City of Temecula by 2010.
Note: All employment estimates are for jobs within the boundary of the City, Western Riverside County, and Riverside County
respectively.
Between 2000 and 2007 the number of jobs within the City of Temecula grew by 23%, from
47,284 (Riverside County Center for Demographic Research 2008) to 58,136 (Temecula 2008a).
Job growth is expected to continue to consistently rise within the City through 2030, with
expected job ranging from 10 % and 12% every five years. In 2005 retail trade, with 7,856 jobs,
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was the largest industry employer within the City. The second and third largest industries in
2005 were leisure and hospitality, with 6,113 jobs, and manufacturing, with 5,703 jobs
respectively. Unemployment among residents within the City of Temecula was at 3.40% in 2005
(Riverside County Center for Demographic Research 2008).
Retail: Given the importance of retail sales to city finances, sales per capita are a key measure of
a municipality’s ability to provide services to its population. Temecula’s 2007 per capita retails
sales of $26,114 represents a 10.6% increase from 2000. In 2007 for the first time since
incorporation the City of Temecula saw a year over year decrease in retail sales. Impacts from
the decline in the regional housing market were felt in a $0.10 billion decline in sales between
2006 and 2007, from $2.70 billion to $2.60 respectively. Still, with the expansion of the
Promenade Mall, the recent addition of box stores, and the automotive mall, the City of
Temecula remains a retail hub for southwestern Riverside county’s 435,654 residents. Figure
2.2-1 City of Temecula 2007 Taxable Sales by Sector indicates that the City has a good balance
of taxable sales sectors, with no sector being overwhelmingly dominant. Retail sales over the
long term are expected to continue to grow once the housing market again enters a positive phase
(Temecula 2008a)
Figure 2.2-1
City of Temecula 2007 Taxable Sales By Sector
Building Materials,
$148,154 , 6% Service Stations,
General Merchandise,
$202,738 , 8%
$405,475 , 16%
Eating and Drinking,
$252,123 , 10%
Vehicle,
$519,840 , 19%
Non-Retails,
$363,023 , 14%
Food Stores,
$72,778 , 3%
Other Retails,
Furniture and
$402,876 , 15%
Appliances, Apparel,
$96,170 , 4% $136,025 , 5%
Source: City of Temecula, Unnamed draft demographics document
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2.3 Administration and Operations
2.3.1 City Governance
The City of Temecula was incorporated on December 1, 1989, and is governed by a
Council/Manager form of government. Temecula’s City Council consists of five elected Council
members, who select one of the council to fill the position of Mayor. Council members are
elected at-large to staggered four-year terms. The City Council meets on the second and fourth
Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers located at City Hall. The meetings
are open to the public and televised. The meeting agendas are available on the Friday afternoon
prior to the meeting. The agendas are posted at the following locations: City Hall, Temecula
Public Library, Temecula Chamber of Commerce, and the Temecula Community Center.
Agendas, videos of the meetings, and previous meeting minutes are also available on the City’s
Web site (www.cityoftemecula.org) as they become available. In addition, copies of the
supporting documentation (agenda reports) for each item are available in the City Clerk’s Office
or through interactive links in the agendas posted on the City’s web site (Temecula 2008b).
The City has several citizen advisory committees, which provide for increased public
participation. These citizen advisory committees include: Community Services Commission,
Public/Traffic Safety Commission, Old Town Local Review Board, The Old Town
Redevelopment Advisory Committee and Planning Commission. In addition, the City provides
for public participation by publishing a quarterly newsletter, which includes information on
community events, programs, and services, and by producing and airing Inside Temecula on
local cable stations and on the City’s web site. Inside Temecula is an informative short video on
Temecula’s current events and services (Temecula 2008b).
2.3.2 City Infrastructure
The City of Temecula owns over a dozen buildings and facilities which includes the existing
30,000 sf. City Hall, the 17,000 sf. field operations building, and the 10,000 sf. West Wing of
City Hall. The City is currently building a 96,000 square feet new Civic Center - City Hall
building that will include a parking structure accommodating 480 parking stalls. Completion of
the new Civic Center is expected in 2010 (Butler 2008). The City also owns 309 acres of
improved parkland, 298 acres of unimproved open space (Smith 2008), 340 miles of roads (York
2008), and several recreational facilities (Harrington 2008)). The City’s recreational facilities
include: the Community Recreation Center, the Community Center, the Mary Phillips Senior
Center, the Old Town Temecula Community Theater, the Chapel of Memories, the Temecula
Library, the Temecula History Museum, and the Temecula Children’s Museum. Most of the
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facilities are in good condition, according to City staff, and were build or rehabilitated within the
past several years (Harrington 2008).
Funding sources for City infrastructure include the General Fund, the Temecula Community
Services District, the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), various bonds, and state and federal
grants. For more detailed information on infrastructure funding sources see Sections 3.3.5 and
2.4.4 of this report regarding the CIP, and Park, Recreation, Library and Cultural Services
respectively.
2.3.3 Municipal Services
Within the City of Temecula are provided a large range of municipal services. These services
include those provided directly by the City, through contract with the City, through franchise
agreements or by other agencies.
The City of Temecula directly provides a range of services within its boundary, including:
Government; Parks and Recreation Services;
Planning; Library Services; and
Code Enforcement; Temecula Community Services
District
Finance;
Public Works and Engineering;
The City also contracts for the following services:
Police Protection;
Fire Protection; and
Animal Control
The City has established franchises for:
Cable Television;
Solid Waste Pick-up, Disposal and Recycling
Other agencies which provide municipal services within the City include:
Temecula Unified School District;
San Jacinto Community College District;
Eastern Municipal Water District – water and wastewater collection and treatment;
Rancho California Water District – water and wastewater collection;
Western Municipal Water District – imported water provision;
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Temecula Valley Cemetery District
Elsinore/Temecula/Murrieta Resource Conservation District
Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
Riverside County Regional Park and Recreation District
2.3.4 Finances
The City of Temecula adopts an annual budget, with the fiscal year running from July 1st through
June 30th . The City Council approved the fiscal year 2008-2009 annual operating budget at the
June 10, 2008 City Council Meeting (Temecula 2008b) Figure 2.3-1 City of Temecula General
Fund Actuals for FY 2006-07 and FY 2007-08 and Projected for FY 2008-09 shows the total
revenue and total expenditures for the fiscal years 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09.
Figure 2.3-1
City of Temecula General Fund Actuals for FY 2006-07 and FY 2007-08
and Projected for FY 2008-09
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586,847,76$
541,738,45$
076,349,26$
638,446,85$
726,539,36$ 448,768,26$
$80,000,000
Total Revenue
$70,000,000 Total Expenditures
$60,000,000
$50,000,000
$40,000,000
$30,000,000
$20,000,000
$10,000,000
$-
FY 2006-07 Audited FY 2007-08 Unaudited FY 2008-09 Preliminary
Actuals * Actuals ** Budget *
Sources: * City of Temecula, Proposed Annual Operating Budget, Fiscal Year 2008-2009, City Council
Meeting June 10, 2008.
** City of Temecula, Fiscal Year 2007-08 Year End Financial Statement, Un-audited, City of Temecula
Finance Department. August 2008.
City of Temecula Municipal Services Review
As part of the budget process, the City prepares quarterly financial statements and re-evaluates
actual revenue against projected revenues to adjust spending when necessary. This ensures close
tracking of budgets and helps the City to meet the Council’s 20% reserves policy (Temecula
2008c) As indicated in Figure 5.1 above, the City of Temecula has been operating with a year
over year net surplus. In FY 2006-07 the surplus was over $12.9 million. In FY 2007-08 the
City’s surplus was $4.3 million. The City’s General Fund revenues are expected to increase by
0.7% during fiscal year 2008-09 from $63,534,540 to $63,935,627. The City of Temecula
expects the national, state and regional economic slowdown to impact the City’s economic
growth and budgeted revenues. However, even with the gloomy economic outlook the City
expects expansion of local non retail businesses to maintain moderate growth within the local
economy through fiscal year 2008-09 (Temecula 2008d).
Revenue:
The City of Temecula collects revenue for the general fund from several revenue source types.
Figure 2.3-2 City of Temecula FY 2007-08 General Fund Revenues shows the FY 2007-08 total
revenue of $62,943,670 by source, and each revenue sources’ percent of the total revenue
(Temecula 2008c). As indicated in the figure, sales tax is the City’s largest source of revenue,
representing 44% of the total revenue for FY 2007-08.
Figure 2.3-2
City of Temecula FY 2007-08 General Fund Revenues
(In $ millions)
Fines & Forfeitures,
Operating Transfers In,
$0.88 , 1%
$2.22 , 4%
Transient Occupancy Tax, Licenses & Services,
$2.42 , 4% $5.38 , 9%
Reimbursements,
$3.13 , 5%
Intergovernmental,
Sales Tax,
$8.39 , 13%
$27.42 , 44%
Investment Interest,
$2.54 , 4%
Other,
$0.11 , 0%
Franchise Fees, Property Tax,
$3.30 , 5% $7.17 , 11%
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Source: City of Temecula, Fiscal Year 2007-08 Year End Financial Statement, Un-audited, City of
Temecula Finance Department. August 2008.
Expenses:
The City of Temecula’s General Fund total accounts payable through FY 2007-08 were
$58,664,836. Of this, over $23 million, or 39% was spent on police and fire protection services
(Temecula 2008c). Figure 2.3-3 City of Temecula FY 2007-08 General Fund Expenses shows
the FY 2007-08 total expenses by department.
Figure 2.3-3
City of Temecula FY 2007-08 General Fund Expenses
(In $ millions)
City Council, $0.46 ,
Animal Control, 1%
0.17, 0%
Non-Departmental,
Fire, 9.78, 17% Community Services,
4.38, 7% 0.27, 0%
City Manager, $1.21 ,
2%
Economic Development,
0.89, 2%
City Clerk, $0.98 , 2%
City Attorney, $0.83 ,
1%
Finance, 2.06, 4%
Police,
18.78, 32% Human Resources,
0.63, 1%
Planning, 3.93, 7%
Building & Safety,
Disaster Relief, 2.52, 4%
0.05, 0%
Land Development,
CIP Administration, 1.92, 3%
Public Works,
2.54, 4%
7.27, 12%
Source: City of Temecula, Fiscal Year 2007-08 Year End Financial Statement, Un-audited, City of
Temecula Finance Department. August 2008.
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Debt:
At of the close of FY 2006-07 the City of Temecula itself was carrying $0 debt, however, the
City has issued $24,535,000 in Certificates of Participation during FY2007-08 to finance a
portion of the Civic Center Project in Old Town Temecula. The City is planning to retire these
bonds early (within 10 years) and has set-aside a Secondary Reserve in the amount of $9.7
million in order to initiate the pay down on the debt (Simpson 2008).
Subsidiary agencies within the City do carry debt, these include the Redevelopment Agency
(RDA), and the Temecula Community Services District (TCSD). Both of these agencies have
zones of benefit where fees are collected to retire the debt. These zones of benefit may not
match the incorporated city boundaries. For more information on the RDAs and the TCSD see
Sections 2.4.2 and 2.4.4 of this report.
Figure 2.3-4
City of Temecula, RDA and TCSD FY 2007-08 Dept
(In $ millions)
Notes Payable By RDA
to City, $1.89 , 2%
Certificates of
Participation - City,
$24.50 , 26%
Tax Allocation Bonds -
RDA , $63.21 , 67%
Certificates of
Participation - TCSD,
$4.99 , 5%
Source: City of Temecula Finance Department, September 29, 2008.
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2.3.5 Capital Improvement Plans
The City of Temecula prepares a five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which allows the
City to coordinate the financing and scheduling of the City’s major projects (greater than
$30,000 in cost, with long-term life spans and are generally non-recurring). The CIP is dynamic
and is reviewed and revised annually to address changing needs, priorities, and financial
conditions. The major projects included in the CIP include land and right-of-way acquisition,
design, construction or rehabilitation of public buildings or facilities, public infrastructure design
and construction, park design and construction, and redevelopment projects. Projects are
identified each year, and classified into one of three categories: capital recovery/other, quality of
life, and transportation. In determining the relative merit of a proposed project, key management
team members evaluate projects for feasibility, community enhancement, infrastructure, historic
preservation, and safety. The City’s Planning Commission and the public are given opportunity
to review and comment on the CIP prior to City Council approval (Temecula 2008e). See table
2.3.1 Summary of CIP Budgeted Projects below.
Table 2.3-1
Summary of Current City of Temecula CIP Budgeted Projects
Type of Project Number of Projects Estimated Cost
Circulation 25 $273,198,023
Infrastructure/Other 22 $74,923,684
Park 20 $9,390,421
Redevelopment 10 $47,345,912
Total 77 $404,858,040
Source: Temecula, City of, 2008. Capital Improvement Program, Fiscal Years 2009-2013. Adopted by City
Council on June 10, 2008.
Estimated costs as listed in table 2.3.1 above, include administration, acquisition, design and
construction costs. Of the total $404.8 million in projects included in the FY 2009-2013 CIP,
approximately $167.3 million are scheduled within the FY 2008-09 CIP budget (Temecula
2008e).
Funding for capital improvements come from several sources including:
The City’s General Fund;
Bonds via Assessment Districts, Community Facilities Districts, Certificates of
Participation and Redevelopment Agency Tax Increment Bond Funds (RDA);
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Development Impact Fees, Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees (TUMF) and
Quimby fees;
Various States funds, bonds programs and grant programs;
Federal funding, including federal highway funds, and grants;
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) grants;
Indian gaming funds;
Riverside County Tax; and
Private donations (Temecula 2008e).
2.4 Municipal Services
2.4.1 Public Safety Services
Police Services:
The City contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to provide law enforcement
services within the City. Under the Contract with the County Sheriff’s Department, the
Department provides a Sheriff’s Commander (Jerry Williams), who serves as the Chief of Police.
Under the Police Chief, two Lieutenant’s are assigned full-time as City Patrol & Liaison, and
City Traffic & Liaison staff. Three other Sheriff’s Lieutenants at the Southwest Station are
assigned to Administration, Detective Unit/SET team and County Patrol functions. (Meadows
2008).
The City of Temecula Police Department has two storefront office locations listed below in
Table 2.4-1. City of Temecula Police Stations.
Table 2.4-1
City of Temecula Police Stations
Store Front Business Hours
Old Town Temecula Monday - Friday 9 am - 5 pm
28410 Old Town Front Street
Promenade Mall Monday - Friday 10 am - 9
40820 Winchester Road, Ste 1870 pm, Sunday 11am-7pm
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Most municipalities in southern California have adopted a service standard, of one sworn officer
per 1000 residents. In the prior MSR the City of Temecula utilized this standard. The City today
strives to maintain a standard of approximately 1.2 officers per 1000 residents. Currently the
Department is deploying just under the 1.2 sworn officers per 1000 residents goal. The City of
Temecula currently contracts for the following dedicated positions within the Police Department:
3.5 Sheriff’s Sergeants
195 hours of Patrol Officer coverage per day—equivalent to 40 full-time
Officers
9 Deputy Sheriffs (SET Team)
Deputy Sheriffs (Mall Officers)
18 Deputy Sheriffs (Traffic Services, including motors and accident
investigators)
2 Deputy Sheriffs (K-9 Officers)
1 Deputy Sheriff (Gang Task Force)
1 Deputy Sheriff (Southwest Corridor Task Force)
4 Deputy Sheriffs (School Resource Officers)
18 Community Service Officer II positions
3 Community Service Officer I positions (Meadows 2008).
Additionally, the City considers 11 Sergeants, 8 Investigators and other Sheriff’s employees
assigned to the Southwest Station as direct support staff for their contract dedicated positions.
Consequently, this results in a total of 111 Sworn Officers (including managers and supervisors)
attributed to the Temecula Police Department (Meadows 2008).
Police Officers patrol on 12 hour shifts, with typically 16 sworn officers on patrol Sundays
through Thursdays, and seventeen sworn officers on patrol Wednesday through Saturday. The
Police department also fields patrols of 5 Community Service Officers per day, 7 days a week.
Patrols are deployed to work certain shift hours based on recent calls for service statistics and
activity levels as determined by Station Administration. (Meadows 2008).
In addition to the Police Officers deployed to maintain peace and safety, the Police Department
deploys a minimum of 2 Motor Officers and 1 Accident Investigator per day, and up to 11 motor
officers, 7 accident investigators and 2 community service officers on the busiest days of the
week (Meadows 2008).
During calendar year 2007, the Temecula Police Department handled a total of 94,466 calls for
service or incidents. This figure includes all calls for service, as well as all on-sight activity by
Officers including traffic citations. The total number of calls reflects an increase of 8,162 (9%)
from 86,304 calls in 2006 (Meadows 2008).
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The Temecula Police Department strives to respond to emergency calls within 5 minutes 90
percent of the time (Temecula 2005). Table 2.4-2 lists the average response times for all calls
for 2006 and 2007.
Table 2.4-2
City of Temecula Police Department Average Response Times for Priority Call
Priority 1 Average Priority 2 Average Priority 3 Average
Year Response Time Response Time Response Time
2006 5.3 minutes 9.4 minutes 13.9 minutes
2007 5.11 minutes 8.6 minutes 13.0 minutes
Source: Lieutenant Terry Meadows, City of Temecula Police Department, September 2008.
Travel time to calls can be negatively impacted during peak traffic period times; however,
Temecula Police black and white units are equipped with Opticon Signal-Light Pre-emptive
Devices, which when deployed while responding to emergencies, cause traffic signals to change
to green for approaching units, greatly facilitating prompt responses to emergency situations
(Meadows 2008).
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations collects statistics on categories of non-negligent
crimes from jurisdictions across the United States for comparison. These crimes are generally
referred to as “Part One” or “Index” crimes. The Part One crimes committed within the City of
Temecula in 2006 and 2007 are listed below in Table 2.4-3.
Table 2.4-3
City of Temecula Federal Bureau of Investigation Part One Crime Statistics
Number of Reported Number of Reported
Crime Type Crime Cased in 2006 Cased in 2007
Violent Crime Aggravated 285 294
Assault
Forcible Rape 31 16
Murder/ 0 3
Manslaughter
Robbery 60 83
Total 376 396
Property Crime Arson 6 6
Burglary 745 733
Larceny/Theft 1,887 1,798
Vehicle Theft 393 322
Total 3,031 2,859
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Temecula Municipal Services
Map 2.3
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As indicated by the crime statistics above, the number of violent crimes committed in the City of
Temecula increased by 20 from 376 to 396 between 2006 and 2007. During the same period the
number of property crimes decreased by 172 from 3,031 to 2,859 (Meadows 2008). The FBI
cautions strongly against creating a simple ranking or set of assumptions based solely on
numbers, as these numbers do not take into account many local variables which affect crime
rates.
Police Department staff provide additional services that are available at the storefront locations,
including: fingerprinting, police reports, vehicle impound cost recovery and REPO fees
processing, “ride along” application processing, as well as other applications and permit
processing. The Police Department services also include prevention programs which reaches out
to residents and businesses, and coordinates citizen-based volunteer programs and patrols
(Temecula 2008b).
In FY 2007-08 the City budgeted approximately $18.78 million, or 32% of the total General
Fund Budget, on police protection services. The City has budgeted approximately $21.44
million to cover costs associated with police protection services in the FY 2008-09 Budget
(Temecula 2008d).
City of Temecula Officers remain within the city limits during their patrol or traffic shifts, but
could potentially be requested to respond into the adjacent county area to temporarily assist
county units on serious emergency situations. It should be noted that county-assigned Deputies
and Corporals routinely respond into the City to assist when additional units are needed on a
variety of situations, above and beyond the levels provided by the Agreement for Law
Enforcement Services (Meadows 2008).
The Santa Margarita area being considered for annexation is currently served by Deputies
assigned to patrol the unincorporated county area outside of Temecula’s city limits. These areas
include the Pechanga Indian Reservation and Wine Country within the Sheriff’s Department
Zone 5 operational area. Over a 5 year period (January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2007) the
Police Department received 5 service calls, all of a very minor nature, from the Santa Margarita
Area. In the event that the Santa Margarita area was annexed, Officers assigned to the Zone 3
area within the City of Temecula would be responsible to respond to calls there. The City’s Zone
3 area is closer to the Santa Margarita area than the densely populated portion of the County’s
Zone 5 area. The officers deployed to patrol Zone 3 currently do not respond to calls outside of
the City limits. Although calls to the Santa Margarita area have been rare historically, it is
anticipated that the possible annexation would result in shortened response times to the Santa
Margarita Area due to the proximity of officers responding from the City of Temecula’s Zone 3
(Meadows 2008).
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Fire Protection Services:
The City of Temecula contracts with Riverside County Fire Department to provide fire
protection services. The County Fire Department operates with the California Department of
Forestry (CAL-FIRE) who owns and bases equipment at the various fire stations through out the
County. The City falls within the Departments Southwest Division for administrative purposes.
The Southwest Division covers an area which extends into Menifee Valley, Perris, Winchester,
Lake Elsinore and Wildomar. Operationally, the Southwest Division is administered by a
Division Chief who oversees the four operational Battalions, each of which have between five
and nine fire stations. Each Battalion is commanded by a Chief. The City of Temecula is within
Battalion 15 which has 6 fire stations, five of which are within the City itself. Within the City,
the five fire stations are manned with 103 firefighters, six engine companies, one paramedic
squad, one water tender truck, one breathing support unit, one heavy rescue squad truck, and one
truck company. (see Table 2.4-4 City of Temecula Fire Stations). 73 of the firefighters are paid;
the remaining 30 are volunteer firefighters (Dakin 2008).
Table 2.4-4
City of Temecula Fire Stations
Fire Station and Year Station Size of Station Number Total Calls
Location Built (Square Feet) of Beds Equipment Received in 2007
Station No. 12 1959 10,000 4 1-Type I Engine 1,273
28830 Mercedes 2- Type III Engine
Street
Station No. 73 1988 6,000 3 1- Type I Engine 2,055
27415 Enterprise 1- Truck Co.
Circle West 1- USR (heavy
rescue squad)
Station No. 83 1994 7,000 3 1- Type I Engine 1,382
37500 Sky Canyon 1- Breathing
Drive, Murrieta Support Unit
1- Water tender
Truck
Station No. 84 1997 10,000 3 1- Type I Engine 1,795
30650 Pauba Road 1- Medic Squad
Station No. 92 2007 9,000 2 1- Type I Engine 1,430
32211 Wolf Valley
Road
Source: City of Temecula, Sean Dakin, Fire Captain, personal communication with Emily Lyons and Wayne Fowler
(Dudek), August 29, 2008.
The City of Temecula owns all of the above listed fire stations, with the exception of Station 12
in Old Town, with is owned by the State of California (Simpson 2008).
The City of Temecula FY 2008-2009 Operating Budget states that among the City’s goals are to
respond to fire and medical emergency calls within five minutes 90 percent of the time, to apply
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an extinguishing agent within 7-8 minutes, maintain 4.0 staffing at all fire stations, and conduct a
comprehensive fire education program. Fire research studies show that timely response to
structural fire events, with extinguishing agents being applied within eight minutes are critical to
the control and containment of the fire to the room of origin (Standards of Response: Task Force
on Fire Protection Service Funding, March 31, 2000, page 5). Additionally if victims are
involved, a non-breathing person must receive resuscitation within four to six minutes if brain
damage is to be avoided. The City of Temecula fire protection staff also provides the City with
earthquake preparedness education services, fire safety code inspections, fire origin and cause
investigations, and development permit processing. The City of Temecula’s fire protection
services are expanding and developing the use of technology solutions to enhance fire service
delivery capabilities, such as using on-board lap-top computers with GPS/GIS systems linked to
the City’s dispatch center. The City of Temecula staff periodically coordinates with County of
Riverside staff to evaluate levels of fire and emergency medical services, and based on changes
in population and development, possibly locate new facilities to maintain service levels
(Temecula 2008d).
In FY 2007-08 the City spent approximately $4.38 million, or 7% of the General Fund, on fire
protection services (Temecula 2008c). In the FY 2008-09 budget the City has budgeted
approximately $4.6 million for fire protection services. This amount includes $293,414 for
operations and maintenance costs, $4,300,839 for personnel costs and $12,700 for capital outlay
costs (Temecula 2008d).
2.4.2 Community Development Services
The City of Temecula Community Development office is broken into three departmental areas:
Planning, Building and Safety, and Land Development. The Community Development office is
responsible for reviewing and processing all building permits, including remodeling. (Temecula
2008b). In Fiscal Year 2007-08 the City of Temecula budgeted approximately $8.3 million for
Community Development Services. Among the costs covered by these expenses were the
salaries and benefits of 60 employees. The Community Development budget is funded out of the
City’s General Fund (Temecula 2008c).
2.4.3 Public Works and Transportation Services
City of Temecula Roadway Maintenance:
At the end of Fiscal Year 2006-07 the City of Temecula Department of Public Works was
responsible for maintaining approximately 340 lane miles of public streets and 96 traffic signals
(Temecula 2007). The City of Temecula has adopted a Pavement Management Program, which
allows the City to assess pavement conditions for each pavement section in the City and establish
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accurate and efficient CIP budgets and schedules. As part of the Pavement Management
Program the City has established a goal to conduct a Pavement Management Update every 5
years. The most recent Pavement Management Update was completed in 2002. The City is
currently preparing a revised Pavement Management Update, which is expected to be complete
by June 2009. The Pavement Management Program rates the conditions and service levels of
roads and intersections using the Pavement Condition Index (PCI), and Level of Service (LOS)
measures. The PCI is a numerical index between 0 and 100 that is widely used in transportation
civil engineering. As of the 2002 Pavement Management Program, the majority of the City’s
roads were surveyed to be in good or better condition. As stated in the General Plan, the City
strives to maintain a Level of Service “D” or better at intersections during peak hours and Level
of Service “C” or better during nonpeak hours. The General Plan also includes policies to
monitor the performance of principal intersections on an ongoing basis to ensure that principal
intersections approaching LOS D are prioritized for improvement. Consequently since the last
Pavement Management Update in 2002 Temecula has spent several million dollars in Capital
Improvement Projects to improve the LOS of specific intersections within the City (York 2008).
Table 2.6-1 lists only some of the more recent projects funded through the City’s CIP budget.
Table 26-1
City of Temecula Recent
Significant CIP Funded Road Improvement Projects
FY 2008-09 Total Cost to
CIP Project Actuals to Date Budget Complete
Butterfield Stage Road extension $0 $25,5000,000 $41,257,196
Project
French Valley Parkway / Interstate- $11,308,288 $16,242,471 $118,724,109
15 Over-Crossing and Interchange
Improvements
French Valley Parkway / Interstate- $956,790 $573,691 $18,747,918
15 Over-Crossing and Interchange
Improvements Phase I
Pechanga Parkway Improvements $16,770,410 $10,865,864 $27,636,274
– Phase II
Interstate-15 / State Route 79 $8,119,871 $2,841,671 $32,222,632
South Ultimate Interchange
Source: City of Temecula Capital Improvement Program, Fiscal Years 2009-2013. Adopted by City Council on June
10, 2008.
In addition to CIP project for roadway improvements, the Department targets all roads with an
existing good or better graded condition with preventative maintenance to extend the life cycle of
the pavement. This pro-active approach saves the City CIP funds over the long term. In 2005
the Public Works Maintenance Team maintained 685 miles of public right of way and removed
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74,798 square feet of graffiti at a cost of $198,140 (Temecula 2008f). Other maintenance
responsibilities include:
Cleaning drainage facilities;
Replacing traffic control devices;
Removing and pruning trees located in the public right of way;
Fulfilling Service Order requests;
Responding to after-hour call-outs and storm related problems;
Supporting special events (Temecula 2008f).
Storm Water Drainage:
The City’s Department of Public Works Maintenance Division is responsible for the
maintenance of the City’s local underground and open channel storm drains, including pumping
stations and catch basins. The City’s storm water drainage infrastructure is designed to handle a
100-year storm event. The City adopted a Stormwater Management Plan 2005, which directs the
City’s drainage management programs and activities (York 2008).
Regional flood control facilities, including major channels and storm drains, are under the
jurisdiction of the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
(RCFCWCD). Within the City RCFCWCD owns and maintains 22 miles of underground storm
drains and improved channels. RCFCWCD has also developed and implemented the regional
Murrieta Creek Area Master Drainage Plan. Flooding events associated with Murrieta Creek are
addressed in the Master Drainage Plan. The City coordinates the maintenance of all the storm
water drainage facilities with RCFCWCD. Inspection and maintenance responsibilities are
negotiated and agreed upon by City and County staff prior to all new development approvals and
documented in a Cooperation and Maintenance Agreement (CMA). Typically, storm drain
facilities greater than 36 inches in diameter and most open channels are owned and maintained
by RCFCWCD, while drainages smaller than 36 inches are the City’s responsibility (York 2008).
While the smaller City storm water system operates efficiently and does not appear to have any
existing infrastructure deficiencies, the same cannot be said of the Murrieta Creek Flood Control
improvements. Murrieta Creek is a major drainage course which runs along the west side of the
City, and has historically produced major flood events even after portions of the creek have been
channelized and improved. Flooding problems in the Murrieta Creek watershed are common and
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are related to inadequate capacity of the existing drainage network, particularly in Old Town.
During major rain fall events, high runoff levels carry debris which clogs the storm water
system, and causes overtopping of the Murrieta Creek Channel. The overtopping causes the
flooding of buildings, roadways and other property damage, and incurs heightened safety risks.
Because of this, RCFCWCD is addressing regional flood control issues within Temecula through
infrastructure improvements such as bank enhancements and increasing channel capacity to
accommodate a 100-year flood, as documented in the Murrieta Creek Area Master Drainage Plan
To ensure that adequate flood control capacity is available to support new development, all
proposed development projects within the City of Temecula and its SOI are reviewed by the
RCFCWCD prior to approval by the City of Temecula or Riverside County. Additionally, new
development projects are required to provide on-site drainage connecting to the City’s drainage
system and to pay area drainage mitigation fees of $2,291 per acre of development. The drainage
fee revenues are used to support capacity expansion within the storm water drainage system.
2.5 Temecula Community Services District.
The Temecula Community Services District is a subsidiary district created to levy and collect
assessments in order to provide for specific services within the City. The TCSD also oversees the
maintenance for all City owned parks and facilities, operates programs and local events.
Assessment are collected to help pay the cost of services which include: parks, recreation, refuse
collection and recycling, landscape and slope maintenance, paved road maintenance and street
lighting services. The TCSD’s was created at the time of the incorporation of the City, with its
service boundaries being coterminous with the City’s corporate boundaries. The TCSD being a
subsidiary district of the City, the City Council sits as the District’s Board of Directors. Services
are assessed by zones of benefit, with each service receiving a letter designator. Not all areas
within the City are within every zone of benefit. Assessments collected by the TCSD pay the
cost for about one-third the cost of service provision in most cases, with funds from the General
Fund paying the remaining costs for services.
Table 2.5-1
TCSD Zones of Benefit and Rates
Range of Annual
Zone of Benefit Service Provided Assessments
A
B Residential Street $25.68 to $?
Lights
C Landscaping & $0 - $ 640.00
Slope
Maintenance
D Refuse & $0 - $218.88
Recycling
E Parks/Recreation
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The TCSD has incurred the following bonded indebtedness:
$4,990,000 Certificate of Participation.
2.6 Redevelopment Agency
The Redevelopment Agency was formed in 1995 to encourage private investment in the City by
utilizing public funds to remove blight, revitalize neighborhoods and provide affordable housing.
The Redevelopment Agency is legally separate agency operating within the City, with the City
Council acting as the Agency’s Board of Directors. The RDA’s project area centers along the
Interstate 15 corridor and includes the Promenade Mall, Old Town, Industrial & Business Parks
west of the Interstate between Winchester Road and Rancho California Road.
The RDA has incurred the following Bonded Indebtedness:
Issue Original Principal Balance Outstanding Balance Maturity Date
2002 TAB* $28,055,000 $26,155,000 8/2036
2006 TAB – A $18,105,000 $17,545,000 8/2038
2006 TAB – B $ 3,040,000 $ 3,040,000 12/2038
2007 TAB – Escrow $ 4,040,000 $ 4,040,000 12/2038
2007 TAB - Non-Escrow $11,750,000 $11,750,000 12/2038
Total $64,990,000 $62,530,000
Debt service is paid from special tax increments from property within the City’s Redevelopment
Area.
2.7 Park, Recreation and Library Services
2.7.1 Parks and Recreation:
The City of Temecula currently owns and maintains approximately 309 acres of developed park
land that is divided among 38 parks. These parks are listed below in Table 2.7-1 City of
Temecula Parks. Park locations can be found in Figure 2.7 City of Temecula Public Facilities.
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Table 2.7-1
City of Temecula Parks
Number
corresponding
to Location on
Figure 2.3 Facility Name and Location Acres Amenities
Bahia Vista Park
1 41566 Avenida de la Reina 0.46 Basketball
Butterfield Stage Park Tot lot, Barbeques, Picnic tables,
2 33654 De Portola Road 3.13 Restrooms, Basketball
Calle Aragon Park
3 41621 Calle Aragon 0.5 Tot lot, Picnic Tables
Crowne Hill Park Basketball, Tot lots, Picnic Tables,
4 33203 Old Kent Road 3.56 Barbeques, Restrooms
Lighted Baseball and Soccer Fields,
Harveston Community Park Restrooms, Community Room, Tot
5 28582 Harveston Drive 19.5 lots, Large picnic area
Harveston Lake Park
6 29005 Lake House Road 17.1 lake, gazebo, tot lot, restrooms
John Magee Park
7 44656 Corte Veranos 1 Tot lot, Barbeques, Picnic tables
Kent Hintergardt Memorial Park Boys & Girls Club, Tot lot,
8 31465 Via Cordoba 10.61 Barbeques, Picnic tables, Restrooms
Loma Linda Park
9 30877 Loma Linda Road 2.64 Tot lot, Barbeques, Picnic tables
Long Canyon Creek Park
10 40356 N. General Kearny Road 3.15 Tot lot, Barbeques, Picnic tables
Margarita Community Park Ball Fields, Football/Soccer, Tennis,
11 29119 Margarita Road 12.16 Roller Hockey
Meadows Park Tot lots, Barbeques, Picnic
12 43110 Meadows Parkway 5 tables/shelters, Restrooms
Nakayama Park Tot lot, Barbeques, Picnic
13 30592 Nicolas Road 0.28 tables/shelter
Nicolas Road Park Basketball, Tot lots, Picnic Tables,
14 39955 Nicolas Road 2.93 Barbeques
Pablo Apis Park
15 33005 Regina Drive 2.29 Tot Lot, Barbeques, Picnic Tables
Tennis, Volleyball, Basketball, Lit
Pala Community Park Soccer/Football, Picnic tables,
16 44900 Temecula Lane 10 Restrooms, Tot lot, Barbeques
Paloma Del Sol Park Lit Ballfields & Soccer/Football,
17 32099 De Portola Road 9.5 Barbeques, Picnic tables, Restrooms
Paseo Gallante Park (B)
18 32455 Camino San Dimas 1.82 Tot lot
4 Lit Ball Fields, 4 Lit Synthetic Turf
Patricia H. Birdsall Sports Park Soccer Fields, 4 Lit Basketball, tot
19 32380 Deer Hollow Way 44 lots, restrooms, Barbeques
Pauba Ridge Park Tot Lot, Picnic tables/shelters, Half
20 33405 Pauba Road 5.2 Court Basketball, Restrooms
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Number
corresponding
to Location on
Figure 2.3 Facility Name and Location Acres Amenities
Redhawk Community Park (F) Large turf area, Picnic shelter,
21 44715 Redhawk Parkway 14.6 Barbeques
Riverton Park
22 30950 Riverton Lane 4.94 Tot lot, Barbeques, Picnic tables
Lit & unlit ball fields, Soccer/Football,
Ronald Regan Sports Park Volleyball, Picnic shelter, Barbeques,
23 42659 Margarita Road 63 Tot Lot
Rotary Park
24 28816 Pujol Street 1.09 Barbeques, Picnic tables
Sam Hicks Monument Park
25 41970 Moreno Road 1.8 Tot lot, Picnic tables, Restrooms
Serena Hills Park
26 40747 Walcott Lane 3.15 Tot lot, Picnic tables, Barbeques
Stephen Linen Jr. Memorial Park
27 44935 Nighthawk Pass 2.13 Tot lot, Barbeques, Picnic tables
Sunset Park (A)
28 32155 Camino San Jose 1.62 Tot lot, Barbeques, Picnic tables
Wildlife viewing, Restroom,
Temecula Duck Pond Barbeques, Picnic Tables, Picnic
29 28250 Rancho California Road 7.51 Shelter
Temecula Creek Trail Park (E) Tot lot, Picnic tables, Barbeques,
30 33662 Channel Street 4.58 Trail
Temecula Skate Park Roller and In-line Skating, Skate
31 42569 Margarita Road 1 Boarding
Temeku Hills Park Ball Fields, Basketball, Tot lot,
32 31367 La Serena Way 11.41 Barbeques, Picnic tables, Restrooms
Vail Ranch Park
33 32965 Harmony Lane 16.43 Tot lot, Barbeques, Picnic tables
Veteran's Park
34 30965 La Serena Way 3.5 Tot lot, Barbeques, Picnic tables
Voorburg Park
35 39960 Nicolas Road 0.75 Barbeques, Picnic tables
Winchester Creek Park Basketball, Volleyball, Tot lot,
36 39950 Margarita Road 4.49 Barbeques, Picnic tables, Restrooms
Wolf Creek Trail Park (north and south)
37 45454 Wolf Creek Road 5.9 Trail with Par Course
Wolf Creek Park Tot lots, basketball, picnic area with
38 45850 Wolf Creek Drive North 6 gazeboes, restroom
Source: City of Temecula Community Services Department 2008.
In additional to the above listed parks and recreation facilities the City has started planning for
the construction of two new proposed parks: Rouripaugh Ranch Community Park, a 15.9 acre
park that will include lit ball fields and basketball courts, restrooms and concessions, a tot lot;
and Skyview Park, a 5 acre park that will include a tot lot, picnic area with shelters and
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barbeques, restrooms and a lit basketball court. The build out schedule of these parks is related
to the build out schedule of the Rouripaugh Ranch development. The current slowdown in the
building and the real estate markets have delayed the construction schedule for the Rouripaugh
Ranch Development which has also stalled construction of these two parks. The City of
Temecula is moving forward with funding for these parks however, and has initiated bonds to
cover a portion of the costs associated with construction (Smith 2008).
The City of Temecula also owns and maintains over 298 acres of open space, 23.9 acres of
which is eligible for development in the future. The remaining 274.7 acres are undevelopable
due to onsite limitations such as slope, or existing habitat for sensitive species (Smith 2008).
To augment the City’s parks, the City has a joint-use agreement with the Temecula Valley
Unified School District, which allows the City and its residents to utilize school facilities during
non-school hours, weekends and vacations. These school sites provide the City of Temecula
residents with an additional 38 acres of park/recreational facilities (Smith 2008) (See Table 2.7-2
City of Temecula Joint Use Recreational School Sites.)
Table 2.7-2
City of Temecula Joint Use Recreational School Sites
School Name and Location Acres Amenities
Temecula Middle School
42075 Meadows Parkway 14 Lit Baseball and Football/Soccer Fields
Temecula Elementary School
41951 Moraga Road 5.25 Pool/Lit Fields
Temecula Valley High Tennis Courts
31555 Rancho Vista Road 2 Tennis courts
Vail Ranch Middle School Basketball Courts
33340 Camino Piedra Rojo 1.5 8 Lit Basketball Courts
James L. Day Middle School Fields
40775 Camino Campos Verde 14 Baseball Fields
Chaparral High School Pool 25 meter pool, 25 yard pool, Zero-depth water
27215 Nicolas Road 1 play, Restrooms and Lockers
Source: City of Temecula Community Services Department 2008.
The City has established a park acreage standard for the City, that seeks 5.0 acres of usable City-
owned parkland per 1,000 residents. This standard does not include special use facilities, natural
open space or trails (Temecula 2005). Based on the City’s 2008 population of 97,934, the City is
currently providing 3.15 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. The City is would need to add an
additional 160 acres of parks to meet the established standards. The City’s General Plan states
that “sufficient acreage to meet the needs of residents is anticipated by the year 2013 through the
acquisition and dedication of parks and school facilities within specific plan areas.”
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The City of Temecula currently owns and maintains over 116,540 square feet of recreational
space among 8 facilities (Smith 2008). These recreational facilities are listed below in Table 2.7-
3 City of Temecula Recreational Facilities. City of Temecula Recreational Facility locations can
be found in Figure 2.7-3 City of Temecula Public Facilities.
Table 2.7-3
City of Temecula Recreational Facilities
Number
corresponding to
Location on
Figure 2.3 Facility Name and Location Square Feet Amenities
25 yard pool, Amphitheater, Indoor
Community Recreation Center (CRC) Basketball Gym, Meeting Rooms,
1 30875 Rancho Vista Road 26,480 Kitchen, Teen Room
Temecula Community Center (TCC)
2 28816 Pujol Street 5900 Kitchen, Meeting rooms
Multi-purpose room, Kitchen, Crafts
Mary Phillips Senior Center room, Billiards room, Library, Meeting
3 41845 6th Street 9248 Rooms
Temecula History Museum
4 28314 Mercedes Street 7500 2-story Local History Museum
Chapel of Memories
5 28300 Mercedes Street 3484 Chapel
Imagination Workshop - Temeula
Childrens Mseum
6 42081 Main Street 7600 Science based Children's Museum
Old Town Temecula Community Performing Theater, Dance Studio,
Theater Rehearsal Rooms, Lobby, Art Gallery
7 42051 Main Street 22,330 and Club at the Merc
Libarary, Computer Center, Children's
Temecula Library Library and Story Room, Community
8 30600 Pauba Road 34,000 Room
Source: City of Temecula Community Services Department 2008.
The City of Temecula prepared a Master Plan of Parks and Recreation in 1993 to address the
long term park and recreation needs of residents. Though the Plan has not been recently updated,
the Community Services Department continues to add additional parklands to the City. The
Master Plan contains: (1) current and projected recreational needs; (2) park development and
design standards; (3) a park and trails classification system; (4) parks, trails and recreation
facilities improvements; (5) target locations for acquisition of future parkland; (6) future trail
connections to the regional trail system; (7) a citywide bicycle route and recreation trails system;
(8) timing and phasing of parks, recreation facilities and trails; and (9) cost estimates for park
acquisition and development costs (Smith 2008).
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The City has also completed a separate Trail Master Plan in January 2002 to address local trail
and bikeway needs. The plan established a trail network and sets facility standards for pedestrian,
bicycle, and equestrian users. The Trail Master Plan addresses potential trail connections to the
countywide trail network. The City is recently completed revising the master trail map to
include recent additions to trails in Temecula (Smith 2008).
The City also provides numerous recreational activities; these include special events, such as 4th
of July festivities, excursions, winter holiday celebrations, and family fun nights, in addition to
various programs and classes. The City prepares a Guide to Leisure Activities twice annually and
distributes to all City residents, in addition to maintaining all relevant information on the City’s
web site. Classes and activities include dance, music, cooking, drama and theater, language
classes, sports activities and leagues, CPR and first aid training, and art classes (Smith 2008).
Funding for park and recreational services is primarily obtained through the use of the Temecula
Community Services District funds, which levies assessments, special taxes and user fees. The
operational budget for park and recreational services is supplemented by the General Fund.
Additional funding for capital improvements comes from park in lieu (Quimby) fees and
Development Impact Fees. Likewise, the City’s General Plan includes the policy that the City
shall (1) require the dedication of parkland or the payment of in-lieu fees and the development of
recreation facilities for all new residential development; and (2) require developers of residential
projects greater than 200 units to dedicate land based on the park acre standard of 5 acres of
usable parkland to 1,000 residents (Temecula sub-division map ordinance 99-23).
2.7.2 Library Services
The City of Temecula is a participant in the Riverside County Library System. The County
contracts with Library Systems and Services, Inc. to provide management and staff for all
libraries within the County Library System. Residents of Riverside County unincorporated areas
and the City of Temecula are equally eligible for library cards within the Riverside County
Library System and are eligible to use the facilities and books within the entire system, subject to
applicable restrictions and/or fees.
Two library facilities are located within the City of Temecula and are listed below in Table 2.7-4
Temecula Public Libraries. Both libraries offer public meeting rooms and computer facilities in
addition to the catalog inventory of books, periodicals and multi-media sources such as videos
and DVDs.
Table 2.7-4
City of Temecula Library Facilities
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FY 2007-08
Weekly FY 2007-08 Circulation (# of
Approximate hours of Collection (# of books checked out
Library Name and Location Square Feet operation books) annually)
Temecula Public Library
30600 Pauba Rd. 34,000 63 hours 102,747 715,082
Grace Mellman Community Library
41000 County Center Drive 15,000 40 hours 93,177 163,428
Though the Grace Mellman Community Library is owned by the County, and the Temecula
Public Library is owned by the City of Temecula, both are operated by Riverside County Library
System. The library and collection are funded through a percentage of the property tax assessed
against each household (Loeun 2008).
2.8 Solid Waste Collection and Disposal Services
The City of Temecula contracts with a private hauler, CR&R, to collect trash and recycling from
both residential and commercial properties. Residential trash and recycling collection is on a
weekly basis and includes collection of three bins of materials, one for trash, another for
comingled recyclables, and a third for “green” or yard waste. The City’s contract with CR&R
also provides for household hazardous waste disposal (such as motor oil, antifreeze and vehicle
batteries), bulk item collection (such as old refrigerators), and Christmas tree collection services
with specific requirements or limitations for each. Recycling and refuse collection fees are
placed on the Riverside County property taxes. The FY 2008-09 assessed rate for recycling and
refuse collection is $218.52. The rate is reassessed annually based on the consumer price index,
diesel fuel index and tipping fees charged at Riverside County landfills (Smith 2008).
Commercial trash and recycling collection services are also offered by CR&R. Commercial
services vary widely based on need. CR&R offers 2, 3 or 4 yard bin service or 40 yard roll-off
services. Collection is offered seven days a week if needed. Compactor servicing is also
available. Commercial collection rates vary based on services needed and start at $97.75 a
month for once a week pick-up of a 3 yard bin for refuse and $43.18 a month for once a week
pick-up of a 3 yard bin for recycling. Rates are adjusted each fiscal year based on the consumer
price index, diesel fuel index and tipping fees charged at Riverside County land fills. (TCSD
2008).
The City of Temecula anticipates that the standard trash and recycling services may not be
sufficient for some residents in the Santa Margarita area due to the area’s larger than typical lot
sizes. For such residences supplemental collection service fees can be set up and are billed
directly by CR&R on a quarterly basis. These supplemental fees cover any costs of collection
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that are over and above the standard residential collection services. The standard fiscal year
assessed rate would still apply and be included on the property tax bill (Smith 2008).
2.9 Other Services
2.9.1 Animal Control:
The City provides animal control services through a service contract with Animal Friends of the
Valleys. Animal Friends of the Valleys provides 1.5 full-time animal control officers, a fully
equipped vehicle, and shelter for the animals. The animal shelter is located at 29001 Bastron
Avenue in Lake Elsinore. Services are provided 12 hours a day, 5 days per week, as well as after
hours, weekends, and emergency calls. In addition, the service contract provides for hearings
related to animal control problems.
To provide additional facilities for adequate services the City is a participant in the Southwest
Community Financing Authority. The Authority is a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) that includes
the County of Riverside and the cities of Canyon Lake, Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, and Temecula.
The purpose of the Authority is to fund the construction and operation of an animal shelter to
serve the residents of the area.
2.9.2 Information Technology:
The City manages its electronic information both internally and externally. Internal data services
include the City’s intranet web pages, and internally managed data systems. Externally, the City
has a contracts for management and maintenance of the City’s public web site,
www.cityoftemecula.org. The City maximizes the communication potential of the City’s web
site, by posting useful information from across all departments.
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3.0 OTHER AGENCIES PROVIDING SERVICES WITHIN THE CITY
OR WITHIN THE SPHERE OF INFLUENCE AND PLANNING
AREAS.
3.1 Services Provided by County Agencies
3.1.1 Sherriff Services
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department provides law enforcement services to all
unincorporated areas of Riverside County as well as to several cities which contract with the
Sheriff for police services.
The County Sheriff in addition to providing patrol duties, investigating crimes and answering
calls for service, provides staffing for the County Detention facilities, staffs the County Courts,
provides investigative services to the Coroner, with the office of the County Coroner falling
under the control of the County Sheriff. Sheriff’s officers provide for traffic enforcement,
Special Investigations, Hostage Negotiations, Homicide, High Tech/Computer Crime
Investigations, Special Enforcement Bureau (SWAT), Community Oriented Policing, Search and
Rescue, Hazardous Device Team and an Aviation Bureau.
The County Board of Supervisors adopted a service standard of 1.2 Sworn Officers per 1000
population. Through aggressive funding and hiring the County Sheriff’s Department has met
this operational standard.
Currently the Department has a budget of $502,192,972, which provides for 1879 patrol officers,
1,215 correctional facilities officers, 181 court support officers, 61 officers and staff with the
Coroner’s office and 529 administrative, support and other duty personnel. Operations are
carried out from eight regional facilities. The County operates 5 correctional facilities, and
courts are located regionally with 7 court facilities.
In 2007 the County Sheriff’s Department responded to 277,496 calls for service and made
63,512 arrest. (unincorporated areas only – contract cities calls and arrest are not included with
these numbers) The Coroners caseload included 9067 cases, with 126 homicides.
The City of Temecula is located within the Sheriff’s Southwest Division service area. The
County Southwest Justice and Detention facility is located within the City of Murrieta.
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3.1.2 Fire Protection Services
The Riverside County Fire Department is a county wide fire protection agency. The County
contracts with the California Division of Forestry (CAL Fire) for service within the County. In
2007 RCFD/CA-Fire responded to 89,329 calls for medical assistance, extinguished 6,372 fires
and responded to 16,310 calls for “other” services. The Department serves 78 communities
county-wide. RCFD/CAL Fire provides Administration, Planning, Emergency Command,
Emergency Medical Services, Fleet Services, Communications, Training, Public Affairs,
Explorer Programs, Volunteers and the Ryan Air Attack Base. County-wide the Department is
divided into 9 operational divisions and 17 battalions. The Department operates out of 91 fire
stations and a Command/Operations Center.
3.1.3 Riverside County Library System
The Riverside County Library System is an integrated county wide library system which
comprises 34 libraries and a bookmobile. The system is managed and operated by an outside
management company, Library Systems and Services LLC, since 1997. The County Library
System is primarily funded by a library district tax which is levied throughout all unincorporated
territory county wide and incorporated cities which are part of the library system. Additional
funding is provided by the Riverside County Library Foundation, which was established in 1998.
Facilities expansion, construction or development is partially funded through development
impact fees.
3.1.4 County Service Areas
County Service Area’s (CSA) are localized county administered governmental agencies which
are formed to provide enhanced municipal services to specific area. The County Board of
Supervisors acts as the Board for all CSA’s, and in Riverside County the administrative control
of the CSA’s is handled by the counties Economic Development Agency (EDA). CSA’s in
general do not have the ability to directly provide services, but rather act as the assessing agency
to collect assessments for specific enhanced services, which are then contracted for. When a city
annexes territory which is within the service area of a CSA, that area is automatically detached
from that CSA and the city assumes that service. Within the existing SOI and Planning Area of
the City of Temecula exist four County Service Areas, these being CSA 103, 143, 149 and 152.
Each of the CSA’s services and range of assessments are detailed below.
CSA 103 – Street Lighting / landscaping: CSA 103 was formed in 1965 to provide
enhanced street lighting and landscape maintenance services to new residential communities in
the northern Murrieta, Temecula, French Valley and Wildomar areas. The incorporations of
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Temecula – 1989, Murrieta 1990 and Wildomar 2008, have greatly reduced the size of the
service area for CSA 103 with the CSA now existing only north of the City of Temecula in
French Valley. CSA 103 also predates the California constitutional amendment, Proposition 13
which passed in 1978 and which limits the amount of property taxes which can be levied on
property. Prop 13 as it is referred to, limited property taxes to 1% of the assessed value of the
base tax year and limited the annual increase to 2% of the assessed property value of the base tax
year. CSA 103 by predating the passage of Prop 13 has older areas which still receive a portion
of the property tax to pay for services. Any areas annexed into the CSA after the passage of Prop
13 may only assess a fee for specific services provided. The average annual assessment range
for parcels within the CSA is $20.00 to $1144.60.
CSA 143 – Street Lighting, Landscape Maintenance, Parks and Recreation
services: CSA 143 was formed in December 1985 to provide a broad range of municipal
services for the rapidly growing Temecula Valley. At the time of initial formation the CSA was
authorized to provide in addition to the above services, enhanced law enforcement and trash
collection services. These services have since been reduced to street lighting, landscape, parks
and recreation services. The incorporation of the cities of Temecula and Murrieta reduced the
service area of the CSA, and later annexations by both cities have further reduced the service
area. Presently the CSA is divided with a northern service area serving the Silver Hawk
community and a southern service area serving the Morgan Hill community and areas southeast
of the City of Temecula along State Highway 79.
CSA 143 because it provides for Parks and Recreation services has a Parks and Recreation
Master Plan. This master planning document allows the CSA to collect Quimby Act fees for
provision of future parks. The average annual assessments vary by area, and range from
$79.58 - $13,358.84 with the larger amount for commercial properties.
CSA 149 – Roads: CSA 149 was formed in December 1991 for the purpose of provided
enhanced road maintenance or construction for the rural Wine Country area east of the City of
Temecula. The CSA service boundaries have largely remained unchanged since formation and
include approximately 11,700 acres of territory. The CSA helps to maintain over 34 miles of
roadways within its boundaries, which include both paved and dirt roads. CSA 149 also has an
appointed advisory board which provides local input on roads and needs for service within the
CSA boundaries. Current annual assessments range from $200.00 to $208.08.
CSA 152 – NPDES: CSA 152 was formed in December 1991 as a fee collection mechanism
for the county wide implementation of the Federally mandated National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System program, to control storm water run off as well as run off from paved
surfaces, lawns and such which could collect and contain chemicals, oils and other pollutants. At
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the time of its formation, the CSA included only unincorporated territory, with later annexations
adding several cities into the CSA for this service. The City of Temecula is one of eight cities
which have not annexed into CSA 152. Services include street sweeping. EDA has also
activated potential latent powers for certain regional areas within the CSA to provide for
enhanced services such as parks, recreation and wastewater collection. These areas are
designated as “zones of benefit” and labeled as CSA 152A, B, C etc. There are no enhanced
zones of benefit within the areas covered by the City of Temecula SOI or Planning Area. CSA
152 annual assessment range for unincorporated areas is $5.98 to $66.14.
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3.1.5 Public Transit Services
Public bus service in Temecula is currently provided by Riverside Transit Agency (RTA), a Joint
Powers Agency that we established on August 15, 1975. As the Consolidated Transportation
Service Agency for western Riverside County, the RTA is responsible for coordinating transit
services throughout the approximate 2,500 square mile service area, providing driver training,
assistance with grant applications and development of Short Range Transit Plans (SRTPs)
(Riverside Transit Authority 2008).
Current RTA routes serving Temecula are listed in Table 2.6-1. Bus Routes Serving the City of
Temecula.
Table 2.6-1
Bus Routes Serving the City of Temecula
Line # Origin/Destination
23 Temecula/Murrieta
24 Temecula/Pechanga Resort/Vail Ranch
61 Sun City, Menifee, Murrieta, Temecula
79 Hemet, Winchester,Temecula
202 Murrieta, Temecula, Oceanside
206 Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Corona
208 Temecula, Sun City, Perris, Moreno Valley, Riverside
Source: Riverside Transit Authority 2008. Authority web site. Accessed September 19, 2008.
http://www.riversidetransit.com/home/index.htm
In addition to local routes, Riverside Transit provides Dial-A-Ride curb-to-curb transportation
services to Temecula’s seniors and persons with disabilities. Certain restrictions apply. The
fares for Dial-A-Ride services are:
Senior/disabled: $2.50 per ride
Children: $0.50 per ride (Riverside Transit Authority 2008).
RTA is largely funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Transportation
Development Act (TDA), the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality
(CMAQ) (Riverside Transit Authority 2008).
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3.1.6 Riverside County Regional Park and Open Space District
The Riverside County Regional Park and Open Space District was created by the Riverside
County Board of Supervisors to maintain a system of regional recreational facilities and historic
sites. The District was created by the Board of Supervisors under the provisions of Special
Legislation which allowed the Board of Supervisors to form the district subject to voter approval
without going through LAFCO. The District formation was approved by votes in November
1990, however a corresponding assessment was not approved. The District become effective
January 1991 and in April 1991, the Board of Supervisors adopted by resolution the exchange of
property tax revenue between the County General Fund and the District which remains the
principal revenue source to fund the District.
Upon establishment of the District, the Board of Supervisors who act as the District’s governing
board, have established policies which define the Park District’s mission, goals and structure.
The policies dictate that the District’s facilities should generally be large facilities with regional
or county wide appeal. Presently the District operates over 44,000 acres of parklands, which
includes sixteen regional parks, six historic sites, five nature centers, seven archaeological sites,
sixteen wildlife reserves, one mobile home park and a landmark Park District Headquarters.
The Districts boundaries include 14 of the County’s 26 incorporated cities, with the City of
Temecula not being included within the District’s boundaries. All unincorporated territory
surrounding the City is however within the Park Districts service boundaries.
Facilities located near the City of Temecula include the Lake Skinner Recreational Area and the
Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Preserve. Neither of these two facilities are within the City’s
sphere of influence or planning areas (Regional Parks Website).
3.1.7 Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
The Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (RCFCWCD) was formed
by special act of the State Legislature in 1945. It was realized after the March 1938 flood which
caused extensive damage in Riverside and Orange Counties that local flood control efforts were
ineffective and that a regional agency with taxing authority was needed if lives and property
were going to be protected within the Santa Ana River Watershed. The RCFCWCD was formed
as a dependent district governed by the County Board of Supervisors. Operationally the
RCFCWCD is divided into seven zones, each governed by a board of three zone commissioners,
who’s responsibility is to review and initiate projects for the benefit within their zone. The City
of Temecula is within the District’s zone 7.
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The major regional flood control and conservation concern in Zone 7 is the 220 square mile
Murrieta Creek Watershed. Murrieta Creek which extends through the western portions of both
Temecula and Murrieta is prone to extensive flooding due to inadequate capacity of existing
improvements. The last major flooding event in 1993 flooded large portions of Old Town
Temecula and caused over 20 million dollars in property damage. Large yearly storms cause
localized flooding of Murrieta Creek. Local flood control efforts channelized Murrieta Creek in
the late 1930’s, but these efforts are undersized for the flows generated in this watershed. The
RCFCWCD in cooperation with the Army Corp of Engineers have begun the process of
deepening and widening the creek bed in a four phase project. Phase One is now complete
which is the most southern portion of the improvements. It is hoped to let construction contracts
for the Phase 2 improvements in the winter of 2008. Improvements include habitat restoration
along the creek channel.
RCFCWCD is responsible for construction and maintenance of all regional flood control projects
or larger conveyance systems within the City of Temecula. The City is responsible for all local
flood control projects up to a 36 inch diameter conveyance system. To ensure adequate flood
control planning and to ensure that the storm water system has adequate capacity, the
RCFCWCD reviews all development projects either in the City or the County prior to agency
approval. RCFCWCD is also the lead “permitee” for the regional National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) “M4S” storm water permit issued by the State Water Resources
Control Board. As lead permitee, the Districts assists in the administration of the permit and
monitoring storm water quality. The permit, which is periodically reviewed and reissued, sets
forth steps and practices which must be undertaken by each of the permitee’s including the
RCFCWCD (RCFCWCD website and Regional Flood Control Districts MSR – 2007).
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3.2 Special Districts
3.2.1 Eastern Municipal Water District
EMWD was formed in 1950 under the Municipal Water District Act of 1911, to provide water
for primarily agricultural needs within the Perris, Hemet and Menifee Valleys. Since its
formation, the District has grown to serve the needs of some 630,000 residential customers. The
service area now covers approximately 555 square miles of territory and includes the cities of
Moreno Valley, Perris, Menifee Valley, Murrieta, Temecula, Hemet and San Jacinto. The
District joined the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in 1951 to obtain imported
water supplies to augment local supplies.
The District provides water to nine wholesale agencies, 132,880 active retail accounts and 129
agricultural customers. Current water supplies are approximately 16% local ground water, 4%
from Desalination and 80% imported through MWD. Per the Water / Wastewater MSR
completed in 2005, EMWD’s 2005 water demand was 101,687 acre feet annually. The MSR
projects water demand to increase to 116,491 acre feet by 2010 and 143,791 acre feet by 2020.
The MSR projected that sometime between 2015 and 2020 water demand would be greater than
supply. Actual water demand from 2007 was 99,658 acre feet. EMWD as of 2007 maintains
2,442 miles of transmission pipelines, has 81 storage reservoirs with a capacity of 194,000,000
gallons, has 87 pumping plants and 18 active domestic wells. Well production capacity is 34,800
acre feet per year. Average consumption in 2007 was .78 acre foot per account. In 2007
EMWD purchased 29.8 billion gallons of water, produced from local wells 6 billion gallons and
from desalination another 1.6 billion gallons for a total of 37.5 billion gallons of water.
Consumption was 33.8 billion gallons for domestic accounts and 1.2 billion gallons for
agricultural accounts for a total consumption of 35.1 billion gallons.
The District began wastewater collection and treatment services in 1964 with the first service
area being the Del Webb community in Menifee. Currently the District operates five treatment
plants with a combined treatment capacity of 59 mgd, and an average of 46 mgd of actual
treatment. The system serves over 180,000 customers. EMWD owns and maintains 1,857 miles
of sewer lines with 46 lift stations. The Temecula Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant which
serves Temecula is the smallest of the District’s five treatment plants and is located in the central
industrial center of the City. The 95 acre site has recently been upgraded to a capacity of 12
millions gallons per day of tertiary treatment. The Temecula Valley WTP was built in 1973
with an initial operating capacity of 1 mgd. The Temecula Valley facility is the only EMWD
wastewater treatment facility located within the Santa Margarita River Watershed, all others
being within the Santa Ana River Watershed. The treatment facility has an ultimate expansion
capacity to 54 mgd. The WTP also provides reclaimed water for landscaping, parks, turf farms
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and other users in the vicinity. EMWD presently sales a combined total from all WWTP’s, 21
mgd of reclaimed water to local customers. EMWD is utilizing the building slowdown and
decreased activity to plan and upgrade its reclaimed water system to a fully pressurized system.
This would allow increased usage of the reclaimed water resources.
Financially in 2007, EMWD received $276,767,148 in revenues and had expenses totaling
$220,520,532. EMWD had net assets of $1.3 billion dollars (EMWD website).
3.2.2 Western Municipal Water District
WMWD was formed in 1954 under the Municipal Water District Act of 1911, to provide
supplemental water supplies to western Riverside County for both domestic and agricultural
needs. Initial service areas included Riverside, Corona, Mead Valley, Eagle Valley, Woodcrest,
El Sobrante and March Air Force Base areas. Today WMWD serves the needs of some 853,000
residential and agricultural customers in a service area that covers approximately 527 square
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miles of territory. The service area includes the cities of Corona, Norco, Lake Elsinore,
Wildomar, Canyon Lake Murrieta and portions of Riverside. The District joined the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in 1954 at the time of the district’s formation.
The District provides potable water to eight wholesale agencies and 22,975 active retail accounts.
Current water supplies are approximately 18% local ground water, 2% from Desalination and 80%
imported through MWD. WMWD’s 2007 water demand was 125,811 acre feet, with retail
accounting for 34,700 acre feet, agricultural uses accounting for 15,184 acre feet and wholesale
accounting for 75,927 acre feet of demand. Information contained within the Water and
Wastewater MSR – 2005, projects annual water demand to be 36,000 acre feet by 2010 and 48,000
acre feet by 2020. The MSR projected numbers do not appear to match actual numbers for supply
or demand as current demand is more than double projected 2020 numbers. WMWD as of 2007
maintains 435 miles of transmission pipelines, has 38 storage reservoirs with a capacity of
80,000,000 gallons, and has 128 pumping plants. Average retail consumption in 2007 was 1.5 acre
foot per account.
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The District also serves as the wastewater treatment facility operator for the March Wastewater
Treatment Plant, currently rated at 1.0 mgd capacity and the Western Riverside County Regional
Wastewater Authority WWTP, with a rated capacity of 8.0mgd. The March WTP is currently
operating at 0.5mgd with planned expansion to 3.0 mgd capacity. The Regional WTP is
currently operating with an average flow of 5.6 mgd, with ultimate expansion capacity of 32
mgd. WMWD currently serves approximately 4,100 wastewater accounts. WMWD owns and
maintains 1,857 miles of sewer lines with 46 lift stations. Wastewater treatment in the Temecula
Valley is provided by Rancho California Water District’s Santa Rosa Division (see section
below).
Financially in 2007, WMWD received $96,586,316 in revenues and had expenses totaling
$88,465,989. EMWD had net assets of $294,116,352 dollars (WMWD website).
3.2.3 Rancho California Water District
In 1964 the Vail Ranch property and holdings was purchased by the partnership of the Kaiser
Corporation and Macco Reality Company forming Rancho California. In order to provide for a
reliable water supply for the proposed development, the Rancho California Water District was
formed in 1965, covering the easterly portions of the valley and including the unincorporated
community of Temecula, and with a land area of some 41,000 acres. In 1966, to provide
supplemental water supplies the Rancho California district was annexed into Eastern Municipal
Water District and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. In 1968 the Santa
Rosa Ranches Water District was formed to serve the western portions of the area including
portion of the unincorporated community of Murrieta and the Santa Rosa Plateau. The Santa
Rosa Ranches Water District covered an area of approximately 44,800 acres. After its
formation, in 1968 the Santa Rosa Ranches district was annexed into Western Municipal Water
District and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to provide for supplemental
water supplies. In 1977, the current Rancho California Water District (RCWD) was formed by
the consolidation of the Rancho District and the Santa Rosa Ranches district. RCWD operates
with two divisions, the Rancho Division and the Santa Rosa Division with each division
remaining within a different municipal agency for supplemental supplies. EMWD provides
wastewater treatment within the Rancho Division, while the Santa Rosa Division operates it own
wastewater collection and treatment system.
Today the District provides service to an area of just under 100,000 acres, with the Rancho
Division serving 49,850 acres and the Santa Rosa Division serving 49,000 acres. The District
provides service to over 120,000 persons living within its service boundaries, and provides
water, reclaimed water, wastewater collection and treatment services. The RCWD is governed
by a seven member Board of Directors. Water services are provided to 41,986 accounts which
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includes both domestic, business and agricultural accounts. Last year the District provided
77,957 acre feet of potable water to its customers, which is less than the prior year. This is
attributed to lower demand from the agricultural users due to a wetter winter and also to
mandated reductions in agricultural sales per the Interim Agricultural Water Program (IAWP)
with MWD which requires a 30% reduction in agricultural sales due to reduced supplies from the
State Water Project. Last year RCWD produced 11,131 acre feet of local water from wells
which is below the estimated capacity average of approximately 41,000 acre feet per year. The
Santa Rosa Wastewater Treatment Plant produced approximately 3,000 acre feet of reclaimed
water which was utilized within the District with the remaining water supplies being imported
water.
The Santa Rosa Wastewater Treatment Plant is located in the City of Murrieta and has a rated
capacity of 5 mgd. of treated effluent treated to a tertiary level. The facility has an ultimate
upgrade capacity to 17 mgd. The facility is currently operating at approximately 70% capacity
treating an average of 3.5 mgd. RCWD is providing wastewater collection and treatment
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services to approximately 17,407 customers located within a portion of the City of Murrieta,
portions of the City of Temecula and surrounding local unincorporated areas.
RCWD in 2007 showed net assets of $481,762,514, net revenues of $109,215,317 and operating
expenses of $82,913,546 (RCWD website).
3.2.4 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) was formed in 1929 to provide
imported water supplies to the rapidly growing Los Angeles basin. Today MWD is composed
of 26 member agencies serving from San Diego to Hemet to Ventura. MWD has a service area
of approximately 5,200 square miles with a population in excess of 18 million people. MWD’s
purpose is to provide a reliable water source to its service area, with primary water sources being
the Colorado River and the Sacramento Bay/Delta region. The agency is governed by a 37
member Board of Directors. Facilities include the 242 mile long Colorado River Aqueduct
completed in 1939, five water treatment plants, nine storage reservoirs with a total capacity of
1,072,000 acre feet, 775 miles of distribution pipelines and 16 hydroelectric power plants with a
capacity of 127 megawatts of generation.
Average daily water delivery is 6,023 acre feet (2006 – MWD sources). MWD projects 2007-08
water sales to exceed 2.23 million acre feet. MWD has approximately 7.5 billion dollars in net
assets, with revenues exceeding 1.1 billion dollars and operational expenses of 919 million
dollars.
Member agencies which are of interest within this MSR are: Western Municipal Water District
and Eastern Municipal Water District. Sub-agencies include Rancho California Water District.
Facilities located within Riverside County include the Robert A. Skinner Water Treatment Plant
with a treatment capacity of 630 million gallons per day, the Henry J. Mills Water Treatment
Plant with a treatment capacity of 160 million gallons per day, Diamond Valley Lake with a
storage capacity of 810,000 acre feet (October 28, 2008 current storage of 464,052 acre feet or
57% of capacity – source MWD), Lake Mathews with a storage capacity of 182,000 acre feet
(October 28, 2008 current storage of 108,935 acre feet or 60% of capacity – source MWD), and
Lake Skinner with a storage capacity of 44,000 acre feet (October 28, 2008 current storage of
35,754 acre feet or 81% of capacity – source MWD).
3.2.5 Valley Wide Recreation And Parks District
The Valley Wide Recreation and Park District (VWRPD) is a large regional parks district which
provides service to an estimated 800 square mile service area. This service area includes the
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French Valley area located within the City’s northern SOI. The District also overlaps the
existing City boundaries within the Roripaugh Ranch annexation, Riverside LAFCO file number
2001-22-3. This issue was discussed in the Districts SOI review, Riverside LAFCO file number
2006-55-3, heard before the LAFCO Commission December 2006.
VWRPD was formed in July 1972 and provides an extensive systems of parks and recreation
activities for the residents within its boundaries. The District is governed by a five-member
Board of Directors, elected to staggered four-year terms of office. The District serves an
estimated 180,000 persons within its service boundaries. The District has 61 local parks with an
estimated 612 acres of improved parklands. The District also maintains seven community
centers, five regional parks and an aquatic center. Within the Temecula SOI the District
maintains one 17 acre regional sports complex and ten local parks totaling 42 acres. The
District standard of service requires three acres of parkland per 1000 residents. Combined total
park acreage within the District is meeting its standards for service. The District is noted for the
very extensive range of recreational programs provided which include sports, swimming, dance,
music, animal training, CPR, arts and crafts, theater and drama, self defense, trips and
excursions, day camps and programs for seniors.
Figure 3.2-5 Valley Wide recreation & Park District
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VWRPD is funded by four revenue sources: property tax, program fees, benefit assessments and
grants. Property tax revenue and benefit assessments cover the cost of administration,
maintenance, acquisition, capital improvements, debt payments, utilities and operations.
Program fees cover the cost of individual programs. Grants are for specific purposes and can
only be utilized for that specific purpose. VWRPD has a policy of only assessing improved
properties and no assessments are collected on undeveloped parcels. It is recommended that at
some future point, the City of Temecula seek detachment of the 632 acre Roripaugh Ranch
annexation from the District to avoid duplication of services and assessments.
3.2.6 Du Luz Community Services District
The 20,000 acre Du Luz Community Services District was created in November 1978 as the
Santa Rosa Community Services District and began operations in March 1979. The District is
located west of the City of Temecula upon the Santa Rosa Plateau. The District was created to
provide three services to the community: road construction and maintenance, solid waste
collection and enhanced law enforcement. The district is governed by an elected five-member
board of directors who serve staggered four-year terms.
The District maintains 78 miles of roads which includes both major collectors and minor
collectors within the system. The District has developed a Pavement Management Program
which details the existing pavement condition and recommends maintenance strategies. On
Average, the overall condition of roads within the District is rated “Very Good”.
When the District was formed, residents felt that current County Sheriff’s patrols were
inadequate due to the remote nature of the Santa Rosa Plateau. Under the approved services
which the District is authorized to provide, the District contracts with the Riverside County
Sheriff’s Department for 80 hours of patrol time a week. This enhanced level of services has
greatly reduced agricultural theft, illegal dumping, burglaries and other illegal activities.
The District also contracts with Waste Management for solid waste collection services.
The District boundaries overlap the current City SOI south of Rancho California Road and east
of the Rancho Line. A small portion of the District also overlaps the City of Temecula
boundaries south of the Santa Margarita River. Portions of the proposed Santa Margarita sphere
amendment and reorganization would also include portions of the District within their
boundaries. It is proposed that the City consider detachment of those areas of the CSD which are
either within the current City boundaries or within the proposed reorganization if successful, to
avoid a duplication of services and assessments.
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Figure 3-2.6 DeLuz Community Services District
3.2.7 North County Fire Protection District
The North County Fire Protection District (NCFPD) provides services within northern San Diego
County and has a sphere of influence which extends into southern Riverside County, west of the
City of Temecula. While the NCFPD does not provide services into Riverside County, the
potential for a future annexation of territory which may have impact upon areas covered within
this MSR do exist and that is why this district is included with this MSR.
The North County Fire Protection District was formed by the reorganization of the Fallbrook
Fire Protection District and the Rainbow Volunteer Fire Department (CSA 7) in 1987. This has
resulted in a district which has a service area of 92 square miles and an estimated population of
45,000 persons. The NCFPD has five full time fire stations and one volunteer fire station with
60 full time emergency services personnel, 14 support personnel, 20 reserve fire fighters and 33
volunteers. The District also provides Emergency Medical Services to an additional 40 square
miles of territory, mostly within the existing sphere of influence for the District.
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The San Diego LAFCO Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services Review, adopted by
the San Diego LAFCO in February 2005 has found that NCFPD responded to calls within five
minutes 70% of the time, within ten minutes 95% of the time and within twenty minutes, 100%
of the time. The San Diego Fire Protection and EMS MSR also found that fire response from a
fire station manned by a volunteer force was unreliable as to time of response. The nearest
NCFPD fire station which could potentially provide service into the area of this MSR is the
Rainbow Valley Fire Station #6, which is a station manned entirely by a volunteer fire fighting
force.
Figure 3.2-7 North County Fire Protection District
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4.0 SERVICE REVIEW DETERMINATIONS
State of California Government Code section 56430 requires that the LAFCO Commission shall
prepare a written statement of its determinations with respect to six criteria contained within that
code section. These determinations are used to address issues relevant to the agency under
review. It should be noted that in earlier MSR’s prepared prior to January 1, 2008, there were
nine determinations. MSR’s prepared after January 1, 2008 use a revised code section where
several determinations were combined or eliminated, resulting in six determinations.
The earlier Southwest County Regional MSR (LAFCO 2005-47-1&3 adopted by the
Commission Sept 28, 2006) contained within the adopted determinations several comments
relating to the City of Temecula’s municipal services. These earlier comments are provided in
the appropriate determinations below along with any updated information contained within this
MSR to allow the Commission review any changes from the earlier document.
4.1 Growth and Population Projections for the Affected Area.
Determination 4.1.1: The location of the Temecula Valley in relation to San Diego County
along with affordability of housing makes the Temecula Valley a desirable place to live. Growth
is projected to continue with annual increases in local population ranging from 2 to 3.3%
annually. Continued population and housing growth will continue to challenge service
provision, both within the City of Temecula and the surrounding unincorporated areas.
4.2 Present and Planned Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public
Services, Including Infrastructure Needs and Deficiencies.
Determination 4.2.1: Parkland acreage within the City of Temecula is below the City of
Temecula’s Adopted Standards for service provision. The earlier MSR noted that the City of
Temecula was providing parkland acreage which was below the City’s adopted standards for
parkland per 1,000 population. At the time of the earlier MSR, the City had a population of
81,397 and maintained 240 acres of parklands giving a ratio of parklands per residents of 2.95 to
1000 residents. Since the prior MSR, the City has reviewed its parkland standards and increased
the parklands/ population standards to five-acres per 1000 residents. By raising the level of
service standards, the City is still deficient in the provision of parkland acreage. The City
currently has 330 acres of parks and approximately 98,000 residents, resulting in a parkland to
resident ratio of 3.15 acres per 1000 residents. The City’s revised Park Master Plan envisions
that by 2013 the City will have achieved the adopted standard of five acres of parkland for every
1000 persons within the City. Based upon a projected population of 102,000 residents, the city
would need to have 510 acres of parklands to meet the adopted standards by 2013.
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Determination 4.2.1.1: Recreational Services. The City of Temecula provides a very high level
of recreational services for its residents which include youth and adult sports, programs for
seniors, youth and adults, community services and community centers. These recreational
activities also benefit the residents of surrounding unincorporated areas.
Determination 4.2.2: The City of Temecula is maintaining law enforcement services at the
City Adopted Standards. The earlier MSR also noted that the City of Temecula was also
providing law enforcement services at a level which was below the agencies adopted service
standards of one sworn officer per 1,000 residents. Since data gathered for the prior MSR, the
City has revised the service standards, raising the service standard to 1.2 sworn officers per 1000
residents. Today the City is providing law enforcement services at slightly below the 1.2 sworn
officers per 1000 residents standard.
Determination 4.2.3: The City has an active program of Roadway Maintenance to facilitate
cost savings from extending roadway life. The City maintains high service standards for
roadway Maintenance, with a roadway maintenance program which seeks to prevent the
deterioration of roadways through preventive maintenance and thus avoiding high repair or
replacement cost. The City of Temecula utilizes a five-year Capital Improve Program to plan,
finance and construct infrastructure improvements throughout the City.
Determination 4.2.4: Fire Service Standards. The City through contract with Riverside
County Fire has maintained a staffing level of four fire fighting personnel with paramedic service
at each fire station within Battalion 15. Equipment levels at City fire stations within Battalion 15
are also higher than those within most county maintained jurisdictions. Most county fire stations
within the surrounding County Fire Department’s Battalions are manned with a three fire
fighting personnel per shift. This enhanced level of service provides benefits to not only the City
but also to all areas which are served from City stations within Battalion 15, this includes service
into the SOI, the planning area and projected SOI amendment. Riverside County’s decision to
maintain a county wide fire protection department has provided service benefits to the City of
Temecula as well as the entire county. Riverside County Fire Department has also entered into
service agreements with the California Division of Forestry (CA Fire) which greatly expands
service delivery capability. This county wide fire service provision does not leave any area of
the County without fire protection. The agreements with CA Fire also benefit the areas in the
Santa Margarita area and Santa Rosa Plateau, in that CA Fire stations located within northern
San Diego County are available for response into this area. The North County Fire Protection
District which has SOI within Riverside County within the Santa Margarita area, could
potentially respond to service calls into this western area, however the closest NCFPD station is
located in the community of Rainbow which is staffed by volunteers. The San Diego County
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Fire Protection and EMS Municipal Services Review-2005 states “…fire response from a fire
station manned by a volunteer force was unreliable as to time of response…”
Determination 4.2.5: Storm Water. The City’s local storm water collection system performs
well and has adequate capacity. Age of the system is not a factor. The Riverside County Flood
Control and Water Conservation District is responsible for all regional flood control facilities
and has the responsibility for review of all development plans to ensure local and regional storm
water requirements are met. The RCFCWCD is engaged with the U.S. Corp of Engineers in a
four phase channel and storm water flow improvement program involving Murrieta Creek.
4.3 Financial Ability of the City to Provide Services.
Determination 4.3.1 The prepares quarterly financial statements and reviews actual
revenue against projected revenues and adjusts spending when necessary: The City’s
finance department reviews the budget and revenues quarterly in order to adjust spending if
necessary. This allows the City timely tracking of the budget and helps to meet the Council’s
20% general fund revenue reserve policy.
Determination 4.3.2 The City has maintained positive cash balances: The City ended fiscal
year 2007-2008 with a $12.9 million dollar surplus. The City ended fiscal year 2006-2007 with a
$4.3 million dollar surplus. The City has met its debt obligations, paid for budgeted services and
maintained a 20% of general fund reserve, while ending each of the past several years in surplus.
The City during current challenging financial times has committed to maintaining current service
levels.
Determination 4.3.3 The City has limited bonded indebtedness: During fiscal year 2007-
2008 the City issued $24,535,000 in Certificates of Participation to finance a portion of the new
Civic Center. The City has created a secondary reserve fund in the amount of $9,700,000 to
begin the initial pay down of the bond. The City intends to pay off the Certificate of
Participation bond within ten years. Subsidiary agencies with the City carry additional
indebtedness, these include the Temecula Community Services District and the Redevelopment
Agency. The TCSD has incurred approximately $4,990,000 in indebtedness through issuance of
a Certificate of Participation. This is used to help finance park land acquisition and construction.
The Redevelopment Agency has issued $64,990,000 in tax allocation bonds for use within the
Old Town Development Project area.
Determination4.3.4 The City’s subsidiary special district – the Temecula Community
Services District provides funding for municipal services: In order to fund parks, recreation,
public right of way, landscape maintenance and street lighting services within the City utilizes a
subsidiary special district, the Temecula Community Services District (TCSD). The City
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Council sits as the governing board for the TCSD. The TCSD through several “Zones of
Benefit” levies assessments for services within the City. Funds collected by the TCSD pay for
approximately one-third the cost of service provision, the remaining cost is paid through the
General Fund. Zone B provides for Residential Street Lights with an annual assessment of
$25.68; Zone C provides for Landscaping & Slope Maintenance with an annual assessment of
$640.00; Zone D provides for Refuse & Recycling with an annual assessment of $218.00; and
Zone E provides for Parks and Recreation Services.
4.4 Status and Opportunities for Shared Facilities.
Determination 4.4.1 The City and the Temecula Unified School District have shared use
agreements for use of school grounds: In order to provide the citizens of the City with greater
access to recreation and open space lands, the City and the Temecula Unified School District
have entered into a Joint-Use agreement for use of fields and grounds of public schools owned
by the School District. The Joint-Use agreement allows the public to access and utilize public
school grounds during non-school hours, weekends or school vacation periods. This provides
for additional fields for sports, recreation or public enjoyment, and adds an additional 38 acres of
open space to residents of the City.
Determination 4.4.2 The City contracts with Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for
police services: The City contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for law
enforcement and public safety services within the City. The public benefit to this contract
arrangement is that it allows seamless access to specialized services provided by the Sheriff’s
department such as Hazardous Device Team, Allied Riverside Cities Narcotics Enforcement
Team, Sheriff’s Aviation Program, Special Enforcement Bureau (SWAT) as well as rapid
deployment of additional resources in an emergency situation. This contract arrangement also
brings the benefit of the enhanced patrol service levels of the City into surrounding
unincorporated communities in emergency situations.
Determination 4.4.3 The City contracts with the Riverside County Fire Department for fire
protection services: The City of Temecula contracts with the Riverside County Fire
Department for fire protection services within the City. The City contract establishes an
enhanced level of service over Riverside County Fire Department standards for fire stations
located within Battalion 15 of the Southwest Division. This enhanced level of services includes:
staffing levels - four-professional fire fighters per shift vs. three-professional fire fighters per
shift in other battalions; paramedic services at every fire station; the City owns four of the six
fire stations within Battalion 15. The great advantage to this contract is two things: Unlike
neighboring San Diego County which has 28 independent fire protection agencies, each with its
own autonomous standards, funding and fire protection philosophies. Riverside County has
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chosen to create a county-wide Fire Department which provides uniform standards, funding and
fire protection philosophies. The County-wide agency leaves no area of the County unprotected
and also allows for rapid emergency response to large fire events with seamless integration of
units from neighboring battalions or operational divisions. The second area of benefit is that
Riverside County contracts with the California Department of Forestry for fire service provision
within the County Department. Thus much of the equipment housed at county facilities is State
owned, and fire fighters are CAL Fire employees, Contracting with CAL Fire makes available
all State resources including aerial resources based at Hemet Ryan Field, less than 10 minutes
flying time from the City of Temecula. This contract arrangement truly creates Cooperative
Regional Fire Protection.
Determination 4.4.4 The City works co-operatively with the Riverside County Flood
Control and Water Conservation District for storm water protection: The City of Temecula
works co-operatively with the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
on infrastructure projects and development plan review to help protect the citizens and
landowners from storm water flooding, habitat restoration, storm water runoff contamination of
public water ways and NPDES permitting. The RCFCWCD provides regional infrastructure and
reviews all development plans to ensure compliance with regional and local storm water
standards. The City is responsible for local infrastructure up to 36 inch diameter or larger open
channels.
4.5 Accountability for Community Service Needs, Including Governmental
Structure and Operational Efficiencies.
Determination 4.5.1 The City maintains business offices which are open and accessible to
the public: The City of Temecula offices are open during daytime business hours with staff
available to assist the public. The building is Americans with Disabilities Act compliant.
Departments are staffed to provide public assistance at the counter and meeting rooms are
available if necessary. The new Civic Center, currently under construction will enhance public
accessibility with designed ADA improvements, better access and parking.
Determination 4.5.2 The City maintains a website which is easy to navigate and provides
detailed information about city government, news about events within the City, access to
city departments, infrastructure projects and access to City management and elected
Council: The City of Temecula website: cityoftemecula.org is a well organized and easy to
navigate website which offers detailed information about events within the City, information
about City government, access to public officials, detailed information about projects within the
City, access to City departments, historical information about the City, links to other agencies
and the ability to leave a message or ask a question. The website is up to date with current
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information about the City. Providing accurate and timely information with access to City staff
and elected officials helps the public keep their City accountable.
Determination 4.5.3 The City provides opportunities for public participation in city
government: The City of Temecula has a council of five elected officials which is the decision
making body of the City. Any citizen of the City meeting minimum qualifications of the office,
may run for election to the City Council. Council meetings are public meetings and are open to
the public, with the public invited to speak on agenda topics of interest to them. The City
receives regular written correspondence, e-mails and telephone comments from the citizens and
works to respond to each inquiry. Staff from City Department’s are available to the public
during the City’s regular business hours. The City has established several Citizens Advisory
Commissions and Boards on which the public serves. These include the following
Commissions: Community Service Commission; Public/Traffic Safety Commission; Old Town
Local Review Board; The Old Town Redevelopment Advisory Committee and the Planning
Commission.
Determination 4.5.4 There are two areas where special district service boundaries overlap
with City boundaries and result in duplication of services and assessments: Local
governmental structure and operation efficiencies would be improved by detachment of territory
from the DuLuz Community Services District and Valley Wide Recreation & Park District
which overlap the City boundaries. The DuLuz CSD provides for road maintenance, enhanced
police protection and solid waste pick-up and disposal. These services are already provided
within the City. Residents or landowners living within the overlap area would be paying
assessments to the District for services which they would not likely be receiving. Additionally
if the City moves forward with its proposed Santa Margarita Annexation, the boundaries of the
annexation overlap areas of the DuLuz CSD, and those areas of overlap should be detached from
the District upon annexation. 632 acres of territory contained within the Roripaugh Ranch
annexation are within the boundaries of the Valley Wide Recreation and Park District. Although
Valley Wide does not access undeveloped parcels, the Roripaugh Ranch is slated for residential
development. Upon development landowners living within the Roripaugh Ranch may be paying
park and recreation assessments to both the Temecula Community Services District and to
Valley Wide Recreation and Parks District. The City at some point in the future should file an
application with LAFCO to detach this area from the Valley Wide Recreation and Park District.
Determination 4.5.5 There are no opportunities for Consolidation or Merger with the City
of Temecula or other public agency: When the subject of Incorporation was initially
considered, the proposal was to incorporate the entire valley including the community of
Murrieta. It was determined during the initial review process that Murrieta was a distinct and
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separate community and should proceed with their own incorporation. There would be no
benefit for consolidation of the water agencies with the City of Temecula.
4.6 Any Other Matter Related to Effective or Efficient Service Delivery, as
required by Commission Policies.
Riverside LAFCO has not identified any additional matters related to effective or efficient
services delivery to be included within this study.
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5.0 REFERENCES
Dakin, S. 2008. City of Temecula Fire Captain, personal communication with Emily
Lyons and Wayne Fowler (Dudek). August 29, 2008.
Harrington, K. 2008. Personal correspondence with Kevin Harrington, Maintenance
Superintendent, Community Services Department, City of Temecula, phone
conversation and email correspondence with Emily Lyons of Dudek on
September 19, 2008.
Husing, J. E., Ph. D., 2007. Temecula Demographic, Economic, and Quality of Life Data,
January 8, 2007.
Loeun, J. 2008. County of Riverside, Supervising Accountant, Riverside County Auditor
and Controllers Office, personal communication with Emily Lyons (Dudek).
September 17, 2008.
Meadows, T., Lt. 2008. Lieutenant, City of Temecula Police Department, Personal
Communication with Emily Lyons (Dudek). September 2008.
O’Leary, T, 2008. Valley News, Friday May 23rd, 2008, Issue 21, Volume 12,
http://www.myvalleynews.com/story.php?story_id=30453
Riverside County Center for Demographic Research, 2008. Accessed on August 18,
2008. http://www.rctlma.org/rcd/default.aspx
Riverside Transit Authority 2008. Authority web site. Accessed September 19, 2008.
http://www.riversidetransit.com/home/index.htm
Simpson, J. 2008. City of Temecula Assistant Director of Finance, Jason Simpson.
Personal communication with Emily Lyons (Dudek) via email. September 2008.
Smith, B. 2008. City of Temecula, Senior Management Analyst, Community Services
Department. Personal communication with Wayne Fowler and Emily Lyons
(Dudek) August 29, 2008.
Temecula 2008a. City of Temecula Draft Demographics Report (need to add name once
report is finalized. Report is expected to be completed in the fall, per Steve
Brown.)
Temecula 2008b. City of Temecula Web site. Accessed August/September 2008.
http://www.cityoftemecula.org/temecula/
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Temecula 2008c. City of Temecula Fiscal Year 2007-08 Year End Financial
Statement,Unaudited. City of Temecula Finance Department. August 2008.
Temecula 2008d. City of Temecula 2008, Proposed Annual Operating Budget, Fiscal
Year, 2008-2009. City Council Meeting, June 10, 2008.
Temecula 2008e. City of Temecula Capital Improvement Program, Fiscal Years 2009-
2013. Adopted by City Council on June 10, 2008.
Temecula 2008f. Department of Public Works, Maintenance Division Web site, accessed
September 2007.
http://www.cityoftemecula.org/Temecula/Government/PublicWorks/Maintenance
/
Temecula 2007. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year End June 30,
2007. City of Temecula. 2007.
Temecula 2005. City of Temecula General Plan. Revised 2005. Accessed on August
18, 2008.
http://www.cityoftemecula.org/Temecula/Government/CommDev/Zoning/general
plan.htm
York, D. 2008. Deputy Director, City of Temecula Department of Public Works.
Personal communication with Emily Lyons (Dudek). September 2008.
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