Crossroads project withdrawn over street median issue

Architectural drawings show what Menifee Crossroads would look like from the corner of Newport and Bradley roads.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The developers of a proposed commercial center in Menifee have withdrawn their application after city officials indicated they would not remove one of the conditions of approval from the project.

Menifee Crossroads was designed as a 103,000-square-foot center to be built on nine acres of vacant land at the northeast corner of Newport Road and Bradley Road. As planned, the center would include a specialty grocer (tenant not announced), a Denny’s restaurant, two retail shop structures and two office space structures.

According to a representative of the project, Crossroads would’ve generated an economic benefit of approximately $39 million to the City and create nearly 350 jobs. The project, backed by the family owners of a Denny’s in Murrieta, had passed several plan checks and was approved by the Planning Commission last month.

The project hit a snag, however, over the summer when City planning officials added to the project the requirement that a raised median be built on Bradley Road heading north from the intersection and past a driveway entrance to Newport Plaza – a decades-old development across Bradley Road that includes Pitstop Pub, Giovanni’s Pizza Pasta & More, and Carnitas Express, in addition to doctor’s offices, a paint store, and a tire shop.

The Tabrizizadeh family initially agreed to pay for installation of the median on the condition it would eventually be reimbursed through regional funding sources. But all that changed when an attorney representing the ownership of Newport Plaza threatened to sue the project developer if the raised median was built. The letter from that legal counsel maintains that blockage of left turns from northbound Bradley Road into the Newport Plaza driveway by a raised median would greatly impact business in that center.

That resulted in appeals of the Planning Commission’s decision by both the applicant and the ownership of Newport Plaza, maintaining that the project should be approved only without the raised median requirement.

In their appeal, the applicants argued that because the median was not a part of the original project plans, it is not required. They told City Council members Wednesday night that they would move forward only without the raised median requirement.

“We’re just restaurant owners who are taking a big leap of faith to build a legacy project in Menifee,” said Tanya Tabrizizadeh. “We feel it’s a great opportunity for the first time to build something that has a lasting benefit to the community.”

Tanya’s father, Ali, also addressed the council during the public hearing.

“We’re facing a big challenge with this condition,” he said. “If it stays, it will bring litigation. We’re not objecting to paying our share of a median, but if it stays, we have no other choice than to withdraw.”

The Menifee Crossroads development would include a Denny's restaurant.

 
Arguing on the family’s behalf, attorney Tim Paone spent almost an hour on a detailed presentation designed to show that:

-- The City’s General Plan does not require a raised median on roads classified as a secondary road, as Bradley Road is at that point.

-- Studies conducted by an independent traffic analysis firm, Urban Crossroads, show that the project would not necessitate a raised median.

-- City planning officials were incorrect in adding the raised median as a requirement in the last of four reviews of the Urban Crossroads study.

Following testimony by Paone and a representative of Urban Crossroads, the council received testimony from Mike Monroe, representing the Murrieta-Wildomar Chamber of Commerce.

“I implore the City to do what’s right,” said Monroe, urging council to do whatever is necessary to see the project move forward. “Litigation will tie this up for a decade in the courts.” Wildomar resident Andrew Morris also spoke in favor of the project, citing the benefit of the Tabrizizadeh family to the region.

There was no representative of the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce to offer an opinion one way or the other. Following Morris’ comments, Mayor Bill Zimmerman asked council members if they had any questions.

After the lengthy presentation by the applicant and comments from the public, only two questions were asked by council members before the public hearing was closed and the deliberation period began. That lasted just a few minutes before comments by Zimmerman, Lesa Sobek and Dean Deines all indicated they would not vote in favor of the applicant’s appeal.

Council members Bill Zimmerman, Lesa Sobek and Dean Deines consider testimony during the meeting.

 
They were the only three council members who considered the appeals. Matt Liesemeyer recused himself because his construction firm is associated with the project, and Bob Karwin did the same because his law office is across the street from the property in question.

In response to a question from Sobek to state the City’s stance on the issue, public works director Nick Fidler said that the traffic impacts of the project would be greater than the Urban Crossroads study indicated because the study didn’t take into account all the paths of traffic through the Newport-Bradley intersection.

Menifee 24/7 reached out to Fidler for further clarification through email on Thursday. City manager Armando Villa does not allow staff members to correspond directly with the media through phone calls or emails, so the emailed response came from assistant city manager Rochelle Clayton.

In the email, Fidler was quoted as saying that although current traffic patterns does not require a median, the added traffic volume resulting from the new center would do so.

“Currently, the roadway operates at an acceptable level with the current traffic volumes and traffic striping/markings in place,” the email stated. “However, as traffic volumes continue to increase on both Bradley Road and Newport Road, changes to the roadway would be necessary and include the installation of the median.

“Unfortunately, the entrance to Newport Plaza is too close to the intersection of Bradley Road and Newport Road to safely allow for full access with increased traffic volumes on Bradley. Also, as our community grows, so does the demand on the shopping center, which adds vehicle trips to/from the shopping center.”

Fidler also denied the applicant’s assertion that the issue of a median was not raised in earlier plan checks of the project.

“The issue of a raised median was introduced into pre-plan check comments for the Menifee Crossroads project as early as September 2020,” the email stated. “City staff continued to express their concerns in each review of the Traffic Impact Analysis for the Menifee Crossroads project and then ultimately recommending the median in their third plan check in April 2021.”

This indicates that a raised median would not be installed with the project now withdrawn, even though previous City staff comments mentioned “concern over public safety” at that site. Even Sobek said her vehicle had nearly been hit recently while trying to turn left into Newport Plaza.

Sobek, who as a council member has approved many new residential projects and has often celebrated the City’s population growth, seemed to make an ironic statement in supporting Fidler’s position.

“I feel bad that our population has increased to the point that we have to make a decision like this, based on the health and safety and well-being,” she said.

Sobek proceeded to say in reference to the applicant, “If one person is rear-ended and killed, and if I didn’t take the recommendation of a professional – someone who has studied this and gone to school for it – I don’t want that on my conscience, and I don’t think you do, either.”

She made no mention of whether she considers Fidler more of a professional than the traffic engineers at Urban Crossroads.

Deines said the traffic concerns expressed by Fidler “gives me pause.” Zimmerman said that “I think this project has a lot of value. We want it. But I have to echo the comments of the Planning Commission. We want this project to go forward with an element of safety.

“It’s not as if we’re saying we don’t want you, but we have to listen to the professionals when we make a recommendation.”

Asked earlier by Paone if the applicant could make a decision before a vote on the appeals was taken, Zimmerman granted that request. At this point, the applicant withdrew the application and council members accepted the withdrawal by unanimous vote.

“I still believe there’s a way,” Zimmerman said. “Tonight’s an unfortunate circumstance along the path, but I believe that in the end, there can be a way to get this done. Hopefully, that’s something that comes from just working it out with our staff.”