Menifee's 'sphere of influence': What does it really mean?

By Doug Spoon, Editor

What exactly is a “sphere of influence”?

The state organizing entity CALAFCO defines it as “a planning boundary outside of an agency’s legal boundary (such as the city limit line) that designates the agency’s probable future boundary and service area. Factors considered in a sphere of influence review focus on the current and future land use, the current and future need and capacity for service, and any relevant communities of interest.”

That definition may be complex and interpreted in different ways, but Menifee Mayor Bill Zimmerman left no doubt about his definition this week. Zimmerman spent part of Wednesday’s City Council meeting trying to explain that Menifee is not trying to “take over” the unincorporated area of Winchester.

The agenda item in question explored the possibility of Menifee petitioning to enter the sphere of influence (SOI) of areas east of the city, where Winchester and Homeland are located. The discussion came about because, in its Municipal Services Review update, the Riverside County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) stated that Menifee “should re-evaluate its SOI expansion plans to the east of State Route 79 after Riverside County takes final action on its Winchester plan.”

In so doing, LAFCO is acknowledging that Menifee officials have in the past discussed pursuing SOI status in the areas east of Briggs Road. That has become more of a topic recently with the construction of Liberty High School, which is located in Winchester but serves Menifee students.

But pursuing a sphere of influence east of the city does not mean Menifee wants to expand its city limits, Zimmerman said. In reacting to the public comments of Winchester residents, Zimmerman said, “We’ve heard about emails being sent to Boy Scout troops, saying ‘they’re trying to steal our city.’ That’s BS.

“This is just about having a seat at the table. There’s a difference between expanding city limits and expanding the sphere of influence. We desire the opportunity to speak about development projects and how to deal with traffic that affects us. This was never put to us as an opportunity to expand city limits.”

Council members all agreed that they have no desire to expand the size of the City of Menifee. They do, however, have concerns about how future growth – and possible incorporation – of Winchester would affect traffic on the roads leading east from the 215 Freeway through Menifee.

If given sphere of influence status east of Menifee by LAFCO, city officials believe they would simply have the right to be part of discussions about how changes in Winchester could affect its neighbor to the west.

“We’re not looking to get bigger,” council member Bob Karwin said about Menifee, which already has a population in excess of 100,000. “But if they’re building a new city right next to us, the only way people can get to it is to drive through our city. We just want to work together.”

One of the opponents of the proposal is Andy Domenigoni, whose family first came to this area in 1879. He maintains that such action taken by Menifee would hurt Winchester’s future efforts to incorporate, as Menifee did in 2008.

“Menifee had a lot of growing pains to gain cityhood,” Domenigoni said. “In order for Winchester to become a city, you have to give us time. We’re looking forward to working with you, but if any of these six maps I see here [are adopted] … you’ll destroy us. You’ll cut us in half.”

Domenigoni is chairperson of the Winchester-Homeland Municipal Advisory Council. Gregg Cowdery, vice chair of the council, also spoke out against the proposed action, as did Domenigoni’s wife, Cindy.

“Even though a sphere of influence doesn’t mean you’re taking over, it gives you some protection, which makes us think that [taking over] is what you’re doing,” Cindy Domenigoni said. “People in Winchester will think that’s some kind of attack on us.

“We’ve done a lot for the area. Highway 79 was expanded to four lanes. We do have some infrastructure that helps Menifee. We want to be good neighbors, but we caution against this.”

According to the 2020 census, Winchester had a population of 3,322, spread out over 42 square miles east of Menifee that runs from Highway 74 south to the Murrieta border. But that population is growing quickly, thanks to housing developments by Rancon Properties and others. Motorists who travel east of Menifee on Scott Road or Domenigoni Parkway can see the mix of rural lands and fast-moving housing construction.

According to the presentation to the council by city planner Doug Darnell, LAFCO recommended that Menifee should discuss its intentions with County officials, Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District, and the Winchester-Homeland MAC before taking further action. Council member Lesa Sobek agreed that preliminary talks with all parties involved should take place before the case went any further.

That direction was given to city staff, which will come back with options on how to proceed.

“It’s about getting any impacts of Winchester on Menifee mitigated,” said council member Matt Liesemeyer. “People will be driving east on Newport, Scott and Garbani to get to Winchester as it grows. We need to make sure we’re not putting all the burden on the taxpayers of Menifee for those impacts.”