City of Menifee decides to get tougher with Krikorian

The Krikorian retail buildings stand weather worn and unfinished in front of the theater walls. (File photo)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Although a City of Menifee official said this week that the City is “continuing to work with Mr. Krikorian to move the project forward”, there are signs that administrators plan to get tough with the owner of the proposed theater project in Menifee Town Center.

Three notices of violations have been issued to George Krikorian in the last month for overgrown vegetation, weeds, water, graffiti, fencing issues and “water availability issues,” said Phil Southard, public information officer for the City of Menifee. If any of the issues are not addressed by next week, citations will be issued.

“While the City has been diligent on code enforcement issues related to the project, we are now taking a very strict enforcement approach on the site,” Southard said.

According to Southard, the property manager has been in constant contact with the City since the notices were issued, and that all violations in the first two notices except for overgrown vegetation have been corrected. A weed abatement company is scheduled to be on site on Monday, he said. The third notice of violation is for the lack of water supply and issues with the fencing.

Failure to address the weeds situation would result in a $100 fine, followed by a second citation of $200 after 14 days. A third citation would be $500. The fine for the water supply issue, because it is a safety issue, would be $1,000 per day, Southard said.

At the same time, Southard said that Krikorian’s building permits are still valid for the theater complex – currently just a foam block wall with covered graffiti – and retail stores, which are weather-worn wood framing on the corner of Newport Road and Town Center Drive.

“He is currently working through his conditions for the phasing plan,” Southard said about Krikorian, who was given additional building requirements because of the delay in construction. “[The City] currently has no plans to take over the property.”

The theater project was first officially announced in 2014 and construction began in 2019 but was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Since then, Krikorian has been sued by several subcontractors and Krikorian has said to be seeking additional funding.

The question remains, how much funding does Krikorian need, and is he really trying to do whatever possible to move the project along? Krikorian has not responded to Menifee 24/7 requests for comment in months and did not respond to another request on Friday.

Meanwhile, a Riverside Superior Court judge has granted a request by Krikorian’s legal team to continue his jury trial from this June to March 2024. According to court records, “The parties cannot reasonably or realistically conduct depositions and complete percipient discovery, currently scheduled to run up to the eve of the trial date, while simultaneously preparing for a trial of this complexity.”

How much will delay of the trial affect further delays in the project? Stay tuned.