Menifee Planning Director placed on administrative leave

By Doug Spoon, Editor

For the third time in a year and a half, a top-level administrator at the City of Menifee has been placed on paid administrative leave.

The action against Cheryl Kitzerow, Community Development Director since 2018, is without explanation because it is a personnel matter, said City Manager Armando Villa on Monday.

“This is done to protect the integrity of the process and avoid speculation," Villa said. "I am hopeful a resolution announcement can be made shortly.”

This is the same explanation given by city officials when Villa and Assistant City Manager Rochelle Clayton were placed on administrative leave on Oct. 18, 2023. Outside counsel handling that investigation said at the time that it was “not punitive or disciplinary,” but no explanation was given, even when Villa was reinstated four months later. Clayton remained on leave until April 2024, when she left the city to become Deputy City Manager at the City of San Bernardino.

At the time, a source indicated that Villa and Clayton were placed on leave because of the manner of their oversight (or lack thereof) during a situation involving a complaint that another staff member filed with Human Resources. That has never been confirmed, however.

Neither has there been any transparency about the situation with Kitzerow, who is in charge of one of the busiest departments at City Hall. Her job is to oversee planning applications and building permits for the many commercial and residential projects in Menifee. She also is responsible for monitoring the City’s compliance with state regulations on housing mandates.

In the latest update on the City of Menifee’s housing requirements from the state in February, Kitzerow’s report stated that Menifee is required by the state to add 6,609 housing units from the time period 2021 through 2029. At this point, according to the report, Menifee still has to issue 3,872 more housing building permits to satisfy the state mandate by 2029.

In a response to a Menifee 24/7 email seeking clarification, City Public Information Officer Phil Southard stated the following last month:

“The City of Menifee is required by law to provide areas within the city for housing units to be built. The State of California requires all cities to comply with the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), which mandates that cities must accommodate a set amount of housing units at all income levels. To further address the state housing crisis, state legislation was passed in 2019 (SB 330) that prevents cities from reducing their zoning for housing and requires the timely processing of housing permits that meet zoning requirements.

“Complying with these rules ensures that the City of Menifee maintains local control in managing its general plan and can continue to negotiate with project developers for community benefits such as public amenities and infrastructure improvements. Cities out of compliance with these rules can face legal challenges, fines from the state, and loss of local control. We are unaware of any city that has successfully challenged the state on meeting their housing requirements.”

Ensuring compliance with this mandate is just one of Kitzerow’s duties. Her department also manages the applications, permits and inspections of major commercial structures in the city. Among those duties was the constant inspection of facilities and adaptation to changes in building permits for the Krikorian entertainment center project.

Kitzerow came to the City of Menifee from the City of Temecula in 2018. According to the website Transparent California, her starting base salary was $161,844. Her most recent salary posted on the site, in 2023, was $225,933.

Orlando Hernandez, previously serving as Kitzerow’s assistant, has been named Acting Community Development Director.