Our policy on growth has always been - and must always be - that the quantity and rate of growth must never be allowed to exceed our ability to manage it and provide services to handle it.

The most critical element in that regard is making sure that developers construct the necessary road and other infrastructure improvements prior to any homes being built. We have only had 3 opportunities to do that since we became a city. In all of these instances, Wolf Creek, Roripaugh Ranch and Harveston, I fought for, and was successful, in having strict conditions placed on the development.

I believe that growth in general is healthy and keeps a young city vibrant and economically sound. That being said, it is imperative that growth be reasonable, responsible, and well managed. Problems can occur when the pace of new road improvements is dependent on other agencies, especially at the state and federal levels. This is what we are experiencing now; however things are moving forward, and major road infrastructure improvements are almost ready to initiate construction.

Our most severe problem with growth in the unincorporated areas of Riverside County has been the fact that the Board of Supervisors in the past has not respected and adhered to their own general plan. The situation improved dramatically when Jeff Stone was elected to the Board, but we still suffer from prior approvals. Within the city, every development that has been approved for a particular piece of property has conformed to the land use designation assigned to that property. We have never approved a development that would build more homes than our general plan allows.

The County repeatedly approved large specific plans that changed the zoning from "agricultural" (usually one home per 10 acres), to much higher density "residential" (3-4 homes per acre). This creates traffic and service requirements for the City of Temecula that were not anticipated when our general plan was approved. When the city and neighboring jurisdictions act appropriately, all future traffic can be modeled and compensated for. When there are approvals outside of these parameters, serious problems occur.

I have worked very hard to help make Temecula the great city that it is. I could not sit idly by while these county approvals placed our high quality of life in jeopardy. It is for that reason that I strongly supported our policy of challenging these approvals by all legal means available to us.

We have filed several lawsuits against the County of Riverside to attempt to overturn these approvals. Although I am reluctant to sue our own county, we must protect what we have. I am happy to say that our current relationship with the County is greatly improved and we are all working together to insure that appropriate levels of infrastructure, especially roads and parks, are completed before the homes are occupied.