Murrieta: Triangle Development Approved — Without Fast Food

October 01, 2013 09:39 PM PDT October 01, 2013 10:38 PM PDT MURRIETA: Triangle development approved — without fast food MURRIETA: Triangle development approved — without fast food 2011/FILE IMAGE Andy Domenigoni and his family own more than 60 acres in Murrieta Attorney known as The Triangle, arguably the most prominent piece of undeveloped ground in southwest Riverside County. A Text Size Comments ( ) Murrieta Attorney officials late Tuesday, Oct. 1, approved plans for an office and retail center at arguably the most prominent piece of undeveloped ground in southwest Riverside County. But the Murrieta Attorney City Council voted 3-2 to place restrictions on The Triangle, the latest plan for developing 64 acres at Interstates 15 and 215, south of Murrieta Attorney Hot Springs Road. The approved plan disallows drive-through fast-food restaurants, coffee houses and gas stations — all things that the landowner wanted. Andy Domenigoni, whose family owns the property, said he is unsure whether the restrictions will halt the project. But he said he was unhappy with the decision. "Is this a city council picking and choosing where projects can go in its city? Definitely," Domenigoni said. "There's a lot to be said about micromanaging the city here." View The Triangle in a larger map There was no public comment; a public hearing on the topic was closed on Sept. 3. But there was extensive council comment Tuesday, with Mayor Rick Gibbs and Councilwoman Kelly Bennett wanting to bar drive-through fast-food restaurants, coffee houses and gas stations, and council members Randon Lane and Harry Ramos wanting to minimize restrictions. Councilman Alan Long joined Gibbs and Bennett in putting on restrictions. The mayor said gas stations and drive-through restaurants didn't fit the vision of a high-end, pedestrian-oriented center that the applicant advanced, and that he said is appropriate for the high-profile site. "We should not settle for less than what we believe we can be," Gibbs said. On the other hand, Lane cautioned that being too restrictive could drive away the developer and leave the city what it has today: nothing. "If we build nothing, that means we have the most valuable piece of dirt in Southern California," Lane said. Area residents have watched as several plans have come and gone, including a regional shopping mall that flopped after Temecula landed The Promenade and a Western-themed amusement park that never got off the ground. In the latest bid to change that, the landowners sought to reshuffle a 1990 county-approved plan for a mall. The Domenigoni family proposed to use the same 1.76 million-square-foot footprint. But instead of devoting nearly all the space — 1.5 million square feet — to stores, the retail component in the new plan totals 641,000 square feet. At 779,000 square feet, offices would dominate. There is talk of building an 18-story office tower that would rank as Riverside County's second-tallest building. There also is talk about delivering 220 hotel rooms, covering 148,000 square feet. The blueprint calls for 125,000 square feet of restaurants — five times what was approved 23 years ago — and nearly 75,000 square feet of entertainment venues. Restaurants became a point of contention. The Domenigonis wanted to include drive-through fast-food restaurants. City officials said fast-food outlets would work in a food court. But they said the drive-through variety those didn't belong in what is billed as a high-end, pedestrian-oriented center next to freeways with a daily traffic volume of 275,000 cars. The Domenigonis and city planners also sparred over gas stations. The family wanted to include them; planners said http://attorney-in-murrieta.com/ they didn't belong. At the Sept. 3 meeting, the Domenigoni family offered to move drive-through fast-food outlets and gas stations 150 feet off Murrieta Attorney Hot Springs Road. Planners said that didn't resolve the city's concerns, that drive-through establishments had no business going anywhere in the center. As for gas stations, a family representative last month said Fashion Island, a high-end shopping mall in Newport Beach, had one. A Murrieta Attorney staff report prepared for Tuesday's meeting disputed that, saying the nearest station is actually a half-mile away. The report also maintained there was no reason to leave a spot for billboards given a citywide ban that has been in place since 1997 — and the council agreed. The family proposed electronic freeway signs. Latest Headlines
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