One Temecula Valley PAC issues position on Temecula council’s consideration of using public funds for private roads and streets

TEMECULA (Monday, Feb. 26, 2024) — The City of Temecula will be hearing an agenda item to consider creating an Ad Hoc Subcommittee to discuss issues related to using public taxpayer funds to pave/improve private roads/streets in the city, then cover the cost to maintain them in perpetuity.  

The business item will be considered at the next meeting of the Temecula City Council, scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27. The agenda for that meeting can be found here. 

It is the position of 1TVPAC that the proposal to establish a committee for this purpose is a very bad idea on several levels. 

The public works department has determined that the upfront cost to do this would be $78,000,000, plus the annual maintenance. The city council needs to understand that these roads are private, and serve only a limited number of residents who live on those streets. 

Roads are private for several reasons, but it’s usually because the developers/property owners did not want to assume the higher cost of bringing these roads up to city standards. These standards generally involve road width and the materials used to construct the roads. 

It is totally unfair and inappropriate to ask all Temecula’s residents, most of whom have borne the cost, one way or another, of their own roads, to foot the bill for those who haven’t paid their fair share, either directly or as a part of their homes’ sales price. 

If these residents want their roads brought up to standards, there is an existing process for them to do so. They need to band together and with City support, form a benefit district. That district would then sell bonds, the proceeds of which would improve their roads.  

The debt service (25 years or more) is paid through an assessment on their property taxes. This is how many Temecula residents now pay for their improvements. They’re referred to as CFDs or Mello-Roos districts. Once these road improvements are complete and the roads brought up to city standards, the property owners can appropriately petition the City to bring the roads into the city maintenance system, after which the city will maintain them. 

Asking all Temecula residents to pay for improvements that only benefit a smaller percentage of our citizenry, is a travesty and the worst form of pandering to a small group with special interests. 

Further, it’s foolhardy, totally inappropriate, and likely political suicide for any elected official who supports it.

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One Temecula Valley Political Action Committee was to support and foster a stable and common sense approach to governance for Southwest Riverside County. The group has expanded to five working teams actively monitoring local school boards and city councils throughout Southwest Riverside County encompassing the cities of Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, and Lake Elsinore. To learn more, volunteer, and donate, visit www.onetvpac.org. 

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Paid for by the One Temecula Valley PAC (FPPC #1454922) 
and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.