2022-03-02 City Council Item No. 11.1 Public Comment - Lack - Engstrom Lipscob and Lack Regular MEETING - Additional Meeting MaterialsWALTER) LACK
STEVEN C. SHUMAN
ELIZABETH LANE CROOKE
DANIEL G. WHALEN
BRIAN I HEFFERNAN
RICHARD P KINNAN
BRIAN J. LEINBACH
ANN A. HOWITT
STEVEN J LIPSCOMB
DAVID R LIRA
GREGORY P WATERS
LAW OFFICES
ENGSTROM, LIPSCOMB & LACK
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
10100 SANTA MONICA BOULEVARD, 121" FLOOR
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90067-4113
TELEPHONE 310-552-3800
FACSIMILE 310-552-9434
ALEXANDRAI NEWSOM
ANDREW M JACOBSON
JOSEPH A. LACK
CHRISTOPHER A. KANNE
BRITTAN N CORTNEY
ASHLEY L ARNETT
DANIEL C WHALEN
RACHEL M. LANNEN
SYDNEY M. DESMAN
PAUL W ENGSTROM (1941 - 2010)
ROBERT I WOLFE (1961 - 2015)
March 1, 2022
Mr. Bill Zimmerman
Mayor — City of Menifee
29844 Haun Road
Menifee, CA 92586
Re:Menifee Municipal Code Title 9
Change of Zone Ordinance Amendment
Dear Mayor Zimmerman,
This letter is addressed to you and all City Council Members of the City of Menifee. This
firm represents the owners of a 54-acre parcel of land located within the Southern Gateway who
have owned the land for the past 15 years. During that period of time there has been a profound
change in the economy, both local and nationwide, affecting the way commerce is conducted.
While Amazon is recognized as a key factor, the global, national and local economics have all
adopted the internet as a preferred means of conducting commerce. This has resulted in the
unavoidable use of public carriers to complete the "last mile" of delivery and the need for
warehousing, distribution, logistics and fulfillment buildings. This is all activity contributing to
the benefit of the City and the citizens who rely upon these services.
There has been a rush to judgment by city planners who have disregarded the interests of
landowners on both sides of Haun Road (West of the 1-215) from Garbani Road to Keller Road
which would be ideal for the buildings required in a new economy. The City has for far too long
harbored the fairy tale view that retail and office buildings would propagate in this corridor,
completely ignoring the economic reality of the times we live in.
From a legal point of view, this zone change constitutes a clear administrative taking. The
City Attorney boldly tells you no CEQA analysis is or could be required when existing case law
clearly requires evidentiary support for such a weighty conclusion. There has been a rush to
judgment by the Planning Commission and an apparent stampede by the Council to enact the new
Ordinance. This will undoubtedly result in protracted litigation which will jeopardize the sale of
my clients' property now in escrow and result in millions of dollars in damages to my clients.
Item No. 11.1
Sincerely,
11
WALTER J. V CK
Mr. Bill Zimmerman
Mayor — City of Menifee
March 1, 2022
Page 2
We would object to any action on this issue taken at your meeting set for March 2, 2022.
At the very least, the matter should be tabled for 60 days to give a multitude of concerned land
owners an opportunity to be heard.
WJL/b
451069
cc:Ms. Cheryl Kitzerow
Community Development Director
Ms. Stephanie Roseen
Deputy City Clerk