TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Justin Clifton, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Kristen Crane, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT:
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Update on Efforts of the Southwest Riverside County Elected Leaders Collaborative related to Regional Traffic and Transportation and Next Steps
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RECOMMENDATION
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Receive a presentation, discuss, and provide direction to staff.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
At the January 21, 2025, City Council meeting, Mayor Cindy Warren and Council Member Lori Stone were designated to represent the City in meetings of the Southwest Riverside County Elected Leaders Collaborative.
CITY COUNCIL GOAL
Plan, program and create infrastructure development.
BACKGROUND
The Southwest Riverside County Elected Leaders Collaborative is an informal gathering of a combination of local elected representatives and staff representing the cities of southwest Riverside County, including Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, and Canyon Lake. This group began meeting informally in 2022. Discussion topics have centered on items of regional concern, seeking to learn about them, such as higher education and water. For 2024, the group chose to focus on regional traffic and transportation, which has extended into 2025.
Participation has also included representatives and staff from the offices of Riverside County Supervisor Chuck Washington, State Senator Kelly Seyarto, State Assembly Member Kate Sanchez, State Assembly Member Bill Esayles, and Riverside County Legislative Affairs.
Mayor Warren and Council Member Stone have been participating on behalf of the City of Murrieta (City) and leading this effort. From the City staff team, Assistant City Manager Kristen Crane and Public Works Director Bob Moehling have regularly attended these meetings and facilitated the participation of the speakers.
With the 2024 theme being regional traffic and transportation, participation in the group grew to include the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC), the Riverside Transit Agency (RTA), and the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG). These meetings are informal, often with varying staff and elected official participation. They are informational, with no voting or decision-making authority.
With the 2024 focus on traffic and transportation in the region, each month, a guest speaker presented on some aspect of this topic to understand the dynamics, including:
• Historical context from Temecula and WRCOG on the Move I-15 Forward effort from several years ago, which resulted in initiating the projects presently under construction;
• Seeking to understand commute patterns to other counties, like San Diego, and the challenges with bringing about solutions to alleviate those long commutes;
• WRCOG provided a review of data related to growth and commute patterns, including updating studies completed many years ago as part of the Move I-15 Forward effort;
• Last spring, RCTC presented its long-range planning document, which is called the Traffic Relief Plan;
• RTA presented on the topic of public transit in the region and the dynamics of connecting to other counties;
• The Executive Director of Metrolink presented about Metrolink’s role, how that system is operated, and how plans are made for decisions on Metrolink service and system expansion;
• There was a presentation on the present and future forecast of funding for transportation; and
• A presentation about the State of California’s Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI), which is a framework and plan for how the State wants to approach transportation going forward, which sets forth significant changes and approaches.
Collectively, the presentations have provided a solid overview of regional traffic and transportation in Southwest Riverside County and the barriers and challenges related to funding, the process for completing projects, and jurisdictional areas.
State Senator Seyarto attended the September 2024 meeting to hear the group discuss their findings and what they had learned thus far. The Senator strongly encouraged the group to come to Sacramento to tell the story of Southwest Riverside County and the dynamics this region is experiencing and to advocate to other legislative representatives from the Inland Empire, legislative representatives from the Senate and Assembly transportation committees, the State Housing and Community Development Department, Caltrans, and the Governor’s Office.
Since that time, the group has been exploring that possibility and what that could look like. This has included collaboratively formulating the goals, approach, and points to convey during such a trip, as well as the target meetings the group would want to schedule. To assist with the coordination of the trip, staff has engaged with Cal Cities, as well as with Townsend Public Affairs, who happens to represent several of the participating cities.
June 24-25, 2025, has been set as the date for the trip, based on the consensus of the group and is the most optimal time to visit Sacramento to not conflict with other important aspects of the State legislature’s calendar.
Based on the group consensus, the key purpose of the trip is not to ask for funding for a specific project or a list of projects. Rather, the purpose is to tell the story, in a constructive, collaborative way, of what is happening in Southwest Riverside County in terms of:
• Significant housing growth, largely due to the significant changes in State law in years impacting the ability of local communities to influence housing developments;
• Existing congestion, anticipated to worsen without significant traffic and transportation infrastructure solutions, coupled with a challenging environment to complete infrastructure projects;
• The dynamic with various State policies conflicting with one another, such as the emphasis on building more housing, while at the same time, the challenging environment, both in process and financially, to build projects and provide the infrastructure to accommodate that growth; and
• Raising awareness of this impact on Southwest Riverside County, sharing near-term and long-term needs, and doing so with a productive, constructive tone/spirit.
The purpose of this agenda report is to share with the full City Council and community an update on the Southwest Riverside County Elected Leaders Collaborative and the planned trip to Sacramento, and providing an opportunity for City Council discussion and input.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
ATTACHMENTS
None.