UPDATE: Council Approves Amendment for Target Center

UPDATE 8:25 p.m. March 6: Murrieta City Council voted 4-0 Tuesday night—with Councilwoman Kelly Bennett absent—to approve the amended development agreement. There was no further discussion on the agenda item.

ORIGINAL POST:

The developer of a stalled shopping center to include a Target and Lowe's in eastern Murrieta may be given until 2021 to begin substantial construction.

Murrieta City Council voted Feb. 21 to approve a development amendment agreement for Murrieta Marketplace, which is at the corner of Max Gilliss Boulevard and Winchester Road. At a meeting tonight, the amendment will undergo a customary second reading and vote.

Regency Centers will likely get a four-year extension to Dec. 19, 2016, to commence construction. It could also be given the right to extend the start date to Dec. 19, 2021, according to city documents. Previously, with the possibility of three, one-year extensions.

Council voted 3-0 at its last meeting to approve this latest agreement, with Council members Randon Lane and Alan Long absent.

Councilman Rick Gibbs approved of keeping the project alive, saying once completed it will improve the day-to-day lives of residents near the center.

"We took a bad deal—once upon a time—and made it better," Gibbs said. "It is
the people who live on the east side of Murrieta (who will benefit)—whenever this project gets built, and it depends on the economy. Right now these folks do their shopping in Temecula or along Murrieta Hot Springs Road, and it is a long journey for them to do what should be a quick trip...The exact answer will depend on how our economy in California is doing."

The 48-acre retail center was approved by City Council in 2006. In 2007, a group called Murrietans for Smart Growth filed a lawsuit against the city, citing the affects the center would have on the environment. The action was dismissed in 2008 when a judge ruled the city's positive environmental impact report on the site should stand.

A 15.8-acre parcel will be set aside for habitat conservation, according to the city's agreement with the developer.

The lawsuit and the poor economy contributed to the delay of the project, documents further stated.

With the , related public improvements and infrastructure will be completed by the developer, according to the agreement.

Murrieta Mayor Doug McAllister called the agreement "very, very good news."