Temecula opens itself to interactive online forum in an effort to discuss Old Town

By: NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer | Saturday, September 8, 2007 1:21 AM PDT ∞

TEMECULA ---- The city has entered the blogosphere. No stranger to cyberspace, Temecula has been expanding its use of online videos, newsletters and documents in recent months. The new blog is the most interactive of the Web features, because residents will be able to submit their views as well as read the comments of others who visit the forum.

The blog, launched in August, is the newest feature on a city Web site that has about 600 pages of documents and receives about 50,000 visits per month. However, it originated as a way to discuss new plans for one of the oldest areas of town.

Temecula Assistant City Manager Bob Johnson is serious about getting the community's input on Old Town.

Since June, Johnson has been leading town hall-style meetings to both educate and gather feedback of residents and business owners who have an interest what the district should look like. The information gathered by the community forums will be used to revamp the Old Town Specific Plan, which will dictate the area's development.

Johnson is not shy about saying that he finds the involvement exciting, as the end result will be a plan for Old Town crafted by the community, for the community. He said it is also a complicated issue as it involves multiple components of how building height, frontages, parking and street layout will affect the look and feel of the Old Town area.

With more businesses than ever interested in getting a foothold in Old Town, the city paid $75,200 in May to hire a consultant to assist in revamping the district's specific plan.

Frank Miller of Inland Planning and Design Inc. is the consultant heading the specific plan review for Temecula. Miller will use the feedback from residents and business owners with ties to Old Town to come up with three urban design concepts that take into account varying building heights, parking arrangements and projected build out of the area. Residents will have the opportunity to take part in workshops, that are to be scheduled later this month, to break down the pros and cons of each concept.

In February, the City Council authorized $30,000 for Temecula Outreach 2007, which offers residents new Web site features, meatier newsletters and amplified television programming. The upgrades to the public relations practices were spurred by the rapid growth of the city that has more than tripled in population since incorporation in 1989. From 1990-2006, the population of Temecula has grown from 27,100 to an estimated 98,000 people.

To see the previous Old Town visioning presentations or to view and submit comments on the feed back blog go to www.cityoftemecula.org/Temecula/Government/CommDev/OldTownVisioning.htm

Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.