MENIFEE: County moves toward hotel plan for Highway 74 lot

Redevelopment agency seeking grant to clean contaminated land

By CATHY REDFERN - Staff Writer | Saturday, September 6, 2008 5:11 PM PDT ∞

ROMOLAND ---- The county has visions of transforming an empty lot at the busy intersection of Interstate 215 and Highway 74 into a hotel, restaurants and a gas station. But first, the land must be cleared of oil-based pollutants left by previous occupants.

The 5-acre lot acquired by the county in 2006 would be a great one for businesses, as drivers can see and easily reach it from two freeways, said Andy Frost, a regional manager with the county Economic Development Agency. At the northwest corner of Highway 74 and Trumble Road, the Romoland lot falls just within what will be the boundaries of the new city of Menifee, which incorporates Oct. 1.

But the county has work to do on the property before any nails are hammered on new development.

The work to be done consists of removing fuel residue and other contaminants from the soil that were left behind from a longtime car dealership and perhaps from other businesses there, Frost said.

The petroleum hydrocarbons are believed to have come from hydraulic lifts used in the dealership's service bay, he said, adding that it is unclear exactly who fouled what, as other tenants occupied the land after the dealership left.

"This is something we don't see a lot of, thank goodness. No one wants to buy a contaminated property, so it takes an agency like this to do it," Frost said.

In the days before the county acquired the land in 2006, it was an eyesore that was home to sagging structures abandoned by a trailer company.

"It was a blighted parcel with collapsing buildings that had become a safety issue," Frost said.

To finance the cleanup, he said, the county is seeking a $200,000 grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfield Program, which provides money to public agencies for community redevelopment projects. The program distributed $74 million in grants last year, according to the agency's Web site.

It could take a year to get the grant, Frost said, adding that the exact cleanup costs are unknown but could run as high as $500,000. Once the cleanup begins, he said, the process would likely take about six months.

Representatives of Leighton Consulting of Temecula have told the county they can clean up the soil using microscopic bugs, a method that they contend would be cheaper, more effective and less harmful than other approaches, Frost said. Those microbes digest certain chemicals and change them into water and harmless gases such as carbon dioxide, according to a 2001 EPA report.

The alternative involves excavating the soil and then treating it or disposing of it, perhaps by trucking it away first, which is more costly and can be more problematic, said Kristin Stout, a Leighton Consulting project scientist. The use of microscopic organisms should be a good option for the oil-based pollutants believed to be on the property, which are heavier and easier to clean than other pollutants such as gas or certain solvents, she said.

After securing funding, the county would begin planning in earnest, seeking feedback from the community and approval from county supervisors to realize a developer's vision of a four-story hotel, four restaurants and a gas station, Frost said. That proposal was one of several made by the Orange County development firm R.C. Hobbs Co., and is the one the agency thought would work best at the spot, he added.

Some area activists agree it would be a good use of the land.

Romoland ranch owner Glen Daniels, who has battled the county over industrial development in the area, said he would not object to a hotel project.

"A hotel is probably the nicest thing to put in this area," said Daniels, who is treasurer of the Romoland Community Council.

Bob Duke, who serves on the county's Romoland Municipal Advisory Council, said the development would be a welcome addition to a community that has waited years in some cases for quality development.

"That property has been an eyesore forever," Duke said. "I'd be thrilled to see something there like a hotel. It's right on the freeway and is centrally located with good access; I'd be all for it."

Contact staff writer Cathy Redfern at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2621, or e-mail credfern@californian.com.