Council approves Town Center at Moreno Valley specific plan, certifies EIR and holds first reading of rezoning ordinance

Moreno Valley — The City Council on June 3 unanimously approved key entitlements for the Town Center at Moreno Valley, a 69.6‑acre mixed‑use project at Mason Street and Alessandro Boulevard aimed at creating a walkable downtown node with homes, retail, a hotel and civic space.

The council certified the final environmental impact report and adopted associated CEQA findings and a mitigation monitoring program, approved a general plan amendment and tentative tract map, and conducted the first reading of an ordinance to rezone the site to the proposed downtown center specific plan. The motion carried 5‑0.

The decision moves forward a development framework that staff described as a “planning tool, which identifies zoning and development standards for a specific geographic area.” Community Development Director Angelica Fraustolubo told the council staff had assumed a project build‑out scenario of up to 800 residential units, about 105,890 square feet of general retail, roughly 20,160 square feet of restaurant space, 15,000 square feet of office, a 106‑room hotel, a 30,000‑square‑foot civic center and 4.9 acres of public park and open space. Fraustolubo also said the residential component will include approximately 100 affordable units.

Developer Joseph Edwards of the Lewis Group of Companies said the firm aims to deliver a “vibrant, mixed‑use destination” that gives residents places to work, shop and recreate without leaving Moreno Valley. “We are extremely excited to be at this point tonight to talk about our town center project,” Edwards said during a developer presentation.

The council and staff described a number of fixed elements in the transaction with the Lewis Group. The purchase‑and‑sale agreement reserves roughly 40,000 square feet of land for future civic uses and requires a police substation allocation, public gathering spaces, park acreage and local‑hiring coordination. Fraustolubo told the council the city and developer negotiated an HCD (California Department of Housing and Community Development) agreement related to affordable housing requirements under recent changes to the Surplus Land Act: the city and HCD agreed the project must include 15% affordable units but no fewer than 100 affordable units, and those units will be placed on a single parcel as required by the agreement.

Council members praised the design direction and the partnership with the developer. Councilmember Gonzales said the project can be “a catalyst” for more activity on the east side of Moreno Valley and supported keeping the civic parcel flexible for uses such as a senior center, library tech lab or recreation facility. Mayor Ulysses Cabrera said he was eager to see “sticks going vertical” and urged staff and the developer to move to construction once required permits are in hand.

The project site lies between Cottonwood Avenue and Alessandro Boulevard, within about one mile of State Route 60. A tentative tract map and a set of circulation improvements — including a new north–south connector and the completion of Bay Avenue — are included in the approvals to facilitate phased development.

What happens next: The council’s action included certifying the EIR and completing the approvals that permit the developer to proceed with more detailed site planning and entitlement tasks. The ordinance approving the change of zone and specific plan received its first reading; subsequent readings and ordinance adoption will follow as required by the municipal code before final zoning changes take effect.

The approvals were unanimous: the motion to approve the project as presented passed 5‑0. The agenda item record and the project’s specific plan materials list conditions of approval, public‑benefit components and further ministerial and discretionary permits that remain to be resolved before construction begins.