Riverside County holds EIR scoping session for 487‑lot Halberg Ranch subdivision

Riverside County held a scoping session on Jan. 5, 2026, to solicit public and agency input on the scope of an Environmental Impact Report for Halberg Ranch (standard tract map 38757). Unidentified county staff described the project as an approximately 120-acre site proposed for about 487 single-family residential lots, an 80-acre park, 2.4 acres of water-quality basins, interior roadways and landscaping in the Harvest Valley/Winchester area within the Highway 79 policy area.

"The purpose of CEQA ... is to analyze and disclose some of the potential environmental impacts of the projects to mitigate any potentially significant impact," the presenter said while outlining the EIR process and public notification timeline. Staff said the notice-of-preparation stage began Dec. 17, 2025, and extends to Jan. 15, 2026, and that "Comments for the purposes of the scoping session and NLP are due by 5PM on 01/15/2026." The presenter said the draft EIR will be published for public review when it is ready.

Hearing Officer John Hildebrand asked how close the project is to the city of Menifee; staff estimated it to be "about 2 point something miles." Staff confirmed the project was transmitted to two cities (stated as the City of Menifee and Marietta) and that no comments had been received from those cities as of the hearing. Ross Yamaguchi, representing applicant High Point Communities, said the applicant held one community outreach meeting on Oct. 15 that drew about a dozen online participants; attendees raised questions about traffic, timing and dust control. Yamaguchi also said the applicant has a Winchester MAC meeting scheduled for Feb. 12.

Because this was a scoping session, no formal county action was taken at the hearing; staff said the project remains under review and the draft EIR will be released for public review in a later step.