Murrieta staff flags public-safety and parking problems in Auto Mall area; proposes angled parking, signage and enforcement

City staff told the Murrieta Planning Commission on April 9 that chronic parking and storage practices in the Auto Mall area are creating public-safety and environmental risks and that staff will pursue a mix of incentives, design changes and enforcement.

Deputy Director Jared Romayo described repeated field observations of vehicles parked in fire lanes, cars with missing parts and leaking fluids on city streets, and businesses using public rights-of-way for storage or repair. "If an employee or a customer has a heart attack or if there's a fire, God forbid, how the heck are we gonna get the apparatus and the personnel back there?" Romayo said, summarizing the fire-access concern that motivated staff attention.

Romayo proposed near-term engineering and operational steps: a striping and signage plan (including angled parking in parts of Ottomall Parkway and Hobie Circle that staff estimates could add roughly 25 spaces), additional red-curb markings and time-limited parking, and outreach to encourage shared-parking agreements between property owners. He also said staff will continue engagement with businesses for another three to six months and, if cooperation is not achieved, may pursue revocation of use permits or business-license enforcement as a last resort.

Murrieta Fire Marshal Doug Scribe Snyder told commissioners the problem has persisted despite repeated education and that recent photos showed conditions that "there's absolutely no way you could get a firefighter with a hose line through the area, let alone a fire apparatus in the fire lanes." He urged urgency on enforcement steps to protect response times.

Business owners who spoke supported many of the proposed changes but warned staff to account for truck deliveries, oversized work vehicles and pedestrian safety where sidewalks are missing. West Coast Exotic Cars and other dealers said angled marking would reduce problems for customer parking but cautioned that narrowing streets could interfere with semitruck deliveries unless loading zones are also designated.

Staff said stormwater rules and regional water‑quality enforcement motivate strict limits on leaking fluids and pollutants from the area; Romayo noted the city could face heavy fines from the regional board if pollutants enter local creeks. Staff concluded the meeting by outlining next steps—targeted outreach, implementation of striping and signage, and a return briefing in roughly six months—and the commission received and filed the informational report (no formal regulatory action was taken at this meeting).