Murrieta council narrows focus on retaining‑wall design, landscaping while weighing citywide vs. hillside standards

Murrieta — City staff on Nov. 18 asked the Murrieta City Council to narrow the draft hillside ordinance to concrete design questions for retaining walls and landscaping while leaving larger questions about the ordinance boundary for later discussion. Senior planner Chris Tracy framed four policy questions: whether to prefer geogrid or concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls, whether to require certain finished materials, what color and finish flexibility is acceptable, and whether the standards should apply citywide or only to the hillside overlay.

The discussion followed staff’s earlier technical work confirming the proposed hillside overlay would apply to parcels with an average slope of 25% or greater and would be cross‑referenced with specific‑plan areas. Tracy described three common wall systems with pictured examples — CMU (concrete masonry unit) walls, geogrid‑reinforced systems and keystone/crib walls — and summarized tradeoffs including excavation needs, height capacity and opportunities for integrated landscaping.

Why it matters: council members said the…