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Residents press council on unpaved connector, vehicle noise and permit mitigation during public comment
Summary
At the May 5 Murrieta City Council meeting residents urged paving of a short unpaved connector (Meny Road), called for stricter enforcement of modified-exhaust noise citations, and presented concerns about mitigation requirements tied to a ministerial permit; councilors and staff provided brief responses and follow-up commitments.
Several residents used the public-comment period at the May 5 council meeting to press city leaders on neighborhood infrastructure, enforcement and permitting.
Dora Rididgeway, a choir teacher who lives in French Valley, asked the council to pave a 0.1-mile unpaved connector used as a shortcut (Meny Road). She described the route as "a short Meny Road that attaches Clinton Keith to Los Alamos Road," said it has large dips and limited lighting, and asked that "a motion be made to pave this road or that it be put on a future agenda." A staff member (Jeff Hitch) told Rididgeway the segment is slated to be paved, and the city clerk accepted materials she left for follow-up.
Phil Strowski (identifying himself as a resident of The Colony) urged the council to increase citations for modified exhausts and said the number of citations had fallen (from about 10–12 in 2023 to eight in 2025). Strowski cited health organizations and said traffic and vehicle noise is "a serious health hazard" causing sleep disruption and increased cardiovascular risk; he asked the police chief and city manager for a plan to increase enforcement in affected neighborhoods.
Herman Gray, a long-time resident, presented documents alleging past property losses and asked the council to investigate; he left materials with the city clerk. Amy Edgeworth, founder and CEO of the Pearl Center for Creative Arts, used public comment to describe arts programming and a new artist-spotlight series and to note the city arts group’s work supporting local creators.
Later in the meeting, attorney or advocate Cassen Klein spoke during a subsequent public-comment period about a ministerial building-permit dispute involving an Artigga/Artigas property and argued that the city’s off-site mitigation requirements are disproportionate for a ministerial approval; he urged the council to consider a resolution allowing mitigation limited to the applicant’s frontage. The council later recessed into closed session to discuss anticipated litigation and labor negotiations; the city attorney reported no reportable action after the closed session.
Councilmembers and staff acknowledged the issues and committed to follow-up: staff indicated Meny Road is slated to be paved, the police chief was invited to speak with residents about enforcement (per Strowski’s request), and the city accepted documents for the property dispute for staff review.
