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Canyon Lake will pay half a planner’s time under agreement with Wildomar to handle state planning requirements
Summary
Council approved a contract to share half the time of a planner from Wildomar to meet planning obligations (HCD updates, zoning, day‑to‑day permitting) at an initial fiscal cost of about $75,000 for the year.
Facing limited in‑house planning capacity, the Canyon Lake City Council approved an agreement to purchase half of a planner’s time from the neighboring city of Wildomar, a staff proposal the council said will address workload and state compliance without hiring a full‑time planner.
City Manager explained the arrangement as a cost‑effective alternative to hiring a full‑time planner or paying higher contract rates: for the coming year the city will pay roughly $75,000 to cover half the planner’s salary and related costs. The shared planner will help with Housing and Community Development (HCD) updates, state‑required planning tasks and day‑to‑day zoning work.
“We have a proposal … to essentially pay for half of that employee,” the city manager said, describing the cost and the expectation that future step increases would be shared at 50 percent. Council motioned, seconded and approved the intercity staffing agreement.
Staff said the arrangement will be documented through a formal agreement approved by the city attorney and that costs will be adjusted proportionally if the Wildomar employee receives step increases. The city manager and council framed the move as a pragmatic way to meet compliance deadlines and handle sporadic planning demands without the ongoing cost of a full‑time planner on the city payroll.
Next steps: City attorney to finalize agreement language and the manager will return notices and a contract for records. The shared planner is expected to begin providing service under the contracted terms once the agreement is finalized.
