Changing Landscape Hinders Families Searching for Utopia

Air conditioning and heating specialist Jim McBroom , his wife, Debra, and their two teen-age children moved to Murrieta from Union Lake, Mich., in 1989 after visiting the area to see relatives in Escondido two years earlier. They bought their four-bedroom home after standing in line for a lottery, even before it was finished, for $137,000. And they were disappointed later to find that the floor plan was flip-flopped.

Jim: “When we first saw Murrieta, it was wide-open country. We liked the climate, and we liked being this close to the ocean. But, by the time we got the house, this was a boom town. It had gone crazy.

“There’s a certain point where it becomes something you didn’t want, but you still just accept it. We didn’t think this was what we were buying into--an instant city. We thought we were moving into Utopia, but we had blinders on.

“What we left behind in Michigan were large lots and no fences. Here, it looks like everyone lives in their little fort, and you feel guilty looking over the fence.

“Once our kids are out of school, the wife and I are considering moving back, to a small house on the lake, for $50,000. The climate here is nice, but we saw the Pacific Ocean more when we were on vacation.”

Walt Ghirardelli moved from the San Fernando Valley to the wine country east of Temecula in 1985, when he retired as a certified public accountant with clients worldwide. He owns a 55-acre ranch, and 45 of those acres are planted in Chardonnay grapes.

“In my travels, I’ve lived in Tokyo and Italy, and I traveled a lot to South America. I’ve seen the world. But I always held the view that I would return home, to Southern California, to retire.

“I love wine, and I was looking for a place with acreage to put into grapes.

“The growth (of Temecula) doesn’t distress me for now. But I just hope the pollution doesn’t reach us. We don’t have the noise where I live, and I’m hoping there won’t be any air pollution. Because of the grapes, we don’t need that.”

Robin and Victoria Klein discovered Temecula through friends, and moved there from Long Beach in 1980 with their 1-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Robin continues to make the commute to his job in Long Beach but has a work shift that allows him to avoid driving during rush hours, which, he says, makes it tolerable.

Victoria: “We didn’t want to raise our kids in a city environment. We fell in love with this place. It was just such a beautiful little town in the country, just the kind of place you would want to raise your kids.

“You would go to the grocery store for milk and bread and be gone for two hours because you would talk to everyone you saw.

“Now, it’s growing. The added conveniences are nice, but it’s so congested now, I hate to go out in the traffic. It’s incredibly bad.”

Nonetheless, they have no regrets. “There was a shooting at our old high school in Long Beach the other day. Out here, there’s still nothing like that.”

Bob and Pam Goalwin moved from Oceanside to Temecula in 1987 because, for the price of a two-bedroom condominium on the coast, the couple was able to buy a three-bedroom house “with real land around it.” Two years later, after their Temecula home increased in value by 50%, they moved up to a house almost twice as large, for $175,000, in Murrieta. They have three children--5, 3 and 1. He is a technical writer for an electronics firm and commutes daily to San Diego.

Bob: “There’s virtually no crime. It’s clean. There’s no graffiti. There are no slimy people. They’re people you don’t have to watch out for when you walk past them at night.

“But, being in the middle of nowhere, I think most teen-agers are bored out of their minds. I’m worried they might start forming their own gangs. I’m fearful of how Murrieta and Temecula are building up, and what my children will be exposed to. I’m thinking this will become another urban environment.

“We’re thinking about moving, either to a more desert environment or Julian.”

Matthew and Janet Mitchell lived in Orange County--Westminster, then Trabuco Canyon--for seven years before trying to build a log cabin in Bonsall. Unable to get the necessary permits, they decided to move to Temecula two years ago. The couple bought a 1,800-square-foot, four-bedroom home for $180,000. They have a 3 1/2-year-old daughter. He works as a tile setter at construction sites throughout Southern California, and she is an office manager in La Jolla, a 75-minute commute each way.

Matthew: “There are a lot of trucks out here. Middle-class construction people. Everywhere you look, you see trucks. I figure they’re people like us who couldn’t afford to live in Orange County.

“Temecula is a great place to live for me. It’s centralized. And, out here, we can drive 15 minutes and be nowhere. Try doing that in Orange County.

“But I see this place as growing into the next Mission Viejo, especially when they open up that new mall.”

Marv Curran was born in Murrieta 63 years ago. His mother, E. Hale Curran, was born there in 1900. She raised her son and ran the local post office. He served in the Army and, in 1947, started the volunteer fire department. Today he’s the Murrieta fire chief.

“I could probably look at the growth with disgust, but I don’t. Back in the late ‘70s, I was talking to the developers, to plan for how the Fire Department should grow. And, once you get caught up in that, then you start looking forward to the next event like a professional challenge.

“I even get excited when I see another shopping center start up. I think it’s great.

“I feel strong about Murrieta, and I resent Temecula calling this entire area ‘Temecula.’ Murrieta is still Murrieta. Large developers have control of Temecula. It grew up awfully fast, without all the infrastructure it should have had. I don’t think the small person in Temecula has much of a voice in his community.

“But Murrieta? It’s more home-grown.”

California Highway Patrol Officer Tim Santillan and his wife lived in Rancho San Diego for five years before deciding to move to a bigger house for their growing family. They found the house--in Temecula, where they moved 2 1/2 years ago. For a year he continued to commute to the CHP office in San Diego, but now is assigned to the Temecula office, five minutes from home . His patrol beat includes North San Diego County.

Tim: “For the price of the home in San Diego, we got one twice as large in Temecula for just $8,000 more. We’re in a neighborhood of tract homes with younger families. The neighborhood is starting from scratch. Last July Fourth we had a block party.

“We plan on staying here until the kids grow up. And we thought this would be a sleepy, quiet, boring community. Now I’m worried about drugs. People from Elsinore and Moreno Valley are starting to prey on our community because we’re thin on law enforcement. We’re seeing vehicle thefts and burglaries. I didn’t expect that.

“The low housing costs are attracting everybody--including people from the inner city whose kids are in gangs. Now there are gangs forming in Moreno Valley, and they’re starting in Temecula. I hope they can nip it in the bud.”