City Council Meeting 11/10/26

The City of Hemet City Council’s regular meeting on November 10, 2026, included two development-related public hearings. For the 96-unit Montego Bay Apartments, the council voted 4–0 to remand the requested extension of time to the Planning Commission to consider additional conditions addressing nearby senior residents’ concerns, construction impacts, site amenities, and the status of an administrative adjustment. The developer estimated the project would pay about $3.5 million in development impact fees; no project award or construction authorization was made. The council unanimously approved Ordinance 2086, granting a 10-year development agreement for the 586-lot Rancho Diamonte project on approximately 245 acres, with a possible one-time five-year extension. The agreement calls for $10,000 contributions to the library and Heritage Foundation, establishes grading and building-permit milestones, and provides that development impact fees will not be newly increased, though annual adjustments under the applicable formula remain in effect. The applicant said mitigation had already cost $116,000 and anticipated roughly $30 million in development impact fees for the project overall.

The council also unanimously authorized a legislative investigation into the Pepper Tree development, including subpoenas to Golden Harbor Estate LLC and voluntary records requests to other parties. In a separate code-enforcement discussion, council action directed that any exercise of the optional third year of the City Detect agreement return to the council for approval and appropriation; the transcript does not provide the agreement’s dollar value. Council directed staff to develop proposed amendments to the Hemet Auto Mall Specific Plan, including consideration of permitted uses, EV infrastructure, signage, circulation, and streamlined approvals, but no procurement was approved. The police department’s annual update described staffing, drone and other technology use, and planned enforcement operations, without a specific purchasing action or allocation identified.