The Moreno Valley City Council approved a 15,000-apartment development Tuesday, Nov. 19.
The council voted 3-1 to push forward the Aquabella project following a nearly three-hour public hearing. Mayor Ulises Cabrera was the only councilmember opposed to the 700.5-acre project that will include a 24-acre commercial area featuring a 300-room hotel, 80 acres for parks and 40 acres for schools, according to a city report.
“I’m not prepared to support the project tonight,” Cabrera said at the meeting. “But I would like for the project to come back at a later time … .”
Cabrera said he wanted the developer to give residents opportunities for construction jobs on the project and he was interested in including townhouses, not just apartments, in the development.
“If we can get this done, it would be something great for all our residents,” Councilmember Elena Baca-Santa Cruz said in support of the project. “It’s something that we need to do tonight.”
The Southern California Association of Government forecasts that 20 years from now, Moreno Valley will have 61,100 new residents. Aquabella’s expected population of 43,050 would account for 70% of that increase.
The project is proposed for a vacant area east of the 215 Freeway, south of the 60 Freeway, and north of Lake Perris. It is bound by Cactus Avenue and Brodiaea Avenue to the north, Iris Avenue to the south, Lasselle Street to the west, and Oliver Street to the east.
The developer anticipates buildout by 2040, according to the environmental impact report.
