Menifee, California

City of Menifee
—  City  —
City of Menifee Position in California.
Coordinates: 33°40′42″N 117°10′01″W / 33.67833°N 117.16694°W / 33.67833; -117.16694Coordinates: 33°40′42″N 117°10′01″W / 33.67833°N 117.16694°W / 33.67833; -117.16694
Country	United States
State	California
County	Riverside County
Incorporation (city)	October 1, 2008
Government
– Type	Council-Manager
– City Council	Mayor Wallace Edgerton Darcy Kuenzi John V. Denver Tom Furman Fred Twyman
– City Manager	Bill Rawlings
– Finance Director / Treasurer
– City Clerk	Kathy Bennett
– City Attorney	Karen Feld
Area[1]
– Total	46.607 sq mi (120.711 km2)
– Land	46.466 sq mi (120.345 km2)
– Water	0.141 sq mi (0.365 km2)  0.30%
Elevation[2]	1,430 ft (436 m)
Population (2010)
– Total	77,519
– Density	1,663.2/sq mi (642.2/km2)
Area code(s)	951
Website	http://www.cityofmenifee.us/
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Menifee, California

Menifee is a relatively new city located in Southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city is roughly 50 square miles (100 km²) in size. As of the 2010 census, Menifee has a population of about 77,519. The city of Menifee includes the communities of Menifee, Sun City, Quail Valley, Paloma Valley and portions of Romoland.

Menifee is known for its views of the San Jacinto Mountains, the San Bernardino Mountains, Mt. Baldy, and Santa Ana Mountains above Lake Elsinore.

History

The area was originally inhabited by the Luiseno and Pechanga Indian tribes. In the 18th century, the area fell under Spanish rule and was ceded by Mexico to the United States in 1850 as a result of the Mexican-American War.

Farming, which began in the mid-19th century, was concentrated in the Menifee area. Mining began in the early 1880s with the discovery of a significant quartz lode by miner Luther Menifee Wilson, from which Menifee derived its name.

Early development of the Menifee began with Sun City in the early 1960s as the concept of an active retirement community was envisioned by Del Webb, a building contractor from Phoenix, Arizona. Sun City is centrally located within Menifee with a mix of residential and commercial activity.

The Menifee area later grew during the late 1980s and into the early 1990s as a master-planned community. However, due to lack of resources such as industry-oriented occupations, and high-density retail and commercial businesses; has made many residents drive longer distances to nearby cities such as Temecula or Murrieta, to shop, dine, and work. There has been substantial growth in Menifee with many new home construction with large lakes, and fine amenities have attracted a lot of residents from the Inland Empire and Los Angeles to live.

On June 3, 2008, the residents of the communities encompassing the Menifee area voted to incorporate into Riverside County's 26th city. The new City of Menifee was officially established on October 1, 2008.^[3]

Geography

The city of Menifee is bordered on the north, west, and south by the cities of Perris, Canyon Lake, Lake Elsinore and on the southwest by the newly-incorporated City of Wildomar. To the east and northeast, the city borders unincorporated county territory. The city center of Menifee lies at the intersection of Newport Road and Interstate 215, which is located at 33°41′05″N 117°10′16″W / 33.68472°N 117.17111°W / 33.68472; -117.17111

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city covers an area of 46.6 square miles (120.7 km²), 99.70% of it land, and 0.30% of it water.

Economy

Top employers

According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[4] the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of employees
1	Mt. San Jacinto College	490
2	Valley Health System	300
3	Bianchi International	280
4	Southern California Edison	218
5	United States Postal Service	200
6	Life Care Centers of America	130
7	Target	130
8	Valley Pacific Concrete	110
9	Stater Bros.	110
10	Amerimax Building Products	106

Climate

Menifee
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.6   66 36     2.9   68 38     2.3   70 41     0.6   77 44     0.3   83 50     0   92 54     0   98 59     0.3   98 60     0.2   93 57     0.3   84 49     0.8   74 40     1.1   68 34 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: Weather.com / NWS
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     67   19 2     73   20 3     59   21 5     16   25 7     8.4   28 10     1   33 12     1   37 15     6.4   37 16     4.6   34 14     6.6   29 9     19   23 4     28   20 1 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

Menifee has mild winters and hot, dry summers.

• On average, the warmest month is July.
• The highest recorded temperature was 115°F in 1998.
• On average, the coolest month is December.
• The lowest recorded temperature was 14°F in 1976.
• The maximum average precipitation occurs in February.^[5]

Menifee has a Mediterranean climate or Dry-Summer Subtropical (Köppen climate classification Csa). Menifee enjoys plenty of sunshine throughout the year, with an average of 263 sunshine days and only 35 days with measurable precipitation annually.^[6]

The period of April through November is warm to hot and dry with average high temperatures of 83 - 101°F and lows of 32 - 50°F, though in the summer, temperatures can easily reach above 100, and occasionally above 105. The period of November through March is somewhat rainy, as shown in the table to left. At times, during the Winter, large dust storms start to form due to the large mass of humidity, and low, and flat land that is there.^[7]

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census^[8] reported that Menifee had a population of 77,519. The population density was 1,663.3 people per square mile (642.2/km²). The racial makeup of Menifee was 55,444 (71.5%) White, 3,858 (5.0%) African American, 655 (0.8%) Native American, 3,788 (4.9%) Asian, 295 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 9,642 (12.4%) from other races, and 3,837 (4.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25,551 persons (33.0%).

The Census reported that 77,331 people (99.8% of the population) lived in households, 81 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 107 (0.1%) were institutionalized.

There were 27,461 households, out of which 9,729 (35.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 15,405 (56.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,743 (10.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,324 (4.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,348 (4.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 184 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 6,591 households (24.0%) were made up of individuals and 4,153 (15.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82. There were 19,472 families (70.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.35.

The population was spread out with 20,067 people (25.9%) under the age of 18, 6,460 people (8.3%) aged 18 to 24, 18,771 people (24.2%) aged 25 to 44, 17,571 people (22.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 14,650 people (18.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.1 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.

There were 30,269 housing units at an average density of 649.5 per square mile (250.8/km²), of which 21,104 (76.9%) were owner-occupied, and 6,357 (23.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.8%. 58,330 people (75.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 19,001 people (24.5%) lived in rental housing units.

Government

On June 3, 2008, voters elected to incorporate Menifee as a general law city. The new City of Menifee was officially established on October 1, 2008 and is the 26th city located within Riverside County. It was first governed by a five-member city council consisting of Wallace Edgerton as the Mayor; Darcy Kuenzi as the Mayor Pro-Tem; and Fred Twyman, John Vaughn Denver, and Scott Mann as council members. In 2010, Fred Twyman was elected Vice Mayor (a new terminology). Wallace Edgerton was re-elected Mayor. In 2010 Scott Mann lost his election to Tom Fuhrman. John Denver renewed his place on the council by winning over two challengers. Term limits of two four year terms for council persons won. "At large" voting for the city council was narrowly voted out in favor of four districts and a mayor at large. The third city manager, Bill Rawlins was hired and took over in 2011 also. The first city manager was George Wentz. The second (an interim city manager) was Steve Harding.

Education

Elementary and middle school level education in Menifee is provided by the Menifee Union School District, which serves most of Menifee as well as parts of the City of Lake Elsinore and Wildomar and French Valley (northeast of the cities Temecula & Murrieta). Students in the high school level attend school in the Perris Union High School District, which includes Paloma Valley High School in Menifee. In 2007, Heritage High School was added to serve the Romoland/Menifee area. Menifee is also home to Mt. San Jacinto College, Menifee Valley Campus which serves the Temecula, Murrieta and Menifee areas. Students are able to take the classes necessary in order to transfer to four-year college institutions. The community college also has a nursing program for those wanting to become Registered Nurses.

Public safety

The City of Menifee contracts for police service with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department through the Perris Valley Station. Fire protection and emergency medical services is contracted with the Riverside County Fire Department through a cooperative agreement with CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection). There are four fire stations in Menifee and each station has a paramedic engine company. The Menifee Lakes station also has a truck company located there with specialized equipment.

Transportation

The primary routes in Menifee are Interstate 215 and Newport Road/Dominegoni Expressway. Scott Road is also a main road. Future construction plans include expanding the four lane I-215 into an eight lane superhighway running south into the I-15 freeway towards San Diego. Menifee is located approximately one hour east of Orange County, 90 Minutes Southeast of Los Angeles and one hour north of San Diego.

RCTA provides bus service to local residents.

Notable natives and residents

• Mike Metzger a famous motocross rider, the 'godfather' of FMX. ^[9]
• Audie Murphy had a ranch in the area.^{[citation needed]}
• Bill Gould member of the band Keenwild.^[10]

References

1. ^ U.S. Census
2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Menifee, California
3. ^ City of Menifee website.
4. ^ City of Menifee CAFR
5. ^ Menifee, CA: Weather Facts Retrieved 2009-04-20
6. ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Los Angeles, California, United States of America". Weatherbase.com. http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=159227&refer=. Retrieved 2009-01-08. 
7. ^ www.weather.com
8. ^ All data are derived from the United States Census Bureau reports from the 2010 United States Census, and are accessible on-line here. The data on unmarried partnerships and same-sex married couples are from the Census report DEC_10_SF1_PCT15. All other housing and population data are from Census report DEC_10_DP_DPDP1. Both reports are viewable online or downloadable in a zip file containing a comma-delimited data file. The area data, from which densities are calculated, are available on-line here. Percentage totals may not add to 100% due to rounding. The Census Bureau defines families as a household containing one or more people related to the householder by birth, opposite-sex marriage, or adoption. People living in group quarters are tabulated by the Census Bureau as neither owners nor renters. For further details, see the text files accompanying the data files containing the Census reports mentioned above.
9. ^ http://www.espneventmedia.com/uploads/application/XGAMESVIIIMEDALWINNERS.pdf
10. ^ http://www.menifee247.com/2007/11/bill-gould-on-menifee-cityhood-and.htm

External links

Inland Empire portal

• City of Menifee Official Website
• Menifee 24/7 - Menifee News
• Menifee Post - Menifee's Local newspaper
• Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce