Newest Audie Murphy Ranch Tracts to Include Larger Lots

The newest tract within the Audie Murphy Ranch development will be located north of Newport Road near Goetz Road and will include 164 lots of 10,000 square feet or more.

A revised plot plan for the next development of Audie Murphy Ranch has been approved by the Menifee City Council and will be adopted as part of an ordinance at the council's next meeting on June 4.

At its May 21 meeting, the council voted 4-0 with one abstention to approve the revised plan submitted by Brookfield Residential, the developer. Council members split on a plan submitted in March for two new housing tracts to be built on either side of Goetz Road north of Newport Road.

At that time, the concern expressed by council members Wallace Edgerton and Greg August was about the lot sizes. The majority of lots among the 2,190 lots listed in the plan were 5,000 feet or less.

Shortly after that council meeting, Edgerton and August met with Brookfield officials to discuss options for reallocating lot sizes. The revised plan, approved last week, reduces the number of lots from 2,190 to 2,157. In so doing, it creates 164 lots of 10,000 square feet or more -- many of them to be included within a gated community at the north part of the tract.

"We've made what I believe was a good plan an even better plan," said Adrian Peters, vice president of forward planning for Brookfield Residential.

All council members voted in favor of the revised plan except for Tom Fuhrman, who abstained because he is a neighbor to the Audie Murphy project. No date for completion of this latest phase has been set.

"The main concern was too many smaller lots," Edgerton said. "This developer had the option not to negotiate with us about this, but they chose to work with us. The result is a better project that will bring in more affluent buyers."

The revisions will also increase the size of three parks planned for the new phase of the development.