Changing freeway signs causes stir in Sun City

What's in a freeway sign?

Some residents of the Sun City community are asking that question as they notice changes to the bright green placards along Interstate 215 that used to tell drivers the number of miles left to Sun City.

Now, in new slightly whiter letters, those signs tell drivers the number of miles to Menifee.

The signs were revamped by Caltrans earlier this summer at Menifee's request, according to Menifee City Engineer Don Allison. One smaller green and white sign near the McCall Boulevard exit that used to report Sun City's approximate population is gone.

Some Sun City residents aren't bothered by the changes. Others perceive the disappearing Sun City signs as a shred of identity lost for the 55-and-older community at the expense of Menifee's expanding role as a city.

Don Heidler, 56, said switching to the Menifee title is exactly what voters asked for in June 2008 when they voted to incorporate into a city and voted to call it Menifee. The city includes the communities of Quail Valley, Romoland and Sun City.

"I don't think it affects us all that much," Heidler said, while refilling a water jug at the Vons store on Sun City Boulevard "I'm a younger person in Sun City. I still work and I don't sweat the small stuff. It's a sign out on the freeway."

However, to frequent City Council critic Ruth Goulet and others, the sign removal is eroding Sun City's prominence. Critics point out that Sun City predates Menifee. The retirement community was built in the 1960s by developer Del Webb.

"Coming south on the 215, there are still places for a Romoland turn off. Coming north on the 215 there's a place for Quail Valley turn off, but Sun City is gone. Like it never existed. Erased," Goulet said.

Kevin Scoville, 56, doesn't live in Sun City but believes the Sun City signs should have been left alone.

"What about people driving down the freeway to visit their grandma? They might zoom past now because they have no indication that Sun City is there. They're the lost people of Sun City," said Scoville, who lives in the central part of Menifee.

"There should have been a sign that captured them all," Scoville said, referring to the distinct communities within Menifee.

In time, the city will likely look at building markers and signs for those communities, said Menifee Community Development Director Carmen Cave.

Monument signs could be included as part of an entryway built for each area, Cave said. Those signs would be within the city, not on the freeway, she said.

But such a project probably won't be discussed by the Planning Commission for at least a year, Cave said. It would be part of molding a "design element" for the city's general plan.

As for the I-215 signs switching to Menifee, public opinion appears to fall in line with how residents rate cityhood overall.

At first John Esposito, 83, said he is upset there is no Sun City sign to alert his family that McCall Boulevard is the correct exit.

Then he went on to voice his views on cityhood.

"I hope they go broke. They hooked us into this, because they needed the population and taxes, and we're getting nothing in return," Esposito said. "They need us; we don't need them."

Reach Julissa McKinnon at 951-375-3730 or jmckinnon@PE.com