Published on Wednesday, August 13, 2008
By JULIA GLICK
Riverside County officials say they have scrapped plans to trade conservation land with a beer company that wants to build homes near Menifee. But some neighbors and residents have doubts and have submitted a petition to county supervisors condemning the swap.
"I don't trust them, particularly due to the fact that it was first negotiated without notification of those who would certainly be interested in the situation," said neighbor Jim Coghlan, 75, of Menifee. "It was done behind closed doors."
Coghlan was one about 30 Menifee, Murrieta and Winchester-area residents who signed a petition delivered July29, opposing a now-defunct agreement between the county and Anheuser-Busch.
County Supervisor Jeff Stone, who represents the area, said a January memorandum of understanding with the brewing company was a nonbinding blueprint for a swap, and would eventually have come up for formal approval and public comment.
