CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : MURRIETA : Panel OKs Increased Building Densities

Riverside County supervisors approved a land-use plan that critics say opens the door for development of the ecologically sensitive Santa Rosa Plateau in the Santa Ana Mountains above Murrieta. The board’s action increased the allowable building densities on the scenic plateau, much of which is owned by a Temecula developer who wants to construct 3,855 homes, a golf course, schools and commercial facilities there. But supervisors, under pressure from project opponents, agreed to study the possibility of creating a park on part of the plateau. They also required that 50% of future developments on the hilly, oak-studded parcel be left as open space.