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SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2025 13 By Annette Hillis, Resident When a proposed logistics warehouse threatened to ravage the esthetics of Hemet's scenic Diamond Valley, Jean Faenza – a 10- year Solera Diamond Valley resident and a retired credit union executive with decades of experience dissecting commercial loans – decided to act. For 10 all-consuming months, she and her spouse, Alda Pitt, a retired teacher, poured their energy into a grassroots campaign that rallied neighbors, uncovered legal and environmental flaws, and ultimately stopped the massive project in its tracks. The mission quickly became a community fight for political business transparency and the protection of the health and well-being of nearby residents. "I was hosting an SDV community forum when resident Kathy Caraher, who initially heard about it through resident Katherine Botts, called and asked for 15 minutes of forum time to talk about a warehouse issue," recalls Faenza. "I started digging into the project and thought 'Oh, my God!' It's going to be right there next to us." Pitt concurs. "We didn't want to have that in our backyard. The smell of diesel would mean we couldn't even sit on our patio. So, we realized if the community doesn't take this on, the warehouse project will succeed." Protests, walks, and attendance at Hemet City Council meetings happened on a regular basis. Upon the request of the SDV warriors, the city approved a moratorium on warehouses. At one point, both the Planning Commission and the City Council opposed building the project. However, an administrative error led the business applicant to request more time, which the city granted. On the day of the decisive City Council meeting, Faenza revealed that she was not feeling good about how the vote would go. However, the surprise ending was a 3-2 vote in favor of no warehouse. Cheers erupted from the SDV community and its allies. As a final gesture of good will, Faenza reached out to shake the hand of the landowner. He refused it. Faenza sums up: "This wasn't just me. I may have spearheaded the opposition, but our community came together. This was about people committing. Our community truly showed up and I'm really proud of all of us. This project was exhausting, but even more so, it was rewarding." Faenza credits the success of this fight to the wonderful warrior core team members: Kathy Caraher, Teresa Malone, Joe and Victoria Wood, Carol Valade, Karen Stepp, Donna Swanke, and Krista Mason. Her takeaways from this experience include doing your research and staying "sparky," a term Pitt coined to describe being a fighter and not giving up despite the odds. Pitt adds that the city didn't bargain for the strong wave of protest this retirement community put forward. "Just because we have gray hair, they thought we were pushovers," Pitt declares. There is a possibility that the landowner may appeal the decision. It is not known at this juncture if he will. But both women agree that SDV will continue the battle if it does indeed return. By Mary McKernan, Resident What do Elvis Presley, Casey Stengel, Michael J. Fox, and Andrea Bocelli have in common? Yes, they're all men, duh. But they are also subjects in our biographical and memoir section of our Solera Diamond Valley lending library. Residents have donated all of our books and DVDs. There is no formal check out system; you just take books and DVDs home for your perusal. When you return them, we ask you to please place them on the library cart in the hallway. The Library Volunteers are always looking for new volunteers. If you are interested in helping keep our library vital to our community, please reach out to me, Mary McKernan, at (310) 795-9443 via phone or text. We have four meetings a year and have sign ups on a weekly basis to manage re-shelving or labeling books and DVDs that have been donated. What's In Common? Warehouse Warriors

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