Several current governmental planning efforts were integrated into the design proposal for the Temecula Valley (Figure 28). The Southwest Transportation Corridor Study identifies the transportation alternatives that are either approved or under consideration for the Temecula Valley. Some, but not all, of these proposals are reflected in the design. Similarly, the towns in the Valley have existing town plans with many planned and/or approved subdivisions. If all these are built, residential growth until 2010 can be accommodated within the planned and approved development areas, except where altered by the conservation strategy. Also, every effort was made to respect existing property boundaries.

The goals of the design (Figure 29) and its proposed actions are to guide urbanization in the Temecula Valley around the areas of the highest conservation priorities. When identifying the conservation areas within the Valley, riparian corridors were given first priority. The natural geometry of the riparian corridors runs diagonally across the existing highway grid; therefore the conservation network also finds its orientation diagonal to the roads. The intersections of roads and the conservation network form ideal locations for civic institutions such as schools. The diagonal pattern also creates alternate car-free pedestrian and cyclist transportation routes that allow children to walk or bike to school.

At this scale, the multiple functions of the conservation corridors include flood control, recreation, habitat, and wildlife movement. These linear spaces, whether "natural" or designed and constructed, also connect the most intense development to its nearby parks and reserves, the new reservoir, and Lake Skinner. Additionally, one expanded conservation area at the base of the Santa Rosa escarpment is proposed as a site for a wastewater treatment facility which would enable increased aquifer recharge and water recirculation.

The urban focus of the design is the new City Center. The Center is an open rectangle shaped by upgraded Scott and Clinton Keith Roads, I-215 and Route 79. The Center would be intensively developed along the linear internal perimeter of the rectangle on three sides. Commerce, multi-family residential, and light industrial development occupy the zone in a mix of uses and densities and with ancillary parking. The northwest "corner" of the Center is designated for civic-governmental uses.

Accessibility to and within the Center is of great importance. For the motorist, the Center is accessible from Scott and Clinton Keith roads, and a proposed new bypass road south from the intersection of Route 79 and Scott Road to I-15. Rail riders will find it convenient, since the proposed rail line follows I-215; it is one of the alternatives in the Southwest Transportation Corridor Study. A major, multi-modal train station is proposed at the intersection of I-215 and Scott Road.

In contrast, the interior of this rectangle is proposed for low-density development, comprised mainly of rural-residential and some single-family housing, agricultural reserves, and conservation corridors. Thus, the most intensely developed areas have some of the most direct access to the regional landscape. The conservation areas should increase the value of the land in the Center and allow many private landowners to have direct frontage on the major recreational amenities that attract residents to the region.