Menifee residents protest new private security training camp

Last year, Riverside County officials gave a private security firm the go-ahead to build a 194-acre training facility near Temecula. The company soon could break ground on the project. But KPCC's Steven Cuevas says a small band of vocal opponents hasn't surrendered yet.

Steven Cuevas: The private company behind the project is called Procinctu. It means "ready for battle" in Latin. When it's finished, the site would include a driving track for tactical vehicles, a mock town, and outdoor firing ranges.

Anne Weston: A lot of people are afraid, but it's something that needs to be stopped and people need to be aware of it.

Cuevas: Anne Weston is a retired school teacher from Menifee who leads the opposition. She and others are worried about the site's proximity to homes and a high school. They aim to derail the project by blocking Procintu's public use permit. It exempts the company from some noise and zoning restrictions. Such permits are usually reserved for hospitals or homeless shelters. Riverside County says the project qualifies as a school. But Weston says the county bent the rules.

Weston: We're going to try to halt it because of the grading permits. We're finding that some of them just do not apply... and then just have them discuss it and see if we can put it back on the agenda, and if it does not follow the rules and regulations, then it needs to be revoked.

Cuevas: Procinctu has also drawn unfavorable comparisons to Blackwater Worldwide, the private military contractor implicated in the killing of Iraqi civilians two years ago. Procinctu's CEO says the center would be used as a training facility for the military and local law enforcement, but would not be used to train military contractors.

If opponents can't stop the project, the recession might. Procinctu is still looking for financing to complete the training facility.