Your vote can send a message that permits responsible development
by Mike Kelly, President, Friend of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve
n election day, Tuesday, November 5, high-profile decisions,
such as who will be the next president, await the decision of the electorate.
With media attention focussed on these issues, it's easy to overlook important
local ballot issues that will determine the future of the north city "Future
Urbanizing Area" (FUA).
The three propositions at issue are F, G and
H. The recommendations, as voted by Board of Directors of the Friends of
Los Peñasquitos Canyon on August 20 are:
Prop. F - Vote NO (Villas at Stallion's Crossing)
Prop. G - Vote NO (Village at Stallion's Crossing)
Prop. H. - Vote YES (Torrey Highlands)
The three projects listed above are all contained
within the Future Urbanizing Area. This 12,000-acre area is bounded by Peñasquitos
Canyon Preserve to the south, Rancho Peñasquitos to the east, Carmel
Valley to the west, and the San Dieguito River Valley's northern edge to
the north.
Concerned with proposals for premature development
in the area, the voters passed Proposition A in 1984. Prop A put this area
off limits to urban development until the voters themselves judged the time
was right for development. The ballot measure also required comprehensive
planning for the area, including Subarea Plans for each of the FUA's five
subareas. In other words, Prop A mandated that growth in the area should
be planned and managed.
Prop. A, however, did allow developments without
a vote if the planned densities were consistent with the underlying zoning
of the parcels. Typically, undeveloped land in San Diego is zone A-1-10
or agricultural zoning. This means you can develop agriculturally related
businesses or projects (nurseries, farms, equestrian centers, etc.) or build
one housing unit per 10 acres. Existing law also allowed 2.5 units per 10
acres if the units were "clustered" in one area, with the remaining
area left as open space.
In the early 1990s, a Citizens Advisory Committee
for the FUA was formed. This broadly-based group spent several years developing
a master plan for the FUA, called the Framework Plan. An environmental impact
review was completed and the plan was approved by the City Council. This
master plan envisioned urban levels of density comparable to the surrounding
communities, with about 50 percent of the 12,000 acres to be set aside as
permanent open-space parks.
With this completed, landowners and developers
were free to come forward with more detailed subarea plans for each of the
five subareas. Under Prop A, once these plans were complete, the landowners
would be able to place a measure on the ballot requesting voter approval
for a reclassification of their particular subarea from Future Urbanizing
to Current Urbanizing. Upon receiving approval from the voters, they could
then develop their projects.
In 1994, however, the larger landowners in
the FUA, led by Pardee Co., got the City Council to place Proposition C
on the ballot. If passed, this would have allowed a reclassification of
the whole FUA - before Subarea Plans were done. The voters rejected it decisively.
After this defeat, some landowners decided
to simply develop their land at lower densities that did not require a vote.
The Black Mountain Ranch project in Subarea I north of Black Mountain did
this with some of their land. Their golf course/estate home plan was approved
by the City Council in 1994. Subarea V, which includes most of the undisturbed
Del Mar Mesa, also decided to develop at lower densities. Their plan was
approved by the City Council in July of this year. (About 63 percent of
the land will be preserved as open space.)
Prop. H. - Vote Yes
The small- to medium-sized landowners of Subarea
IV developed a Subarea Plan called Torrey Highlands. They involved many
community and environmental groups in the planning process over the past
year. The City Council voted to approve the final plan and to place a reclassification
vote for Torrey Highlands on the ballot as Prop. H.
The Friends of Los Peñasquitos Canyon,
the Sierra Club, League of Women Voters, the Rancho Peñasquitos Community
Planning Board and many others support a Yes vote on Prop H. We feel the
landowners complied with the spirit of Prop. A in developing their plan
and produced a workable plan for the area. This plan protects and will enhance
the key wildlife corridor for Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. This corridor
will be a vital link from the Subarea V open space across the Del Mar Mesa
to the Black Mountain open-space park to the north, helping protect our
wildlife from isolation and decline.
Prop. F - Vote NO (Villas at Stallion's
Crossing)
Prop. G - Vote NO (Village at Stallion's
Crossing)
The two Subarea II ballot measure, Props F
and G, the Villas and the Villages at Stallion's Crossing, however, don't
deserve your support. These two projects come from Roy Collins' San Dieguito
Partnership. Both would be situated in the San Dieguito River Valley, a
highly sensitive environment and site of the River Valley Park. These projects
were reluctantly placed on the ballot by the City Council as the result
of a law suit filed by Collins.
For many years, this partnership has resisted
the requirements of Prop A for comprehensive planning, refusing to cooperate
with the other landowners in the Subarea or in the FUA. Finally, after years
of litigation, the City settled by agreeing to place a reclassification
vote for these two projects on the ballot. However, the City Council has
not called for a YES vote on these projects. A NO vote will force the developer
to cooperate with serious planning for this environmentally sensitive area.
The Friends, the Sierra Club, the Carmel Valley Planning Board and many
others are calling for a NO vote on these projects. They violate the spirit
of Prop A and they would negatively impact the San Dieguito River Valley.
