 hile driving in East Oceanside the other
day -- something I try to avoid -- I was amazed at what I saw: twin strip
malls that were built in the early 80s sat half empty. From the intersection
of El Camino Real and Mission to the Pioneers cemetery, a ghost town was
taking shape. Yet new store fronts are being built all over town.
 To make matters worse, the Highway
76 extension runs directly behind the Mission Plaza West and Mission Plaza
Real centers, funneling traffic past these under-occupied commercial centers
and cementing their fate in an all too familiar blight. This is the perfect
example of why there needs to be a regional policy that prohibits any new
retail development as long storefronts sit empty.
All across the county, you can see
new retail center developments being built blocks away from vacant store
fronts. Why do planning commissions allow out-of-town developers to descend
on our cities, cover everything in asphalt and stucco, and then split? Now,
instead of biodiversity and breathing room, we get gridlock and monoculture.
Corporations and individuals who
foist all these temples of consumption on the residents of coastal North
County are profiting at the community's expense. Supply is outpacing sustainability,
and our quality of life is suffering. It is time we reign in the agents
of sprawl and begin to rethink what quality of life will mean in the 21st
century.
The right to own property, as set
forth by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, in no way guarantees that
property owners can develop as they see fit. Of overriding consideration
should be the Constitution's Preamble, which states, "... promote the
general Welfare, and secure the Blessing of Liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity." According to Webster's Dictionary, posterity is
defined as "all succeeding generations; future mankind." Again
I ask, how does yet another struggling strip mall promote the general welfare?
Speaking of unneeded storefronts,
has anybody seen the monstrosity being built at the corner of College and
Oceanside Boulevard? Shoved up next to the Loma Alta Creek, a linear shopping
experience is being constructed while the two shopping centers that share
the same intersection have for-lease signs in empty windows.
Before anyone accuses me of Oceanside
bashing, it should be clear that this applies to Southern California in
general. It just seems more acute to those of us crowded against the Pacific
Ocean. One of the reasons the Rural Heritage and Watershed Initiative failed
is because those in the East County still have enough room to take for granted.
When SANDAG says that population
in going to increase, why do we immediately assume that those people have
the right to single family homes in what little open space we have left?
I have yet to see a high-rise apartment complex planned for land currently
covered in failed retail centers. As it stands now, San Diego County is
being spread too thin.
What I find rather disturbing is
that mitigation for all this sprawl is not placed where it is needed most,
within walking distance of the people who most need it. I live in Leucadia.
As perfect as our funky little beach community is, those of us who live
north of Leucadia Blvd. and west of I-5 have no parks. The other day, as
I watched the neighborhood kids play football in the street, I realized
that these young residents were being neglected by the individuals their
parents elected to office.
Currently, a walled community is
being planned for my neighborhood because the Community Development Department
has issued a negative declaration for an invasive 12-acre project at Sanford
and Vulcan. Greystone Homes will crowd 62 single family homes on land with
a density of 6.6 units per acre. With the average home size being 6,660
sq. ft., the largest home will weigh in at 11,000 sq. ft.
The negative declaration states there
is no need for an Environmental Impact Report and that "acquisition
of the land [for recreation needs] is not being pursued because of neighborhood
incompatibility issues." What this report does not address is the community's
need for parkland, and that the incompatibility finding was in response
to a proposed sports park and it's accompanying night lighting.
By developing this section of land,
the doors are forever closed on the possibility of north Leucadia ever having
a significant neighborhood park. It will also result in more traffic, more
sewage and an increased drain of city funds. It will also bring more children
to overcrowded schools.
The effects of sprawl are everywhere.
For proof, all you have to do is look out the nearest window.  | 
home.com or by writing to the San Diego Earth Times.