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THE RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
.com VOL. 9, NO. 12
THE RANCH’S BEST SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS
JULY 12, 2013
Higher-density housing plans spark debate Train safety plan to add tower height By Paige Nelson
REGION — Early development plans to build 362 new homes in Eden Valley have some residents concerned. “This has reinforced what we’ve always believed — development equals more development,” said JP Theberge, Board Member of the Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove Town Council. Theberge has been a resident for two years and said people are worried about losing their way of life and community character to big developers. “Our motto is to keep it rural,” Theberge said. “This is one of the last few pockets of rural areas in San Diego and we want to keep it that way.” The proposed project, known asValiano,is a gated residential development that would occupy 209 acres of unincorporated land between the cities of San Marcos and Escondido. Construction of Harmony Grove Village, a 742-homedevelopment adjacent to the property is already underway and would bring the total number of houses in the area to more than 1,000. New Urban West, the original developer of Harmony Grove Village, opened communication lines and collaborated with residents to ensure the layout blended with the rural community. After dozens of public meetings, the revised plan was approved by the County Board of Supervisors in 2007. “The community has
By Bianca Kaplanek
The proposed residential development, Valiano, lies at the crossroads of Mount Whitney Road and Country Club Drive. The property encompasses 209 acres of unincorporated land between the cities of San Marcos and Escondido. Courtesy photo
worked diligently for the past 10 years, on taxpayer money, to plan for overall density,” said Jacqueline Arsivaud, Vice Chair of Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove Town Council. The community’s collaborative efforts with county planners led the county to adopt a General Plan in August 2011, which zoned the property for minimum lot sizes of one and two acres. A community plan for Harmony Grove was approved at the same time to draw a “village boundary” and prevent further urbanization of the area. The new development encompasses about 50 acres of Harmony Grove and would require a general plan amendment to rezone the property from agricultural to semi-rural
with half-acre lots. Developer Integral Communities also plans to include public multi-use trails, smaller private trails, an equestrian staging area and parkland. “It’s not to say we don’t want any development,” Arsivaud said, “but the rules should apply to everyone.” Janine Huston, a 12-year resident of Eden Valley, believes amending the general plan this way will jeopardize its overall intention and allows for irresponsible development. “We realize property owners should have the right to build on their own land,” Huston said,“but this feels like a slap in the face.” In lieu of a formal town council,Huston formed a group to host community meetings
called Friends of Eden Valley for Responsible Development. Huston said more than 50 people have attended the meetings so far — a considerably high turnout for a neighborhood of about 80 homes. “It’s really a trial case for the County Board of Supervisors,” Huston said. “What is their commitment to honoring the community plan?” The first public EIR scoping meeting will be held at the Elfin Forest Fire Station July 10 at 7 p.m. A Notice of Preparation Document, containing a description of probable environmental effects, is available online and is open for commentary until July 19. The County Board of Supervisors will not vote for project approval until 2015.
Council delays setting fee for in-lieu parking plan By Bianca Kaplanek
DEL MAR — A plan that would allow downtown property owners to pay a fee instead of providing some of their required onsite parking spaces inched forward at the July 1 meeting,with council members directing staff to return with additional information rather than a resolution establishing the fee. In 2008, five different council members approved an in-lieu program that permits owners to satisfy up to half of their mandated parking stalls, in the central commercial zone only, by paying into a fund that would be used for off-street public parking, such as a garage, or a shuttle service. Some owners have
A special delivery Mike Tom, an Oceanside letter carrier, helps to save a woman lost in grief and despair. B1
expressed interest but no applications have been submitted, likely because how much they would pay hasn’t been established in the five years since the plan was adopted. At the March 18 meeting, council discussed a potential fee of $30,000 per space and asked staff to return with more specifics. At the July 1 meeting, staff recommended setting the fee at $30,000 per stall per year, excluding land costs, based on the average cost to build a parking structure. The full fee would be required up front for major remodels or any new projects, which are limited due to available space in the downtown area.
Two Sections, 36 pages Arts & Entertainment . A12 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . B12
Taking a stand Parents at a Carlsbad elemnetary school are fighting to save art classes. A6
Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B14 Food & Wine . . . . . . . . . B8 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A13
Existing owners who want to expand or change their business use would be allowed to make $1,000 annual payments that equate to $2.74 a day for each space. By comparison, Planning Director Kathy Garcia said it costs $22 a day to parking in a metered space. Fee suggestions from restaurateurs, the businesses most likely to use the program, ranged from $60 to $475 per year per stall. Property owner George Conkwright suggested the cost be comparable to what businesses pay for sidewalk cafes, which is slightly more than $2 per square foot, or $650 annually. He said the fee “provides nothing more than a waiver of requirements,” and a parking
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meter at least guarantees a parking space. Resident Bill Michalsky, the only other person to address council on the topic, described the in-lieu program as “piecemeal establishment of what should be an orderly process to develop a parking master plan in our city.” He said he doesn’t oppose the concept, but it should not be adopted until the location of a parking facility has been identified, a design is complete and costs and financing are determined. He said the program benefits businesses but creates a burden for residents. “This is a no win for the people who reside in the adjoining zones until other fixes are in place,” Michalsky said. “This is not right or fair to the residents. How many gifts might you give away before the real parking spaces show up?” According to the code, the city is not required to provide the parking until business owners have committed to 50 inlieu spaces. Council members generally support the program but agree more work is needed on TURN TO PARKING ON A19
DEL MAR — As part of a program to increase train safety, an existing pole north of the old train station will be replaced by year’s end with an antenna about 3 feet taller. In 2008, Congress passed the Railway Safety Improvement Act in response to several fatal rail accidents between 2002 and 2008 — the most notable being a 2008 collision in which 25 people died after a Metrolink train, en route from Los Angeles to Moorpark, rammed a freight train in Chatsworth. The new law requires Positive Train Control, a GPS-based technology that can prevent train-to-train
collisions, derailments caused by excessive speed and unauthorized train entry into a work zone. Positive Train Control will continuously monitor train movements and, if necessary, bring them to a safe stop to prevent accidents. The Federal Railroad Administration’s first safety program since 1994, Positive Train Control must be in place by Dec. 31, 2015, “which is a very aggressive implementation for an emerging technology,” Eric Roe, North County Transit District’s deputy chief operating officer for rail systems, told council members TURN TO TRAIN ON A18
A program to increase train safety will result in an existing pole north of the old train station being replaced by with an antenna about 3 feet taller, as shown in this rendering. Courtesy photo
Shortages, delays expected under still strained court budget By Rachel Stine
REGION — After five years of devastating cuts, the California Judicial Branch has received a marginal raise in state funds for the new fiscal year. Yet downsized staff,courtroom closures, case delays, and other deficiencies are expected to remain throughout the San Diego Superior Court system, including the North County Division at the Vista Courthouse,until pre-recession funding levels are restored. About half a billion dollars in state funding has been cut from California courts’ budgets over the previous five years due to General Fund deficits from the economic downturn. The state’s 2013-14 budget, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed on June 27, restores $60 million to trial
courts funding. Though it will receive a modest increase this year, San Diego Superior Court’s budget has been cut by over $30 million during the previous five years, according to Karen Dalton, public affairs officer for the county courts. Because of the budget cuts, the San Diego Superior Court has eliminated more than 330 court employees, closed or restructured operations in over 20 courtrooms, as well as cut down phone and business counter service hours during that time, she said. The Vista courthouse, which serves all of North County, closed its entire probate department and one of its two juvenile dependency courtrooms in 2012, and TURN TO BUDGET ON A18