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THE RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
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MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 10, N0. 5
March 7, 2014
County Supervisor Dianne Jacob claims that the fire prevention fee is more like a tax at the Feb. 25 Board of Supervisor’s meeting. Photo
by Rachel Stine
Supervisors keep Study rounds up county’s aerial insects pushing for repeal of state fire fee
Team members prepare a malaise trap to capture aerial insects in the San Dieguito River Park. A year long preliminary study of the insect community in San Diego County is believed to be the first of its kind. Photo courtesy of David O’Connor
By Tony Cagala
REGION — The most numerous species caught were flies, followed by butterflies and then wasps. These were just some of the preliminary results found in malaise traps intended to capture aerial insects in San Diego County. Beginning in August of last year, six malaise traps were set up throughout the San Dieguito River Park. The sampling will end later this August, though there are hopes of continuing on with the project beyond this year, explained conservation ecologist David O’Connor. O’Connor, a former conservation manager with the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy, will soon begin
work as a contract conservation biologist with the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. The Institute is one of the local agencies, along with UCSD, the San Dieguito River Park and the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy, collaborating on the insect trap project. One of the goals of the project is to help build the library of IBoL the (International Barcode of Life) project, a worldwide effort to build a DNA library of everything from flora and fauna to insects and other organisms. San Diego County is considered to be the most bio-diverse county in the lower 48 states, O’Connor explained. TURN TO STUDY ON A14
‘Inefficient’ bridge will remain for at least 3 years By Bianca Kaplanek
REGION — Deemed “structurally inefficient,” the narrow bridge on El Camino Real just north of San Dieguito Road will be replaced with a four-lane structure, but not for at least another three years, according to an update from Dean Marsden at the Feb. 6 San Dieguito Community Planning Group meeting. Marsden, from the city of San Diego Public Works Department, said the bridge would not allow 100-year flood waters to pass underneath. Traffic in the area is currently rated at a level F, the worst, with daily trips expected to increase by 200 percent in the next 20 years. Plans call for the city of San Diego, which has jurisdiction over the area, to even-
tually realign the roadway. According to an environmental impact report, the existing bridge will be removed. There are several different proposals for alignment, and each creates impacts that will need to be mitigated. Roundabouts have been studied, but are not the preferred alternatives, as they would require a large footprint. The San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority, San Diego Association of Governments, California Department of Transportation and San Diego are collaborating to work with the mitigation properties. Much of the funding is from the federal government, which means the TURN TO BRIDGE ON A14
The narrow bridge on El Camino Real, deemed “structurally inefficient,” will be replaced with a four-lane structure, but not for at least another three years. Photo by Bianca Kaplanek
By Rachel Stine
REGION — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is continuing its fight against the annual fire prevention fee billed to property owners in areas where the state is financially responsible for wildfire suppression. “From its inception, I and this board, on record fighting against this tax, have argued that it punishes homeowners who are already doing their part to pay for services in our fire-prone back country,” said Supervisor Dianne Jacob at the Board’s Feb. 25 meeting. Established in 2011, the fire prevention fee is an annual payment collected from property owners in the State Responsibility Area (SRA), land where the state pays for the prevention and fighting of wildfires. The fee is intended to cover the cost of fire protection efforts, including brush clearing, from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. The fee is currently set at $152.33 for each habitable structure located within the SRA.
The fee is reduced by $35 if the building is on property that receives fire protection services from a local agency. The County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to support two legislative measures that would restrict the impact of the fire fees. Assembly Bill 1519 would eliminate the civil penalties levied upon property owners who do not pay the fire fees. Senate Bill 832 exempts owners from paying the prevention fee for buildings that have been significantly damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster. In a consent item, the supervisors agreed to send a letter to express their support for the two bills to San Diego’s legislative representatives in Sacramento. The fees are going to be sent out to property owners in San Diego County from May 8 to May 16 for the fee’s third billing year. Most of those who will be billed have property in unincorporated areas of Rancho Santa Fe, but some TURN TO FIRE FEE ON A14
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