More 2020 Conservation: The February Edition
By Frank Landis, CNPS-San Diego Conservation Chair
YES on A, NO on B in the March 3 Election
It’s only two more months, less if you’re a mail-in voter who will see your ballot about the same time you read this.
Hopefully you know the drill. Vote YES on Measure A, for SOS, aka Save Our San Diego. Vote NO on Measure B, against Newland Sierra. These are part of the same package, to strongly encourage county supervisors to follow the General Plan, realizing that if they do not, their decisions will face the voters.
To do a bit more ad debunking…if you’ve watched the TV recently, it’s hard to avoid ads for and against Measure B, because both sides have deep pockets. One ad states that the General Plan allows more retail space than Fashion Valley, with the implication that Newland Sierra is more sensible.
It isn’t.
Supervisor Desmond inserted that language when he rewrotethe ballot measure in November. His version says, “The existing General Plan allows 99 homes and up to 2,000,000 square feet of commercial with open space. General Plan Amendment PDS2015-GPA-15-001 would authorize up to 2,199 homes and 1,777,684 square feet of commercial. The approved Newland Sierra Project includes a planned community of 2,135 homes, a school site, 81,000 square feet of retail, 36 acres of parks and 1,209 acres of open space.”
Now let’s do a reality check. First, if you’ve driven up I-15 and paid attention to the area north of Deer Springs Road, you know where this “up to 2,000,000 square feet of commercial space” is. It’s the area on the west side of the highway, north of the gas station. There’s about a block of paved road, then it’s undisturbed chaparral and sage scrub on a very steep slope. That’s their business park.
That very steep slope is why their claim is bogus. Yes, it’s zoned commercial, but it’s almost impossible to build most of it. The part that *might* be possible to build is the 81,000 square feet Newland got, although people reading the plan thought that was optimistic too.
The implied threat is bogus too. If Newland Sierra loses on Measure B, they have to start from scratch again. They don’tget a consolation prize that allows them to build a commercial space up the slope if they don’t get their houses, they’re goingto start all over again. From scratch. For the fourth time.
Newland has been doing this for a long time, finding an investor who’s new to the area, selling them on the Merriam Mountains, then trying to get it through. Last time the Supervisors voted them down, and the two times before thatthey didn’t even finish the EIR. Hopefully, you’ll vote yes on A and no on B along with everyone else, so that Newland gets the idea that they’ll have to face the voters every time they find an eager new investor who wants to build a huge project in that area.
As an aside, I learned that Supervisor Fletcher is not fond of the actions of long-ago California Governor Hiram Johnson. While the supervisor and I agree on many things, I think in this case I respectfully disagree. Gov. Johnson wasn’t a paragon(for one thing, he was a rabid isolationist), but as the progressive Republican (!) governor back in 1910, he was instrumental in creating the initiative, the referendum, and the recall. While he is best known for saying “the first casualty when war comes is truth,” I think the appropriate quote for the present moment is “I do not by any means believe the initiative, the referendum, and the recall are the panacea for all our political ills, yet they do give to the electorate the power of action when desired, and they do place in the hands of the people the means by which they may protect themselves.” That’s what Measure A and Measure B do.
Rock Out for Conservation
SAS/Stop All Sprawl (formerly Sierrans Against Sprawl) supports Measure A and opposes Measure B. If you want toget a free yard sign, they’re the people to talk to, and if you want to donate money to pay for yard signs in other peoples’ yards, again they’re the people to go to.
They’re hosting a benefit concert to raise money. It’s February 16, starting at 6 pm, at the California Center for the Performing Arts in Escondido. The headliners are the Spin Doctors, with special guests Tim Flannery with Jeff Berkley and Mike Keneally and Back to the Garden. Tickets start at $35.00.
You can get tickets, garden signs, and donate at the SAS website (https://www.stopsprawl.org).
The National Environmental Protection Act, Proposed to be Gutted by the Current Trump White House
It’s a normal thing now: the nastiest stuff always gets released either on a Friday afternoon or around the holidays. If you’re one of the people who want to be an environmental activist, but also want to go away on the weekends and holidays, be aware that the other side has figured this out, and they’re making your vigilance that much harder by acting when you’re paying less attention.
Latest case in point: the Trump administration is proposing to gut NEPA, the National Environmental Protection Act that is the federal counterpart to CEQA. It’s a set of proposed regulations for how the Act will be administered and enforced. Since I’m writing this on January 12, I only know the details I’ve read in the papers. Fortunately, comments are due March 20, so I’ve got a little time.
PLEASE register your opinion as well. This is a case where the number of people commenting against the change is more important than who is making the comments. And you can comment online at the link below. At the very least, please tell them that NEPA’s worked better since 1978 than the new version they are proposing now, and that you very strongly urge them leaving it precisely the way it is.
You can find the proposed changes at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/01/10/2 019-28106/update-to-the-regulations-implementing-the-procedural-provisions-of-the-national-environmental. There you can also find directions to comment, either in a letter or online.
Please comment. Your voice matters in this.
Lilac Hills Ranch, Otay Village 13, and Harvest Hills Coming Soon
Nothing new has emerged since January. If you want to get involved in this, involved meaning contacting either your supervisor (Lilac and Otay), your Escondido City Councilmember (Harvest Hills), or showing up at a meeting to speak or cede time, let me know at conservation@cnpssd.org