Scramble for Revenue Cited : Sandag Warns of Threat to Open Space in S.D. County

The San Diego Assn. of Governments urged the county and various cities on Friday to agree on a strategy to preserve the San Dieguito Valley and other rural areas that could fall prey to developers in the event of “inter-agency competition for revenue-producing land development.”

Also included in the recommendation by Sandag’s board of directors was the preservation of the foothills east of Otay Lakes on Otay Mesa; Sycamore Canyon and other lands separating Poway, Santee and the City of San Diego, and land adjacent to Carlsbad, San Marcos and Escondido that might be included in incorporation drives by the San Dieguito communities and Rancho Santa Fe.

In essence, Sandag warned that competition among existing and prospective new cities for tax revenue could result in unnecessary development on land not suitable for “city types of services,” such as sewer systems.

“The county and LAFCO particularly, and the cities as well, have an opportunity now to assure preservation of this open, undeveloped area,” said a report from Richard Huff, Sandag’s executive director. LAFCO, the Local Agency Formation Commission, rules on incorporation and annexation proposals.

While the San Dieguito Valley is close to North City West, a sprawling residential development under construction east of Del Mar, and Otay Mesa is viewed by many officials as a future development boom area, none of the land included in the Sandag resolution is slated for development in the near future.

But current negotiations between cities and the county to determine their respective “spheres of influence” will also determine whether the land is developed before the year 2000, and Sandag’s board wanted the various governmental entities to commit to preserving the various areas.

If the county and various cities set aside their competitions for revenue-producing developments in the environmentally sensitive, rural areas, Councilwoman Lois Ewen of Coronado said, “it would be extremely forward-thinking.”

Poway City Manager Jim Bowersox, in a letter to the board, said his city is “particularly concerned about the incentive existing under present conditions for the county to approve certain revenue-producing land uses in areas where urban services are difficult to provide . . . We believe that a strong preservation strategy is not only desirable, but imperative.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman Leon Williams, in a letter to the Sandag board, agreed that “properly designated and protected open space is essential. Independent land development policies by a city or county may increase development of environmentally sensitive areas.”

San Diego Councilman Ed Struiksma said the city’s stand against development of the San Dieguito River Valley would not waver.

“The preservation strategy serves a number of functions,” he said. “It’s the gateway to the City of San Diego, and we want it to remain as it is.”