Restaurant Parking Lot Debate Goes to County

An issue that has raised strong protests from neighborhood residents--whether to allow the landlords of Diego’s Restaurant in Solana Beach to build a parking lot on railroad property--will be decided today by a San Diego County zoning administrator.

The parking lot is proposed for land that is across the street from Diego’s and is owned by the Los Angeles-based Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co.

The decision to approve the parking lot was originally set for March 21, but a dispute over who actually holds the lease on the land, as well as questions about the potential noise impacts on neighborhood residents prompted zoning administrator Sonja Itson to continue the matter.

The proposal is for the construction of a paved parking lot--40 feet by 2,000 feet--east of Highway 101 and north of Via de la Valle. It would have 231 spaces, some of which would be set aside for employees and, possibly, patrons of Diego’s, said James Pieri, spokesman for San Diego-based Americor, Diego’s landlord.

Residents, especially those who live directly across the railroad tracks, are bitterly opposed to the plan. They have complained that their quality of life and the scenic landscape will be adversely affected by the proposed construction.

“I don’t care to be awakened at 2 a.m.” by club patrons starting their cars, said resident Dennis Reusch.

Roy Howard, who said he lives so close to the railroad right-of-way that he can “quite easily throw a tennis ball into and beyond the (prospective) lot,” said many people oppose the plan. “What we’ll see is empty asphalt or a line of cars,” instead of the foliage that currently occupies the lot, he said.

Neighborhood residents have fought the proposed parking lot with the same ferocity they first fought the opening of the club on the west side of State Highway 101 in Solana Beach last year.

Americor spokesman Lawrence Doherty said the new lot will actually alleviate parking problems within the community. “The railroad right-of-way is an ideal site for parking. A lot there will lessen parking problems in the area,” Doherty said.

Among the conditions Americor has already agreed to are:

- Build a five-foot fence around the the lot, cedar wood on three sides and chain link on the fourth.

- Provide landscaping to restore any flora or shrubbery uprooted by construction.

- Absorb the cost of placing a traffic signal and crosswalk at the entrance to the lot, providing a measure of safety for those crossing the street to enter the club and other establishments.

- Provide for a permanent, complete irrigation system for shrubbery around the lot.

After last month’s hearing, new conditions were suggested. They are:

- Post an attendant on the site while the lot is open to ensure permit-only parking.

- Allow parking only on the northern half of the lot after a certain time to be fixed by the zoning administrator, in order to mitigate potential noise impact.

None of the conditions suggested are binding unless the zoning administrator hinges the granting of the permit on compliance with the conditions, Kallmeyer said.

The hearing is set for 9:30 this morning at the County Operations Center Annex, 5201 Ruffin Road.