Environmentalists, Developers Ally in Prop. D Campaign

An unlikely coalition of San Diego developers, environmentalists, preservationists and politicians gathered Thursday to launch the Yes on Proposition D campaign, which, if approved by voters in November, would allow the city to trade industrial property for parkland in Los Penasquitos Canyon.

The proposed deal would require the city to give Genstar Southwest Development Co., one of San Diego’s largest developers, 166 acres of public land in Sorrento Valley located immediately east of Interstate 5, near its junction with Interstate 805. The property is on the fringes of the 2,530-acre Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve.

In return, Genstar would give the city 291 acres the company owns deep in the preserve near a scenic waterfalls area. The company would also give the city $1 million for preserve maintenance.

At the heart of the transaction is a change in the development status of the land that would be turned over to Genstar, which owns an adjacent industrial-research park called Sorrento Hills.

The property is in the city’s urban reserve and off limits to construction until 1995. But that would change if Proposition D is approved.

That’s because another measure, Proposition A, the city’s slow-growth initiative passed last year, requires voters to approve any changes to the 50,000-acre urban reserve.

The intent of Proposition A, a grass-roots measure that pitted environmentalists against developers, was to restrain urban sprawl and prevent more leapfrogging development.

By giving voters the authority to approve development in the urban reserve, rather than relying on the City Council, supporters of the initiative believed growth could be more firmly controlled.

Proposition D is the first such public vote scheduled as a result of last year’s Proposition A. But it’s not the kind of test that anyone would have envisioned a year ago, as on Thursday the lions and the lambs joined together to promote the November measure.

“It’s a win-win situation,” said Pam Stevens, chairwoman of the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve Citizens Advisory Committee. “It’s a historic vote that’s good for the community and good for the developer.”

Gathered at the Executive Hotel in downtown San Diego for Thursday’s press conference launching the Yes on Proposition D campaign were many of the city’s leading environmentalists and preservationists: Ruth Duemler of the Sierra Club, Susan Carter of Citizens Coordinate for Century III, Leo Wilson of Friends of Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve and Dave Kreitzer of San Diegans for Managed Growth, the group that sponsored Proposition A.

Also there were council members Ed Struiksma and Abbe Wolfsheimer, county Supervisor Susan Golding, and representatives from Genstar, including M.R. “Mim” Scott, Genstar president.

All except Scott were introduced as co-chairpersons of the Citizens for Open Space and Yes on Proposition D, the organization formed specifically for what proponents hope will be a low-key campaign.

That the proposition has been able to attract such a breadth of interests probably explains why no organized opposition has yet surfaced, including the lack of an opposing argument in voters’ pamphlets.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to preserve sensitive open space and at the same time (receive) $1 million,” said Struiksma, who has worked on the land swap for two years.

“We’re here for motherhood, apple pie and Proposition D,” said Golding, noting the broad support for the measure.

Bruce Warren, a lobbyist for Genstar, said the company is looking at the deal as a way of expanding its Sorrento Hills industrial park, which is now in the planning stages. “Once consummated,” Warren said, “Genstar will make money on it . . . that’s part of the free enterprise system.”

The 166 acres Genstar would receive was once owned by Genstar, but the company donated the land to the city in 1979 as part of the preserve. The land, however, is separated from the rest of Penasquitos Canyon by a ridge.

Penasquitos Canyon, a swath of land that stretches across the city from Sorrento Valley on the west to Interstate 15 on the east, is one of the last remaining coastal canyons in Southern California untouched by growth, according to canyon preservationists.

When Genstar officials were first wishing they could get back the Sorrento Valley land they once owned, the company received inquiries from then-San Diego County Supervisor Roger Hedgecock about a possible public purchase of its waterfall property.

Those discussions led to the agreement to swap land.

City appraisals show that the preserve land in Sorrento Valley is worth $1 million more than the land Genstar has to offer. The company has agreed to pay the difference, along with all other costs associated with the transaction, city officials say.

Scott, the Genstar president, said an initial opinion survey conducted by the company shows that voters favor Proposition D once the benefits of the land trade are explained.

Supporters of the measure say the campaign will probably be low-profile, limited to a $70,000 to $80,000 mailer sent to voters the middle of next month and perhaps a newspaper advertisement published close to Election Day. Scott said that because few donations to the campaign are expected, Genstar will probably pick up the costs of the mailer and the ad.