Forest, Sports Complex Are Also Election Issues

Sharing the ballot with the tumultuous growth issue Nov. 4 are two other measures, one proposing the public purchase of a scenic eucalyptus grove threatened by development, the other asking whether the city should build a sports complex.

Although both issues have yet to attract the attention of the development debate, each in its own way is related to the growth issue.

Proposition F asks whether voters want the city to spend $5.95 million to purchase about 52 acres of Hosp Grove, a dense stand of eucalyptus trees that covers the hills rising from the southern shore of Buena Vista Lagoon.

Planted in 1907, the grove has long been prized by residents in the fast urbanizing city. Originally covering more than 200 acres, the forest is a quarter that size today, little more than a woodsy curtain between the Plaza Camino Real mall and the quiet neighborhoods to the south.

Under an agreement worked out with the landowners, the city can purchase the grove and leave it as open space. If Proposition F gets the required two-thirds vote, bonds would be sold to finance the deal and property taxes would be raised to pay off the debt over a 20-year period.

Because of the nearly $6 million price tag for the trees, often called the gateway to Carlsbad because of their prominent position near the intersections of Interstate 5 and California 78, supporters of Proposition F are not confident the measure will get the required votes. For the owner of a $100,000 house, the property tax bill would rise by about $18 a year.

Should Proposition F fail, developers want to build an “environmentally sensitive” office and commercial project on about 8.8 acres straddling Monroe Street at Marron Road, near the mall. In addition, more than 100 condominium units would be built on the eastern edge of the eucalyptus forest.

The landowners, in exchange, would dedicate a 16.5-acre stretch of eucalyptus trees as permanent open space. The city, meanwhile, would purchase a nine-acre parcel adjacent to Buena Vista Lagoon for $975,000. In all, more than 25 acres of trees would be preserved.

That proposal, however, could change. Last month, the city Planning Commission rejected the landowners’ plans. On Tuesday, the City Council will take a look at the proposal. If the council rejects it, and Carlsbad voters opt not to purchase the grove Nov. 4, city legal officials say the developers could be expected to sue.

The other ballot measure, Proposition H, asks voters whether the city should build a new sports complex of five baseball fields, four football fields and a community center in Macario Canyon.

The measure’s principal architect, James Courtney, maintains the complex is vitally needed because of shortfalls in park space and recreational facilities in the city. A complex in Macario Canyon, located on the south shore of Agua Hedionda Lagoon, would help to fill that gap, Courtney and other Proposition H supporters say.

City officials, however, have come out against the proposition, saying parks in other, more highly populated sections of the city are more urgently needed. In addition, they say, the city would have to spend between $1.4 million and $2.9 million to construct roads and utilities to Macario Canyon because no major development is expected in that area for the next several years.

Supporters of the proposition say it would cost about $3.5 million, but city officials estimate the complex would cost at least $4.25 million to build.