Hosp Grove Purchase Is Up Again in Carlsbad

Despite a setback at the polls in November, city officials and some residents here have not given up on an effort to save Hosp Grove, a scenic eucalyptus forest threatened by development.

The City Council is expected to decide tonight whether to once again ask Carlsbad voters to approve a purchase of the grove to prevent construction of a residential and commercial project there.

On Nov. 4, a ballot measure that would have raised property taxes to finance acquisition of the 52-acre thicket fell just short of the required two-thirds share, gaining 64.47% of the vote.

Although the city was supposed to allow construction of a 10-acre commercial project and 104 condominium units if the ballot measure failed, the proposition’s strong showing at the polls persuaded the council to seek new ways to buy the property and allow the forest to stand.

Mayor Claude (Bud) Lewis and Councilman Mark Pettine met Nov. 20 with representatives of the landowner, Los Angeles-based Grove Investment Partnership, and came away with an agreement to give the city another chance to acquire the forest.

Hoping to do just that, the council will consider several options tonight for financing purchase of the property, a dense stand of eucalyptus trees carpeting the hills that rise from the southern shore of Buena Vista Lagoon. If all goes according to the plans of City Hall officials, the matter will go before voters in March, with a simple majority vote required to authorize buying the forest for about $6.5 million.

“Hosp Grove has become a very emotional issue to a lot of folks,” Lewis said Monday. “And that’s why I hope we’ll be able to put it on the ballot.”

The new effort to buy the grove comes on the heels of several actions by residents who have rallied around the forest, often called the gateway to Carlsbad because of its prominent spot near the intersection of Interstate 5 and California 78.

Last week, the Neighborhood Alliance to Save Hosp Grove gathered more than 4,000 signatures in support of a referendum that seeks to thwart zoning changes that lead to development.

On Monday, the citizens group followed up by filing a lawsuit challenging the project’s environmental review, charging that the report failed to adequately address the effect new homes in the grove would have on traffic and schools.

Dan Hammer, a leader of the pro-grove forces, said the referendum and lawsuit represent little more than a safety net should the council’s efforts to purchase the grove fall through.

Lewis, however, gave the grove advocates additional credit, saying he felt their efforts had helped force the landowners’ hand, pushing them to again consider selling the land.

“Because of the stalemate caused by the referendum and all the other problems with getting the development pushed through, I think they decided they might be better off getting out if they could,” Lewis said.

Hammer expressed guarded optimism that the council will agree tonight to go forward with efforts to purchase the land and that, in turn, city residents would vote overwhelmingly to buy it.

“Hosp Grove has become a symbol for all of Carlsbad that it can do something positive to preserve our remaining open space and preserve some character in the community,” Hammer said. “It goes to an emotional core, certainly for me and a lot of other people.”

The citizens’ alliance began working to save the forest earlier this year, when a 216-unit condominium development on 26 acres went before the council for approval. After residents lambasted the project, the council agreed to delay it, calling for an environmental review.

Eager to work out a compromise in the meantime, city officials began negotiating with the landowner. If the ballot measure had been approved by voters, the city would have bought the land. If it failed, the developer would build a scaled-back condominium and commercial project.

Leaders of the Neighborhood Alliance to Save Hosp Grove complained that even a smaller-scale project would sacrifice too many trees. When the development went before the council in October, members of the group protested, but the council voted unanimously to endorse the proposal.

The strong showing of Proposition F in the November election changed all that. Suddenly, the idea of again trying to figure out a way to purchase the grove caught fire.

A tentative agreement between the city and the landowners calls for purchase of the land for $5.7 million. In addition, about $750,000 would go to two firms planning to build in Hosp Grove--Odmark Development Co. and Collins Development Co. The money would reimburse the firms for expenses they have incurred in pursuing development of the property, city officials say.

City Hall officials have been busy preparing a letter of intent that would be signed by the landowner and the developer, signaling their intention to enter into an agreement.

As city officials see it, bonds could be sold to finance acquisition of the grove. Over a 20-year period, the city’s annual payment would be about $633,000.

To meet those costs, officials have proposed three alternatives, all of them requiring voter approval:

- Raise the city’s transient occupancy tax, the bed-tax fee it charges motels and hotels, from its existing 6% to 9%. If approved by a simple majority vote of the electorate, it would raise about $600,000 annually.

- Increase business licenses on new construction from 2.5% to 2.75%, a move that would raise $12 million by the time the city is built out. This would also require a majority vote.

- Issue general obligation bonds and repay them by raising property taxes. This method, which would require a two-thirds vote, is the same scheme that was proposed by the city with Proposition F.