La Jolla Valley Faces Foreclosure : 5,100-Acre Project Is Up for Sale; Spurred Vote on Controlled Growth

The owner of La Jolla Valley, a proposed 5,100-acre university-housing-industrial complex whose specter led to voter approval of San Diego’s controlled-growth initiative last year, is facing foreclosure.

A notice of default was filed Nov. 25 at the county recorder’s office by the Teamsters’ Union Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund, which is owed $23.7 million by La Jolla Valley Properties.

La Jolla Valley Properties is an affiliate of Campus Crusade for Christ International, which planned to build a 10,000-student graduate university on the North City property. Financing for construction of the campus was to come from development of a 750-acre industrial park on the site.

Portions of the La Jolla Valley project were approved for immediate construction during an emotional 5-4 vote by the City Council in September, 1984. The vote moved the property from the city’s “future urbanizing area” to the “planned urbanizing area,” a distinction that allowed the development to proceed.

But the project and the City Council’s decision drew widespread opposition from many community activists and environmentalists, and led to Proposition A, which was approved overwhelmingly by San Diego voters in November, 1985, despite an expensive campaign against it by the development industry.

Proposition A requires voter approval to remove land from the city’s future urbanizing area. And it was retroactive to 1984, thereby halting the La Jolla Valley project.

Lawyers for La Jolla Valley have filed a lawsuit contending that Proposition A doesn’t apply to their development.

La Jolla Valley Properties--a joint venture of Signal Landmark Inc. and University Development Inc.--bought the North City property in September, 1979. Since then, Signal Landmark has sold most of its interest to University Development, a company wholly owned by Campus Crusade.

James Milch, a San Diego attorney who represents University Development in its lawsuit against the city and in the company’s land-use matters, said Friday that Campus Crusade is in negotiations with a potential buyer for La Jolla Valley, though he said he wasn’t familiar with the details of the discussions.

Tracy Johnson, a spokesman for Campus Crusade, based in Arrowhead Springs in San Bernardino County, confirmed that negotiations with a potential buyer are occurring, and that Campus Crusade hopes to sell the property before next Friday’s 9 a.m. trustee sale.

Johnson said she couldn’t identify the potential buyer because the negotiations are confidential. In addition, she said she couldn’t comment on whether the Teamsters are seeking payment of the entire $23.7 million or restitution of back payments.

Milch said that he expects whoever buys the property will want to continue on with the lawsuit against the city since future development of the 5,100 acres hinges on its outcome.