Ambulance Station Move Assailed : Relocation to Park Poses Danger, Nearby Residents Say

A group of angry homeowners near Lomas Santa Fe Drive have called for a hearing to review a county plan to place an ambulance station in an area park, saying it poses serious safety hazards to joggers, bicyclists, horse riders and other park users.

Members of the Sun Valley Homeowners Assn. also charged that county officials failed to follow due process and did not acquire a major-use permit to move a paramedic unit from the Del Mar Fire Station into the regional San Dieguito County Park along Lomas Santa Fe Drive. In general, members said, the county has acted as if the matter is a fait accompli.

But Ray Griset, chairman of the county advisory board for the paramedic unit, known as County Service Area 17, disputed the homeowners’ claims.

“Wherever you put it (the ambulance site) there are going to be joggers,” Griset said. “There are less people jogging and running and riding bicycles (at the proposed location) than on” other nearby roads, he said. “That’s the least occupied area. I doubt if you could find as good a place anywhere for safety. The road is wide there. There are shoulders on both sides with lots of visibility. It’s a straight road for a quarter-mile.”

Worried Over Children

Homeowners, though, are troubled by the specter of children who ride horses that could be spooked by the flashing lights and wailing sirens of the racing ambulance that they claim responds to emergencies about eight or nine times daily.

“Kids ride horses bareback,” said Marge McCracken, president of the association. “There’s not much to hang on.”

She also noted that weekend users of the park could be caught by surprise by a speeding ambulance. “People are walking along, relaxing, not on their guard,” McCracken said. “It’s a safety factor for the entire community. The ambulance must reach somebody quickly, but we might be killed in the effort to get to somebody else.”

Griset, who is also chairman of the Santa Fe Irrigation District, discounted such concerns, saying that few people walk by the site of the station, and that it is “a quarter mile” from the part of the park developed for picnics and softball.

The paramedic unit is being moved east from Del Mar mainly to locate it closer to the center of the district it serves. County Service Area 17 includes Solana Beach, Cardiff and Rancho Santa Fe. Its headquarters is a 24-hour facility in Cardiff-by-the-Sea.

Griset said the Del Mar unit was originally a summertime addition begun two years ago. Last year the county began experimenting with it as a year-round service, but it maintains limited operating hours, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

McCracken says that, while the new location will cut down on ambulance drive time to Rancho Santa Fe, it will also detract from the rural ambiance of the Sun Valley community immediately to the south of the location.

“We support the paramedics. We want a station that’s wonderful,” McCracken said. “But we have fought to maintain this valley in its rural state. It’s horsey. There are no lights at night. When you’re in the country, you can see a candle for miles.”

County’s Attitude Cited

Some area homeowners are offended by the attitude of the county toward residents. Kevin Calvo, who owns rental property in the area, said he was bothered when the county “quietly” installed water and sewage pipes for the temporary paramedics station. “It’s clear that they tried to sneak it in on us,” Calvo said.

McCracken said the original grant establishing the park specifically prohibits all non-recreational uses there.

“They can’t just arbitrarily do it,” McCracken said, claiming the planned facility violates provisions of the 1954 grant from the Rancho Santa Fe Irrigation District, which deeded the park land to the county.

The grant requires that any proposed structure not in keeping with the general plan of the park must be approved by an architectural board consisting of representatives from each of seven area organizations.

Griset said Wednesday that the proposed temporary station no longer violates the terms of the deed. He said that at Monday’s meeting the Irrigation District authorized a temporary use for an ambulance in the park.

Because the new home--a trailer--for the two-member paramedic team will be temporary, a major use permit was not required either, Griset said. McCracken disagrees, saying that because water and sewage lines are being put in, a permit is necessary.

The ambulance station issue will be discussed tonight at the San Dieguito Planning Group meeting.