San Diego
An omnibus spending bill that gives more than $2.6 million to the City of San Diego to buy open space and upgrade parks was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. George Deukmejian.
About $1.6 million of the total is earmarked for the purchase of 6.2 acres adjacent to Los Penasquitos Lagoon.
The city wants to buy and preserve the property, on the southwestern side of Carmel Valley Road, as open space because the land is highly visible from both the lagoon and Torrey Pines State Beach, said Bruce Herring, the city’s interim intergovernmental relations director.
Herring said other money given to the city includes:
- $500,000 to help pay for bicycle paths and public facilities along portions of Sail Bay in Mission Beach. The city has been opening public access along the northern part of the bay, which was formerly used exclusively by private residences.
- $500,000 to build a larger-than-planned recreation center in Canyonside Community Park, near Interstate 15 in Rancho Penasquitos. The additional state funds will allow the city to add an auditorium, gymnasium and meeting rooms to the proposed center.
- $160,000 to help renovate the Balboa Park administration building.
A spokesman for Mayor Maureen O’Connor said the $2.6-million appropriation was a surprise because Deukmejian had been expected to line-item veto all or part of it from the bill.
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