LAFCO OKs Annexing 345 Acres Near Scripps Ranch to San Diego

Environmentalists and surrounding residents lost a hotly contested battle aimed at blocking the annexation of a 345-acre tract of land by San Diego when Local Agency Formation Commission members voted approval Monday.

The land, which lies north of Scripps-Miramar Ranch and is surrounded by the cities of Poway and San Diego, is the proposed location for 1,350 housing units, a 12-acre school site and a small commercial site by a number of developers.

Final annexation action is expected within the next three months, after a San Diego City Council hearing and formal approval of the annexation by the state.

When the annexation is completed, Pomerado Road will be closed to through traffic at the northeastern edge of Scripps Ranch, said John Fowler, assistant city manager. Closure of the road north to Poway is necessary, he said, because of the city attorney’s concerns about possible liability by the city if accidents occurred along the steep and winding portion that now serves as a Poway shortcut south to I-15 and Miramar Road.

“The city attorney’s office has determined that the (Pomerado) road is substandard,” Fowler said, and that the city could be held liable for accidents occurring along the heavily traveled route once it is annexed into the City of San Diego.

Councilman Ed Struiksma, whose district includes Scripps-Miramar Ranch, said that “Ranch residents will benefit by improved traffic conditions once the Pomerado Road connection to Poway is closed.” Pomerado Road eventually will be reopened after it is rerouted and improved to city standards, he said.

Closure of Pomerado Road “puts pressure on Poway to complete its portion of the new (east-west) highway,” Struiksma said.

Poway traffic, which now clogs Pomerado, will be shunted off to a new highway to be built between Pomerado and the South Poway industrial park to I-15, according to Fowler.

San Diego Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer, a LAFCO member who had led the opposition to the annexation, was the lone negative vote Monday when the commission approved it.

Wolfsheimer said that despite the San Diego City Council’s approval of the measure, “I personally consider it quite premature.” She questioned whether the city could provide the necessary water, police and sewage services required when the area develops.

Two lawsuits aimed at blocking the annexation have been filed, claiming that a large portion of the annexation area is in the city’s urban reserve, which requires a citywide vote of approval before it can be developed.

Poway City Manager Jim Bowersox said that his city welcomes the annexation action and plans to proceed with its pledge to build a portion of the proposed east-west highway linking South Poway with I-15 at Mercy Road. He said that construction is expected to begin within a year and be completed by late 1989.