The Battle of the Bog : Preservationists’ Goal in Sight as City Moves to Buy Famosa Slough

In what could resolve one of San Diego’s longest-running standoffs between environmentalists and a developer, city officials announced Wednesday that they have struck a deal to buy the 20-acre Famosa Slough from developer Terry Sheldon for $4.6 million. For the plan to succeed, the city must obtain $2 million from the Legislature and private sources during the next six months.

During a closed session May 2, the City Council approved spending $2.6 million from the city’s wetlands acquisition fund to acquire the marshland near Ocean Beach. The council is counting on Assemblywoman Lucy Killea and Sheldon to win state commitments for the balance of the funds, Mayor Maureen O’Connor said.

With the effort to “save the slough for wetlands for generations to come” lasting the better part of the 1970s and ‘80s, “I consider this a major victory for environmentalists,” O’Connor said.

Group Will Try to Raise Funds

At a news conference in the mayor’s office, O’Connor and Councilman Ron Roberts also announced that a private organization that works to preserve wetland habitats will try to raise the estimated $280,000 needed to restore the slough and maintain it for five years.

The San Diego chapter of Ducks Unlimited would spend the money to set up a natural or mechanical flushing system to prevent water stagnation, which leads to mosquito breeding, said Terry Huff, chapter chairman. The group also would remove debris from the slough and convert the area into an educational park, Huff said.

Killea, whose district includes most of the slough, said Wednesday that she is unsure how much of the $2 million she can win for the purchase before the Nov. 11 deadline. She said she will be looking at the fees paid for vanity license plates as one source of funds.

If Killea’s efforts fall short, the remaining money will have to be raised from unspecified private sources, said mayoral spokesman Paul Downey. Sheldon could reject the deal and hold on to his land if the full $4.6 million is not raised in six months, or he could agree to sell the slough at a different price.

But Roberts said council members do not want to have to turn to private sources for help in purchasing the slough.

“If the state doesn’t come through with its part of the money, then probably we’ll have to renegotiate the deal,” he said.

Sheldon was unavailable for comment Wednesday. Robert Caplan, who represented Sheldon in negotiations, said a renegotiated price is unlikely.

“Our negotiations and the agreement were at the $4.6-million mark, and I have no reason to believe that the owner would be willing to accept a lesser amount,” Caplan said.

Battle Began in ‘70s

If it is successful, the deal will end a battle over the fate of the slough that began in the early 1970s, when O’Connor occupied the District 2 council seat that Roberts now holds.

Sheldon, who has owned the land for four years, originally proposed developing it into a 416-unit condominium complex, a plan that city officials Wednesday called unrealistic because of local and federal restrictions on the use of coastal wetlands. Sheldon later offered to put up a 250-unit complex and set aside some of the wetland for preservation.

Sheldon met with fierce opposition from Friends of Famosa Slough, who were determined to preserve the slough as one of the last remaining natural wetlands in San Diego. But the city shied away from considering a purchase for years, saying it could not pay for restoring and maintaining the badly degraded marsh.

Pressure on City

But environmentalists continued to pressure the city, bombarding the council in 1986 with thousands of signatures from people who wanted the slough preserved. The council voted last July to make the purchase and sealed the deal Wednesday after almost a year of negotiations.

Senior Chief Deputy City Atty. Ronald Johnson said Wednesday that Sheldon began the negotiations asking for between $9 million and $10 million before settling on the $4.6-million price and agreeing to use his lobbying clout in Sacramento to obtain some of that money.

“He recognized that he was going to have trouble developing the land” because of state Coastal Commission and federal restrictions, Johnson said.