San Dieguito River Valley
An upscale development that will include 96 houses, an 18-hole golf course, a country club and a restaurant was approved Wednesday by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for a 266.4-acre site in a canyon just south of the lower San Dieguito River Valley.
The supervisors voted 4 to 0 to approve the Heritage Hills Country Club for La Zanja Canyon, a finger-like valley in an undeveloped area between Fairbanks Ranch and North City West.
The project won the support of homeowners from nearby communities but was opposed by environmentalists. The former prefer the Heritage Hills project to a previous plan for the same site, endorsed by supervisors three years ago, that would have allowed 125 homes.
The Heritage Hills plan, along with other golf courses and “estate home” developments already constructed, “makes the San Dieguito River Valley one of the most exciting areas to live in Southern California,” nearby homeowner Brian Manning said.
Spokeswomen for the Sierra Club and the Friends of the San Dieguito River Valley, however, said Heritage Hills will use too much water and prove destructive to endangered species.
“A few--like Heritage Hills Country Club--are asking to continue importing and squandering water while the rest of us are asked to take two-minute showers,” said Alice Goodkind, leader of the 350-member Friends of the San Dieguito River Valley.
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