Challenge Doesn’t Intimidate Planners

The development of the San Dieguito River Valley regional park might well be the most challenging undertaking of its type in San Diego County, but planners say they’re not intimidated because they’re not neophytes in the business of park planning.

They point to the nearly 6,000-acre Mission Trails Regional Park near Santee, which they pitch as the largest urban park in the United States.

“The San Dieguito park is a big, splashy project but it doesn’t represent anything outside the normal county experience in working with other agencies in developing a park,” said Bob Copper, director of the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

While the Mission Trails park doesn’t provide the type of ocean-to-mountains linkage that the San Dieguito park would offer, it nonetheless reflects a variety of ecosystems, ranging from the riparian habitat of the San Diego River that traverses it, to the heights of Cowles Mountain.

The park is popular for its hiking and fishing, and there are plans to build a visitor center, which will draw attention to the park as habitat for rare and sensitive plants.

The park was developed in partnership by the city and county of San Diego, starting in the early 1970s. Over the years, more than $10 million has been spent in acquiring the land that today makes up the park.

Today, property acquisition for the park is nearly completed.