Group Seeks Vote on Lake Miramar Construction

Hoping to block a large housing development planned for the northern shores of Lake Miramar, a citizens organization announced Tuesday that it will attempt to force a citywide referendum on the project.

The Save Miramar Lake Committee must collect the petition signatures of 25,593 registered voters by Feb. 8 to qualify a referendum on the development agreement that cleared the way for construction of the Miramar Ranch North housing project.

Under the agreement, given final approval by the San Diego City Council on Monday, BCE Development plans to build 3,360 homes and an industrial park on 1,200 acres north of the lake.

A development agreement is a contract between the city and a developer in which the city trades guaranteed building rights in exchange for construction of needed roads, parks, schools and other public facilities.

Although the final design of the project has not been approved, the recently formed citizens group objects to plans that call for construction of 658 homes above the lake. The group also opposes the heavy grading of hillsides and filling of canyons that would be part of the project.

The project’s supporters, who include the district’s councilman, Ed Struiksma, cite the millions of dollars that BCE would spend on schools, a library and a badly needed east-west road.

Lonna Smith, co-chairwoman of the citizens group, said her organization will attempt to collect 38,000 signatures to ensure it has enough valid ones to qualify a referendum. Part of the effort will be conducted by volunteers, but the group will pay a private signature-gathering firm 50 cents per signature to collect about 30,000 names, she said.

With council members now elected by district, no citywide election is scheduled for 1989. The council would have to call a special election for the referendum, said Mikel Haas, deputy director for elections in the city clerk’s office.

The clerk’s office would recommend that the special election be held along with the September primary for council members in Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7, Haas said.