Valley Park’s Land Costs Estimated at $177 Million : Sandag’s Ballpark Figure for Private Property to Be Acquired Hints at Dimensions of the Task

The daunting financial task of developing a 43-mile-long regional park stretching from Del Mar to the foothills of Julian became apparent Friday with a preliminary estimate that the private property coveted for the project may be worth $177 million.

Officials at a meeting of the San Diego Assn. of Governments (Sandag) emphasized Friday that virtually none of the property has yet been appraised and that the $177-million value was a ballpark estimate at best. But officials agreed it was useful in showing the financial scope of the undertaking.

Officials now only have $10 million available to spend--proceeds from a statewide parks and open-space bond issue.

The park planning committee, coordinated by Sandag, includes representatives from the county and city of San Diego as well as the cities of Del Mar, Solana Beach, Escondido and Poway.

Most of the private property identified for inclusion in the project, known as the San Dieguito River Valley Regional Open Space Park, is west of Lake Hodges. It borders the river as it winds through the Santa Fe Valley, between exclusive Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks Ranch, before it dissolves into the San Dieguito Lagoon, beside the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and empties into the Pacific.

Most of the property east of Lake Hodges already is in public hands and, although some bureaucratic transfers may have to occur to allow it to be used as public parkland and open space, it will not involve cash transactions.

The committee on Friday formally proposed the formation of a joint-powers authority that would gradually acquire, develop and maintain the parkland. The county Board of Supervisors and the various city councils will now be asked to approve the joint-powers authority and assign representatives.

Offer by County

Already, the county’s Parks and Recreation Department has offered to operate the park under contract to the joint-powers authority. The park committee agreed that, once the joint-powers authority is formed, it will hire the county to operate and maintain the park--unless a less-expensive park management agency surfaces.

Not an acre of private property has been acquired for the park, but a list of various properties sought for the park was presented for the first time Friday.

Because private negotiations will be required for parkland acquisition, the actual parcels were not specifically identified, but were listed in code.

Even so, San Diego City Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer balked at releasing the list, saying she feared that if the staff’s estimates of the properties’ values were too high, it might have the result of inflating the costs when negotiations begin. Conversely, she said, if the estimates were too low, the committee could be accused of attempting to artificially lower the value of the land, possibly inviting litigation from the landowners.

Varied Land Values

Depending on location and current land use, the estimated value of the land within the proposed park boundaries ranged from $20,000 an acre to $60,000 an acre. Several landowners previously have claimed to The Times that their property is worth closer to $100,000 per acre.

Not surprisingly, most of the highest-valued land was located down river, generally west of El Camino Real in the river lowlands where the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are considering creating a lagoon in trade-off for being allowed to expand their ports in the San Pedro Harbor.

The parcel listing also indicated which other public agencies might be tapped for financial help in acquiring or developing the land. Prominent among them were the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and the Coastal Conservancy. Also mentioned was the possibility of state historic site and park development grants.

The Sandag committee decided Friday to appraise several properties to determine more accurate values, to meet with local real estate brokers to determine current market prices, and to identify which parcels might be dedicated or donated to the park by cooperative owners.