Regional Park Directors Hail Appraisal Plans

Overseers of a proposed 43-mile-long regional park that would stretch across the midsection of San Diego County learned Friday that the county independently has ordered appraisals on two critical properties in the San Dieguito River Valley that, if acquired, would begin to turn the paper park into reality.

The news was hailed by directors of the San Dieguito River Valley Regional Park, which so far is both penniless and propertyless.

In a resolution passed unanimously, members of the park’s joint powers authority (JPA) patted county officials on the back for their progress in acquiring the first real property for the newly formed agency and urged San Diego city officials to speed up similar efforts.

Park Overseers

The JPA, formed to create and oversee the park, which is proposed to stretch from the mouth of the San Dieguito River at Del Mar eastward to the river’s headwaters near Julian, is headed by elected representatives of Del Mar, Poway, Solana Beach, Escondido and the city and county of San Diego.

The proposed county property acquisitions include about 300 acres east of Rancho Santa Fe along the south side of Del Dios Highway, in the so-called Santa Fe Valley, and a 63-acre parcel on the south side of San Pasqual Valley east of Interstate 15. After the acquisitions are made, the land would be turned over to the park authority--the first land to be owned and controlled by the agency.

County Supervisor Susan Golding said the results of the appraisals are expected within 30 to 60 days. She said the two long-sought properties would be purchased with some of the $10 million forwarded to the county after last year’s passage of Proposition A, a statewide measure for the purchase of open space and parklands. That $10-million fund is earmarked for acquisitions in the San Dieguito River Valley but is controlled by the county Board of Supervisors.

Ranks First

The Rancho Santa Fe-area property ranks first on the county’s priority list of acquisitions for the San Dieguito River regional park and encompasses about 300 acres owned by a number of interests, including longtime area farmer Ed McKrink and oceanographer and UC San Diego co-founder Roger Revelle.

The 65-acre San Pasqual Valley tract in Sycamore Creek Canyon is the first choice of the city of Poway for regional park acquisition, Golding said. It contains valuable wetlands and is a vital link joining regional riding and hiking trails. Part of the land is within the northern Poway city limits.

Alice Goodkind, a leader of Friends of the San Dieguito River Valley, criticized San Diego council members for dragging their feet in negotiations on a third river valley parcel near the Del Mar Fairgrounds, pointing out that the council had “gone on vacation,” leaving negotiations hanging on what is considered a key portion of the future park. The San Diego City Council is in recess until Sept. 11.

Executive Sessions

San Diego City Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer, who co-chairs the authority with Golding, explained that the City Council has been meeting in executive session in an attempt to buy another privately owned parcel situated on both sides of Interstate 5 in the river flood plain.

She said the city has “about $3 million” in a wetlands acquisition fund that earmarks expenditures for the San Dieguito River site and two others.

San Diego could only acquire about 70 acres of the 109-acre site, property within the city limits, she said. The land, if acquired, would be turned over to the regional park authority, she said.

The Del Mar Fair Board, which operates the fairgrounds, had acquired an option on the wetlands property, but the agreement was voided by a state review board. The board now has decided to acquire only 12 acres to expand its parking lots.

James Massey, county park project manager, said the Rancho Santa Fe-area property is a first priority for acquisition because it contains an important archeological site and because property owners are eager to develop it.