A Life-Style Battle in Descanso

Descanso is so small it doesn’t even have a supermarket, says Sherry Rusch, who lives in the bucolic town that lies at the foot of the Cleveland National Forest.

Life without a supermarket would be inconceivable and inconvenient for many people, but Rusch and a group of neighbors say the simple life Descanso offers suits them just fine.

“We want to keep Descanso a quiet, beautiful place,” Rusch said. “Keep it true to its name, which means ‘a place of rest’ in Spanish.”

But Rusch and some of her neighbors fear that a recent change in zoning standards in the heart of town could lead to commercialization that would put an end to their tranquility.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors--against the unanimous recommendations of the Descanso planning group, the county Planning Commission and its own Planning Department staff--last October approved the request of Paul Barkley, co-owner of Perkins Corner Store, to change the zoning for land behind the store from residential to commercial.

Appalled by the supervisors’ action, Rusch and Diane Janssen formed Descanso Residents for Rural Preservation. The grass-roots organization is lobbying the supervisors to reverse their decision.

The group contends that the supervisors received inaccurate information used in making their decision, and it hopes for a rehearing.

So far its efforts have been futile, and last Sunday, the group held a neighborhood rally in an attempt to drum up community support.

The group says such support is needed to get the supervisors’ attention. In February, the group received a helping hand from its representative, Supervisor George Bailey, who asked that the board consider a rehearing. But Bailey’s motion failed to receive a second from his colleagues.

“By not seconding (Bailey’s) motion, the board basically said, ‘We don’t even want to consider new evidence for a rehearing,’ ” said Dianne Jacob, Bailey’s chief of staff. “The board apparently feels the issue has been decided and there’s no point in opening it up again. But (Bailey) felt they should at least be given an opportunity to be heard.”

Rusch couldn’t agree more.

“The County Board of Supervisors granted a rezone in the center of town, at Perkins Corner . . . something our citizens didn’t want, something our local planning group didn’t want . . . “ Rusch said.

“Something the board’s own Planning Department recommended against. They haven’t even heard our arguments. We’re outraged, but we’re being beaten by the bureaucracy and we really don’t know what to do.”

Bailey’s colleagues on the board offer a collective groan when asked about the Descanso zoning issue, especially because the land in question is a fairly small parcel: 2 1/2 acres.

“They did receive a legal and proper hearing,” said John Woodard, Supervisor Brian Bilbray’s chief of staff. Bilbray “reached his decision after he took all the information into consideration. These residents want to put a gate around their community, but the fact of the matter is that they can’t. This is by no means a bad planning decision.”

Barkley, one of three owners of Perkins Corner Store, says he’s glad the board made its own judgment rather than rubber-stamp the local planning group’s decision.

“The planning group in Descanso is not an elected group,” Barkley said. “They appoint themselves and are against just about everything. I don’t think they represent the broad view of the people. They support a minority view which believes in a stringent no-growth policy.”

However, some Descanso residents say they are outraged that their planning group was ignored and upset that the board rejected its own Planning Department’s decision.

Department officials also expressed surprise at the board’s decision.

“It doesn’t happen very often . . . It rarely happens,” said Ann Ewing, a principal planner with the department, referring to the board overruling a recommendation agreed on by all three planning groups. Ewing presented the three conclusions before the supervisors at the October hearing.

“For that matter, the Board of Supervisors agrees with the (local) planning group more often than not,” she said.

“The Planning Commission was concerned about (traffic) circulation, that the roads weren’t big enough to handle more traffic; there were also septic and drainage concerns--that they were not adequate--and there was concern that the community character would change . . . that (the project) was too commercial. They denied approval on those grounds,” Ewing said.

But the supervisors say such concerns will be addressed because of development conditions required as part of the project, regulating building design and layout, parking, landscaping and preservation of existing oak trees.

For 15 years, Barkley says, he’s owned the 3.5-acre lot on which Perkins Corner Store sits, building up the site without complaints from neighbors. The current commotion puzzles Barkley, who says he has no sinister development plans.

“It’s quite well known that eventually we’re going to build 10,000 square feet of additional commercial space,” he said. “And we’ll lease the space to beauty shops, barber shops, hardware stores . . . . Those are the types of services we’re hoping to provide.