Reopen Pomerado Road by Monday, Judge Rules

A judge ordered Thursday that Pomerado Road, a handy shortcut for Poway commuters to and from San Diego, be reopened by 5 p.m. Monday.

However, Les Girard, San Diego deputy city attorney, said after the brief court hearing that it is “highly unlikely” that the newly constructed four-lane road will be opened by the Monday deadline because he has new evidence showing the road was closed legally.

Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Miller brushed aside Poway City Atty. Stephen Eckis’ proposal to have his city remove the barricades from the 2-mile roadway and reopen it immediately.

“I have no intent of seeing this matter degenerate into a Hatfields and McCoys controversy,” the judge said.

Instead, Miller heeded Girard’s contention that it would take at least two days of good weather to remove the barricades and moved the deadline for the road opening from today to Monday.

He ordered San Diego to reopen the controversial roadway Monday “no later than the close of business, more specifically 5 p.m.,” or file a writ by 4 p.m. Monday stating why the road opening was not possible.

Pomerado Road, which links Poway Road with Interstate 15 at Scripps Ranch, was closed by the city of San Diego in 1988 when the city annexed the land around the road. Poway officials did not oppose that road closure, which San Diego said was to construct a new and safer roadway that met the city’s engineering standards. The newly constructed Pomerado has sat idle since its completion in October, but Poway City Council members decided in November to file suit to force San Diego to remove the barricades.

Court maneuvering and conflicting legal opinions have clouded the issue, which lies mainly with the fierce opposition of Scripps Ranch residents to the increased flow of traffic through their upscale suburb that a road reopening would generate.

After Thursday’s hearing, Girard told reporters that he would not file an appeal of the judge’s ruling, which would bring an automatic stay of Miller’s order, until he could meet with the San Diego City Council. That meeting, Girard said, could not take place until Tuesday night or Wednesday when the council has scheduled its next formal sessions.

But Girard already has filed a motion for a new trial, a motion that claims the city has discovered new evidence that the road was closed legally through amendments to the city’s General Plan approved by the council in 1987.

Eckis said he received a copy of the San Diego attorney’s motion for a new trial late Thursday when he returned to his law offices from the court hearing but had not had time to study the 50- to 60-page document.