Pomerado Road to Stay Closed Pending Appeal
Pomerado Road, the controversial highway between Poway and San Diego that has been closed for more than two years, will remain closed at least six weeks longer because the judge who ordered the road reopened declined yesterday to enforce that order.
Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Miller rejected a motion by the city of San Diego for a new trial, ruling that no new evidence exists to warrant a rehearing of the issue.
An attempt by Poway City Atty. Steven Eckis to persuade Miller to order the road reopened immediately was not successful. Miller, noting that an appeals court had agreed to accelerate hearing of the case, said he saw no reason to take the action because the appeals court is expected to settle the issue within a few weeks.
San Diego Deputy City Atty. Les Girard had claimed that city officials only recently discovered that San Diego had properly amended its general plan to allow the road closure, but Miller said Monday that the “so-called purported amendment was not valid and not part of the general plan.”
The judge also questioned whether other San Diego land-use decisions taken in the past 10 years were properly made, saying there is “internal inconsistency” between the general plan and more than 3 dozen community plans.
San Diego officials closed the road, which links Poway with Interstate 15 at Scripps Ranch, in October, 1988, claiming it was unsafe and needed to be reconstructed to meet city safety standards. Poway city officials did not protest the action, but did file suit last November after the $30-million job was completed, claiming San Diego had no right to keep regional traffic off the road once it was improved.
Miller ordered the road reopened Dec. 20 after hearing arguments from both cities, but the road remained closed because San Diego attorney Girard filed his intent to appeal the decision to the 4th District Court of Appeal.
San Diego Councilman Bruce Henderson announced Monday that the appeals court is expected to take up the issue by mid-March.
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