Bill Seeks Funds for Off-Road Park

Assemblywoman Carol Bentley (R-El Cajon) said Thursday that she is introducing legislation that would direct the state to pay $6.2 million to lease a new 1,200-acre off-road vehicle park on Otay Mesa.

Bentley said her bill would also have the state pay an additional $1.7 million to develop and maintain the proposed park, which has been a top priority for off-road vehicle enthusiasts in San Diego County.

The bill resurrects a project that has failed to make it through the Legislature the past two years, despite lobbying by the San Diego landowner, Roque de la Fuente II, and off-road vehicle owners. De la Fuente’s family owns more than 900 acres to be included in the proposed parkland, which is next to the state’s Richard J. Donovan Correctional Center as well as the East Mesa County Jail now under construction.

At De la Fuente’s insistence, the previous deal was structured in such a way that his name was removed from property records so he could not be sued for off-road vehicle injuries during the 20-year lease. The state offered to buy the land and sell it back to De la Fuente for $1.

But the unusual buy-back provision, plus the fact that state ownership would save De la Fuente a generous amount of property taxes, raised questions about a sweetheart deal. Those concerns, coupled with the state’s chronic budget crunch, scuttled plans for the park in 1989 and ’90.