Hillside Development
Why bother to put laws on the books to protect San Diego’s few remaining canyons and hillsides from the bulldozers if our City Council is always willing to exempt projects from such laws? A case in point is the council’s recent approval of a major development project along a portion of the Carroll Canyon Creek.
The Planning Department strongly recommended against approval because it violated the ordinance protecting steep slopes, because of unmitigable environmental impacts and because of possible ground-water contamination from fertilizers and pesticides used by the project.
Despite these objections, “Bulldozer” Bruce Henderson moved to approve the project and was joined by four other members of our developer-controlled council. This anti-environmental majority included Ron Roberts and Wes Pratt, who, along with Henderson, are desperately looking for big developer contributions to finance tough reelection battles in September.
Unfortunately, only one daily newspaper--the San Diego Daily Transcript--covered this environmental sellout. Still, it’s not too late to do something.
Write your objections to the Department of Fish and Game, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which still have to issue additional permits.
PETER NAVARRO, Chairman, Prevent Los Angelization Now
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