Supervisors Hold Off on Tecate Sewer District : Border: Board cites ‘little people’ in taking its time on the proposal, which would be financed by residents.

Citing concern for “the little people” of Tecate, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday delayed for 60 days a decision on whether to approve facilities for a sewer and water district that would be financed in part by the town’s residents.

San Diego developer Tom Hom, who bought more than 140 acres in Tecate in 1979 with other members of his family, has applied to form a type of district that caters to large landholders: The higher the assessed value of the land, the greater the weight of the owner’s vote.

The Board of Supervisors heard testimony Wednesday on both sides of the issue, which has pitted out-of-town investors hoping to see the ramshackle town of Tecate develop against those who say the project would harm the area’s biological resources, deplete the aquifer and prompt development the backcountry is unprepared to handle.

The high hookup fees and assessments that would finance the district could also force Tecate’s small business people and single-family residents--some on retirement pensions--to sell their property and move out, opponents of the project told the board.

Proponents say a planned $11-million expansion of the border crossing in Tecate is sure to bring development of some kind and that a sewer and water district will ensure that it is orderly. They also say the district will ensure a good water supply for firefighters, protect ground water from the perils of decrepit septic systems and create a strong tax base for the county by increasing property values and generating jobs as the region develops.

While supervisors appeared committed to the eventual formation of a sewer and water district in Tecate--which is overshadowed by its 100,000-citizen Mexican sister city of the same name--in a unanimous vote they asked staff to study ways to limit the economic burden on those who now live and work in the 100-person country town.

“I need to know at this point if there’s any way of protecting these little people and answering some of these questions,” said Supervisor George Bailey, who requested the 60-day continuance. “The basis of approval is by area land holdings, not occupancy. This leaves the poor little guy who moved up to Tecate because it is a cheap place to live hanging high and dry. I don’t think they should have this shoved down their throat.”

A report commissioned by Hom and other project proponents estimates that each hookup would cost $7,000, followed by steep assessments to finance the district.

The board was scheduled to decide Wednesday whether to grant Hom a permit to construct the sewage treatment plant, water storage tanks and sludge and percolation ponds that would compose the heart of the public sewer and water district.

The permit was denied in December by the county Planning and Environmental Review Board, and again in March when Hom appealed that decision to the county Planning Commission. This appeal marks the last rung of the bureaucratic ladder.

If the permit is approved by the board Nov. 4, Hom will take his proposal to the Local Agency Formation Commission, which will evaluate it and decide whether to put the sewer and water district to a vote. That decision then goes back to the supervisors for final approval.

Hom--as well as a host of other out-of-town developers--have been waiting to build in Tecate for years, but a 1986 update to the county’s regional plan for the area stated that a sewer and water district should be in place before any substantial commercial or industrial development. The Board of Supervisors voted to approve that update.

Supervisors Wednesday weighed their commitment to those who hope to develop the area against those who already live and work there.

“My concern is we sort of led the property owners down the path, and now we’re about to pull the rug out from under them,” Bilbray said of the investors who may have interpreted the county’s 1986 regional plan as a sure sign of development possibilities in Tecate.

Some of those investors, who bought into holding companies headed by one of the project proponents, flooded board chambers Wednesday wearing giant construction paper tags that read, “For a Safe Environment: Tecate Sewer and Water District NOW!”

“I own a piece of land there. From my standpoint it’s a good project--to further promote development down there,” said Pauline Lessman. “We’ve all got a lot of money invested down there. And we’re not wealthy landowners.”

A host of Tecate residents, business people and environmentalists testified against the project.

“We would be forced to pay thousands of dollars that we do not have. We are senior citizens and we don’t have the money,” Tecate resident Juanita Villalpondo said.

Hom and his attorney, Gregory Garratt, said they will go “back to the drawing board” to address the issues raised by supervisors.

“Those were legitimate questions,” Hom said. “We’ll address them at the next hearing.”