By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
     ALPINE — At the most recent General Plan 2020 Planning Commission hearing held April commissioners voted on commercial and industrial land use plans for the Alpine area. Many members of the community were on hand at the Friday hearing to give testimony about the land use designations.
     Alpine’s planner Bob Citrano gave a presentation outlining the proposed plans for the area and commissioners heard from many community members.
     Prior to the hearing county staff conducted an extensive planning process including an all day workshop where nearly 80 community members attended. At that workshop, consensus was obtained in some areas, but the community remained divided in many others. Staff recommendations represent a compromise of the varied community interests.

     The Alpine planning area was divided into four sub-regions for planners to deal with 20 specific sites. These are: Town Center, north Tavern Road, east Alpine Boulevard and Dunbar Lane. Of these, the plans for Dunbar Lane proved to be the most controversial.
"It appears we’re going to have some split votes for land-use designation in Alpine," commented planning commission chair Leon Brooks.
     The main problem with the Dunbar Lane proposals, according to many of the people living in the area, is a small lot at the corner of Dunbar Lane and Chocolate Summit Drive. The site measures less than two acres, currently designated residential, which the property owner wants to change to commercial in order to open a business.
     County planners agreed with the owner, Lyle Morton, who lives in La Mesa and recommended a C-3 neighborhood commercial designation for the lot.
     "We realize that the community does not want this," Citrano said, "and we tried to accommodate, but on this particular parcel it just doesn’t making planning sense."
     Rationale for the planning decision is the location of the site, at the entrance to the community and an interstate off-ramp. More discussion surrounded the new middle school that is currently being built right down the street.
     "None of this would be an issue," said commissioner Adam Day, "if that middle school hadn’t come in and plopped itself right in the middle there."
     "With the middle school going up this area is going to become quite a hub," said Bill Schwartz, attorney for Morton.
     Morton was on hand at the Friday hearing and spoke very briefly about his support for the staff recommended land-use designation.
     Several years ago, Morton submitted an application to change the lot designation to commercial, according to Schwartz. However, at that time the application was denied because planners wanted to wait for the GP 2020 process.
     "GP 2020 was supposed to come in and re-zone San Diego," said Tammy Carter, a Dunbar Lane resident, "not spot zone for particular property owners benefits."
     "I ask you to please listen to the community," Carter said. "99 percent of the community is opposed. Why do we want to appease a couple of property owners?"
     "Mr. Morton has owned that property for 35 years," Carter said, "he just hopes that if he lets it fall apart then you’ll come in and change it for him."
     "Traffic from that middle school is going to be horrendous," said Evelyn Provoznik of the Dunbar Lane task force. She continued to say that a corner commercial business would only add to that traffic.
     After hearing from the public the commissioners debated the Alpine plans among themselves.
"There is obviously still a lot of community concern and dissent," said commissioner Dave Kreitzer.
"The use of that property as residential seems very inappropriate," said commissioner Read Miller.
     "Good planning principles does not mean that at every off-ramp you put an AM PM," said Brooks.
     "I very strongly support community members," said commissioner Michael Beck, "in keeping the entire area residential. I’m just not going to support staff’s recommendations on this one."
     When the issue came to vote, most of the plans for Alpine’s land-use designation were approved unanimously. Plans for the Morton property and another large property on the opposite side of I-8 failed. Commissioners Beck and Kreitzer were opposed to the plans. These plans and staff recommendations will now go through to the county with a note that the planning commission did not support the failed proposals.
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