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Campo
crossroads hot at hearings
Alpine
votes, amendments to be detailed next week
By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
SAN DIEGO — Over the course of two hearings, held May 11 and May 18, The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved maps for the unincorporated communities in the Back Country, listening to hours of testimony from and about various communities.
Chief among the most hotly debated areas was Cameron Corners in Campo. The crossroads will be the subject of a general plan amendment tendered by Star Ranch development proponents.
The supervisors voted to accept the Baseline Map 2005 with some amendments for Back
Country communities and to move on to the next step in GP 2020: road networking.
"The Back Country communities contain limited infrastructure and limited commercial services," said Planning and Land Use staff Dahvia Locke in her presentation to supervisors. "These communities are surrounded by a predominance of rural lands with numerous environmental constraints."
Cameron Corners
During the GP 2020 process five special study sites where identified and detailed planning efforts have been ongoing. At this time work on three of these areas has been completed – Cameron Corners in Campo is one.
During the past year the Cameron Corners Village Subcommittee facilitated six workshops in conjunction with County staff. Between 25 to 50 community members and stakeholders attended and participated in each of these workshops. Through these workshops residents voiced their preference for a small, rural commercial center.
Some participants, however, were not satisfied with the process. William Schwartz attended the May 11 meeting to speak on behalf of Star Ranch a property which spans more than 250 acres in the Cameron Corners area.
"Star Ranch representatives took part in all levels of planning," Schwartz said, "It is our view however, that the current proposal does not sufficiently take into account the future commercial needs of this area.”
Schwartz said Star Ranch intends to file a proposed general plan amendment. Through its own application, owners will seek additional commercial and additional residential areas for approximately 20 additional acres.
"We feel that all though we did participate, the planning group and we were on parallel tracks," Schwartz said. "The planning group kind of viewed us, because we were doing our own thing and moving forward, as separate."
A general plan amendment may be initiated by the Board of Supervisors or the Regional Planning Commission or by individual property owners who want to develop property with a land use or density that is not permitted by the general plan. Proposed amendments are evaluated by the county on several issues, including the need and justification for the amendment, development plans for the property, compatibility with surrounding general plan designations, and potential environmental impacts and mitigation measures.
Chairman Bill Slaff of the Cameron Corners Village Subcommittee said that the request for even more commercial and residential land is not needed. There are currently 27 acres in the area designated as rural commercial. Nearly half is not in use today.
"You just heard from Star Ranch that they want to put additional commercial in and we haven’t even made use of the commercial we have," Slaff said. "I don’t think that we ought to consider any additional commercial/industrial at this time."
The Cameron Corners Village Subcommittee and the residents of the area spent many hours over the course of the past two years talking about and planning the future of the Buckman Springs/I-94 junction. Four concepts were presented to the subcommittee by county planners. Concept four would place commercial away from wetlands and along Buckman Springs Road. Although it did not pass a vote due to lack of quorum, the group participants voiced their preference for concept four. This was later approved by the main group.
Concept 4 contains the following approximate acreages in each land use designation: 27 acres of rural commercial, 11 acres of VR-2, two dwellings per acre; 25 acres of SR-1, one dwelling per acre; 25 acres of SR-2, one dwelling per two acres; and 85 acres of SR-4, one dwelling per four acres.
Descanso and FCI
There are many land-use restrictions in the Back Country, some of which are due to the Forest Conservation Initiative. FCI limits development in certain areas within the Cleveland National Forest until 2010. The Descanso area is impacted by FCI regulations.
John Elliott, owner of Descanso Junction, voiced his concern about FCI regulations at the May 11 hearing. His property, currently designated as commercial, is located within the FCI boundaries.
"They’re saying that because of FCI, that commercial zonings are not allowed," Elliott said. "C-4 is really what it should be."
Elliott has been trying to work with county staff to see how the FCI regulations will impact his property.
"Both the planning commission and staff have said, ‘hey we can work something out with you,’" Elliott said, "but it’s been over two months since the planning commission hearings and I’ve heard nothing from anyone."
This sentiment was echoed by others, many of whom said they wer not involved in area planning.
Next steps
If the Baseline May 2005 map is accepted by the Board of Supervisors, staff will incorporate any changes. Once land use and road network maps are complete, staff will proceed with the full development of GP2020 – draft regional elements, draft community and sub-regional plans, and draft environmental impact report.
GP 2020 is a comprehensive update of the San Diego County General Plan, establishing future growth and development policies for the unincorporated areas of the county. The plan will establish the amount, intensity, and location of future development.
See next week’s edition of The Alpine Sun for a follow up story detailing Alpine planning outcomes and specific amendments made by supervisors at the May 18 hearing.
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