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Dunbar Lane activists suffer reverses in GP 2020
By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors completed hearings May 18 for the commercial and industrial portion of planning for the county’s general plan update.
Supervisors voted to accept staff proposed local land use designation revisions with several specific amendments — among them, to the dismay of many, was placement of industrial at a hotly contested Alpine intersection.
Numerous county residents attended the hearings, which spanned two Wednesday board sessions, and Alpiners were among many who left the process defeated and somewhat angry.
“There is no smart planning in GP 2020,” said Elita Tinge, a resident of Valley Center. “You’re cutting businesses and cutting jobs. This is nothing but the government self-fulfilling, and not taking into consideration the hard working, taxpaying residents of San Diego County.”
There were several concerns raised along these lines including an announcement by the Lakeside Planning Group, that the community had withdrawn any and all support for the plans laid out in GP 2020.
“It’s hard to get our group to come to a consensus on anything,” said the LPG chair. “We need county staff to come and work together with us on the specifics for our community and we’ll see where we are then.”
After hearing from the public about various residents’ preferences for various unincorporated communities, supervisors made a motion to accept the baseline 2005 map with amendments from each member regarding his or her specific jurisdiction.
“A few weeks ago, I took the time to drive out to every area in my district where I knew there was some difference of opinion between planners, community groups and property owners,” said District 2 Supervisor Dianne Jacob. “Some of those uses have been longstanding in the community. When folks talk about preserving community character, it’s these businesses that are the backbone of the engine that makes these communities what they are.
In Alpine, members of the Dunbar Lane Task Force, who were fighting the prospect of industrial development at the corner of Dunbar Lane and Chocolate Summit, were dealt a blow at the Wednesday hearings when the supervisors voted to put an I-1, limited impact industrial designation on the specific parcel.
This designation allows light manufacturing, processing, and assembly uses with few or low nuisance characteristics and environmental impacts.
The land owner, Lyle Morton, had requested a neighborhood commercial designation on the parcel, which is pinched between Interstate 8 and Chocolate Summit, with a large church just down the street to the east and the new middle school under construction just to the north. Neighborhood residents voiced concerns, not only about traffic and noise, but also that a commercial establishment, such as a corner store or gas station, would provide an ideal place for school kids to hang out after hours.
“I have personally spoken with many community members, and got their signatures. They are all in favor of keeping it residential” said Tammy Carter, a Dunbar Lane resident. “I visited hundreds of our neighbors and they all have the same voice — keep it residential. Please consider the community’s voices.”
Evelyn Provoznik, who heads the Dunbar Lane Task Force, read excerpts from the Alpine community plan, adopted only three years ago, which found no need for more commercial designations in that area, “we don’t need commercial at every exit,” she said.
“We have been before this board, the planning commission and the Alpine Planning Group more times than I care to figure, about commercial at the corner of Dunbar and Chocolate Summit,” said Dunbar area resident Marilyn Wojak,, “we do not want it. We do not need it.”
“A commercial designation here concerns me greatly,” said Jacob, within whose jurisdiction this area falls. “But proximity to I-8 and community changes make residential inappropriate as well.”
“We heard from many, many residents about this little, two-acre piece of land,” said Alpine Planning Group Chair Mark Price. “We are in agreement that this parcel should no longer be designated as residential.”
Many of the concerns raised by specific property owners and community groups are issues that will be addressed in the zoning portion of the GP 2020 planning.
The vote was unanimous in favor of accepting the baseline map 2005 with amendments.
See
GP 2020 maps and land-use designations for Alpine area
See
GP 2020 maps and land-use designations for the Back Country
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Christy Scott
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