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Wright’s Field mailer adds vigor to debate
By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — A flyer that was distributed to Alpine residents late last week has sparked renewed vigor in the debate over Wright’s Field.
The flyer was mailed out by Richard Singer, one of the owners of the property, and discussed plans to develop some of the land and donate the remainder to the community. This, however, flies in the face of a current option agreement on the 142-acre property between the sellers, Apollo Growth Group Ltd. and Singer, and the Back Country Land Trust.
In 2003, the County of San Diego approached Singer and Apollo Growth Group to purchase their remaining ownership within Wright's Field for conservation purposes. At the time, it was 253 acres.
Singer agreed to sell, but, according to a recent e-mail response from Noelle Collins of BCLT, he was asking more than the appraised fair market value. The county and BCLT together had enough funding in 2003 to purchase 120 acres.
The county purchased the property with matching funds from a State of California highway mitigation fund, which was secured by BCLT, and then transferred the property to the trust for long-term management.
"With the exception of pursuing development plans, Singer has been an absent landowner on the Wright's Field property," Collins said.
BCLT has, with permission from Singer, secured road entrances to prevent illegal off-road activity and has cleaned up illegal dumping on the field, Collins said.
The parties agreed to a two-year option contract to purchase what they couldn't afford at the time. According to BCLT, by signing the option contract, Singer agreed to limit his sale of the property to only BCLT or the county within the two-year option period. Both parties said their attorneys have advised against sharing a copy of the contract with the public.
According to BCLT’s e-mail, the contract states that the county and BCLT are required to pay only the appraised fair market value of the property.
In his flyer, Singer says that BCLT has been unable to raise the money necessary to purchase the property. However, according to BCLT, the group has deposited the required funds into escrow to move forward with the purchase.
"BCLT was required to deposit $50,000 into escrow in order to exercise the option," Collins said.
BCLT had until the end of June 2005 to exercise the option on the property. As required by the contract, BCLT had the property appraised for its fair market value on May 4, then exercised the option on May 26. BCLT offered to pay $2,265,000 for the option property, Collins said.
If the seller agrees with the price, the process will move forward, Collins said. If the seller disagrees, he is to have his own appraisal done, and, if those numbers differ, the appraisers are to meet and try to agree on a value. The purchase price is to be agreed upon within 120 days of BCLT’s exercise of the option, which expires Sept. 23, she added.
"The delay in moving forward is that the seller disagrees with our price and hasn’t yet provided his appraisal to us in order to move forward through the negotiation process," Collins said. "BCLT has done everything it needs to do. We’re just waiting for the seller’s appraisal."
Singer wrote that he believes an active park area in Alpine is greatly needed, and that Wright’s Field is the perfect place for it. In the flyer, Singer stated that a recent review by the APG and the county found that, of the sites available in Alpine for active recreation, Wright’s Field is one of the most viable and best options.
The county, however, has stated several times, most recently in late July, that Wright’s Field is not a good place for an active park.
"As stated in previous correspondence, the county does not support developing Wright’s Field into an active park," read a July 22, 2005 letter to the Alpine Planning Group from Department of Parks and Recreation Director Renée Bahl.
Despite this, Singer has moved ahead with his proposal for the land. His plan, as an alternative to the preserve, is to develop about half of the remaining 142-acre site and donate the other half to the community for active park space.
Singer has proposed to build 41 custom homes on 22- and 40-acre portions of the property. This project has been filed with the county and is currently going through the approval process.
“Alpine has less than 29 acres of recreational parkland — all of which has restrictions on public use,” Singer said. He also wrote that Alpine had approximately 31,000 acres in passive parkland, covering nearly 46 percent of Alpine.
“This parkland provides the Alpine community with a preserve larger than the combined size of the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland,” he wrote.
Singer also mentioned a May 2001 community survey which purports that nearly 90 percent of Alpine residents want something other than passive park space on Wright’s Field. The survey referenced, entitled Listening to You, included responses from 824 residents, according to the survey, which was conducted by local developer Paul Gonya.
Singer hopes the remaining portion will be used to build active park amenities, such as a swimming pool, baseball and soccer fields, and a skateboard park.
When he first made mention of Wright’s Field as an active park site in June (The Alpine Sun, June 30, 2005) he also envisioned a possible library, youth center and performing arts amphitheater at the site, or possibly even a high school.
Despite Singer’s proposal, hopes for adding the remaining 142 acres to the preserve are not lost. Singer and BCLT have until later this month to come to an agreement price for the purchase of the land, Collins said.
“If they can raise sufficient funds, we are willing to sell the land to BCLT,” Singer said. “If not, then the dedication of the remaining land helps meet the need for more active recreational space in Alpine.”
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Christy Scott
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