|
Low land prices bring deluge of housing projects
By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
CAMPO — While housing costs in San Diego County continue to rise, more and more residents are moving east to search out larger plots and lower costs.
The larger plots are easy to find in places such as Campo, where the current land-use designations are one dwelling unit per four, eight or 20 acres. But homebuyers are learning that, as much as an hour’s drive from the city, even “low income” properties in the Back Country start at over $390,000.
Campo Hills not drawing crowds
Campo Hills, a KB Homes project, about a mile from Cameron Corners is a 221-home development. The one-story homes, between 1,400 and 2,000 square feet in size, are selling for $395,000 to $430,000, according to
www.kbhome.com. Many other new subdivisions around the county offer homes at double those prices.
But, according to an onsite KB Homes sales representative, only 131 of the of the 221 homes in the development have been sold to date. This number contradicts a previous statement by sales representative Mike Goldstein, that fewer that 80 homes had been sold, since opening in November 2004. A third number, provided by KB Homes spokeswoman Cameron Triebwasser, shows 135 homes sold.
According to San Diego County road standards, the development will generate 600 additional average daily trips on area roads, when all the homes are sold. County figures also predict that more than 400 new students will attend local schools.
Star Ranch proposes 480 homes
Another major project in the works is the Star Ranch development. Developers and Campo residents have discussed Star Ranch since 2001, when the 2,150-acre, 480-home and commercial center development was first proposed. Since then, the project has undergone many changes, suggested at more than seven public and planning group meetings throughout the process.
According to Mike Ratajski, senior project design consultant, some of the changes that have taken place due to public input are a reduction in acreage for the village commercial area from 29 to 14.5 acres and the retention of the functional ranch that has been there for years.
The proposed development includes 40 estate size lots of about two acres, about 400 other residences, and a commercial village center, which would abut the already existing Cameron Corners commercial area. Developers expect Star Ranch to be constructed in six or seven phases spanning 10 years.
According to Ratajski, about 75 to 80 percent of the total project has been reserved as open space and will remain as such.
The Star Ranch project has just started the legal processing, and has been submitted to the county for review, according to Doug Paul, co-owner of Star Ranch and president of Star Ranch Company LLC. Planners don’t expect to have completed a project EIR until December 2007, and the first public hearings on the document are expected to be in April 2008.
The planning group will hold a special meeting on April 10, from 7 to 9 p.m., solely to discuss the Star Ranch project.
At full build-out, planners expect that 1,200 people will live in the new development, which could increase traffic on Buckman Springs Road and Highway 94 by a projected 3,000 daily trips.
According to Star Ranch planners, impacts to local schools, mainly Campo Elementary and Mountain Empire High School, will be thoroughly studied in the environmental impact report for the project.
Many of the concerns raised by residents, regarding the proposal, deal with the community character and keeping a rural feel to the overall area. Most often mentioned is the probable impact on groundwater.
According to Star Ranch officials, the project will not overdraft its groundwater basin to the detriment of nearby residents. The 40 ranch estate lots in the back of the ranch will rely on wells for water, and septic tanks for waste disposal, while a new public sanitation district formed for the project will support the majority of the other homes.
At the January meeting of the Campo/Lake Morena Planning Group, member Bill Slaff voiced his concerns about the drain on water in the area from the project, which is located at the bottom of the 80-square-mile Campo watershed.
“With all the water being pulled out of the bottom of the basin, you don’t think you’re going to have any effect on the residents who are just a little bit higher than you?” Slaff asked.
According to John Peterson, water consultant for Star Ranch, developers understand that Campo is groundwater dependent.
“There is no imported water, so we really need to plan and know the effects of what we’re doing here,” he said. “We have to work within that finite, albeit renewable groundwater source.”
Project planners expect a late 2008 or early 2009 date for groundbreaking at the Star Ranch development, and build-out completion within eight to 10 years.
SVDP foster home
A third project, which has been on the books for many years, is the St. Vincent de Paul proposal for “A Children’s Village.”
The proposed “A Children’s Village,” would span 180 acres between Buckman Springs Road and Lake Morena on the site of the old Flying A Ranch.
According to preliminary project maps, the proposed institution would include 25 homes, an on-site school, medical clinic, interfaith chapel and sports facilities. A wastewater treatment facility is also planned for the site, as well as a xeriscape plan for landscaping and possible solar and other energy saving systems.
“A Children's Village” would be a year-round community for children, including siblings, who have been separated from their families. The foster care ranch is billed as a stable home that would offer children skills to become productive members of society.
Up to 200 homeless and foster care children would be housed on-site with 50 live-in house parents. There would be a school on-site, though students could attend other local schools if they choose.
Project consultants have conducted water studies in the area, trying to determine the effects of the development on the already strained groundwater basin.
“We know the effects of a project like this on adjoining property groundwater can be potentially astronomical,” said project representative Brian Mooney. “That’s why we’re here and that’s why we’re doing all these studies.”
“It’s a very arduous process that we’re going through,” Mooney said. “We’ve gone beyond anything that the county requires.”
At the Feb. 27 meeting of the planning group, chairwoman Bev Esry presented a letter that was sent from DPLU to SVDP project officials.
The letter, dated Jan. 31, states that a review of the project’s third screen check draft EIR and technical studies, have determined the documents not to be adequate pursuant to CEQA and the county’s EIR format and general content requirements.
Once the final EIR is completed, the public will be offered a chance to comment on it.
The project is presently behind schedule and the updated project schedule now shows an estimated decision date of Jan. 22, 2007.
 E-mail
Christy Scott
|
