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Email Alert #29
May 15, 2003
HELP STOP SPRAWL IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY!
***** May 21, 2003 *****
An important hearing is coming on May 21, before the County Board of Supervisors regarding the proposed County General Plan Update 2020, (GP 2020). This will be the recipe for growth in the rural, unincorporated areas of the county for the next 20 - 30 years. The Board of Supervisors will hear public testimony and provide direction to staff on the plan.
Now is the time to put an end to the unsustainable, gluttonous land use pattern that has wasted so much of our precious resources. There is only a narrow window of opportunity left to establish a plan that protects important watersheds, the forests, local water supplies, agriculture, biodiversity, scenic treasures, dark skies and rural serenity.
BACKGROUND
In on-going stakeholder meetings environmental interests have been trying hard to craft a plan that will protect wildlife and rural scenic landscapes, lower rural densities, and focus growth in well-defined country towns. When compared to our current General Plan, which has sprawl all over the map, we have made some progress. However, there is still too much growth being planned for rural San Diego County and many changes to the map are needed.
At the recent Planning Commission hearings landowner after landowner asked for higher densities in the name of smart growth -arguing that their properties are adjacent to other development. If this argument drives our planning, parcel by parcel will fall to urban sprawl like dominoes across the entire county.
Our County has seen the results of poor planning where we have gridlock on our freeways, closed beaches after every rain, more endangered and threatened species than any other county in the continental US. We lack of affordable housing and our quality of life is on the decline.
The population targets planned for the rural areas are still too high. We have already seen transportation studies, (computer modeling), at even lower projected population targets, that fail to reach acceptable circulation system performance.
Recommended Map Changes
The Sierra Club and other environmental groups have compared the draft map with the individual community parcel maps and biologically sensitive resources maps. We have recommended changes that would protect important resources and limit sprawl and would help bring the population target down so that infrastructure and transportation funding can be focused on solving existing regional deficits and problems.
In the eastern-most, ground-water dependent areas of the county, more land needs to be designated at 80 acre and 160 acre minimum parcel sizes. This is to avoid over-developing groundwater-dependent areas as well as to protect the rural resources. This would also serve to reduce the inefficient and costly use of urban services, infrastructure and transportation funds in distant areas.
Taxpayers should not continue to subsidize sprawl while urban areas remain grid-locked and neglected.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Write, fax, or e-mail your Supervisor as soon as possible. (See below to identify your supervisor.) Use the sample letter and other talking points contained in this alert. Using your own words and sending a letter or fax works best, but e-mail works too.
2. Also, call your Supervisor's office prior to May 21. Use the contact information and brief message below.
3. If at all possible, testify at the hearing on May 21. Nothing is more effective than this. Sample testimony is provided below. Hearings will begin at 9:00 AM, May 21st, on the third floor of the County Administration Building, 1600 Pacific Highway. IMPORTANT: You must fill out a slip before 9:00AM if you plan to speak. Public testimony will not begin until afternoon. If you plan to come but can't get there early, I'll be happy to fill out a slip for you. Please send your information. Your slip should be in "opposition". There is a subsequent hearing date scheduled for June 11th. Please save the date.
4. Distribute this alert to colleagues, friends and family. Your grassroots support is the only thing that will ultimately make the difference.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Chairman, Supervisor Greg Cox: Representing Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach
County of San Diego 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335 San Diego, CA 92101 619-531-5511 FAX 619-235-0644 Greg.Cox@sdcounty.ca.gov
Supervisor Dianne Jacob: representing Poway, El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Santee, Alpine, Crest, Descanso, Jamul, Julian, Lakeside, Ramona, Rancho San Diego, Spring Valley
County of San Diego 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335 San Diego, CA 92101 619-531-5522 FAX 619-696-7253 Dianne.Jacob@sdcounty.ca.gov
Supervisor Pam Slater:
Representing Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, La Jolla, Rancho Bernardo, Mira Mesa, Tierrasanta, Pacific Beach
County of San Diego 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335 San Diego, CA 92101 619-531-5533 FAX 619-234-1559 Pam.Slater@sdcounty.ca.gov
Supervisor Ron Roberts: representing City of San Diego, Clairemont
County of San Diego 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335 San Diego, CA 92101 619-531-5544 FAX 619-531-6262 Ron.Roberts@sdcounty.ca.gov
Supervisor Bill Horn: representing Oceanside, Escondido, Fallbrook, Vista, Valley Center
County of San Diego 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335 San Diego, CA 92101 619-531-5555 FAX 619-685-2555 Bill.Horn@sdcounty.ca.gov
SAMPLE LETTER / FAX / E-MAIL
Please add something personal about you, your family, occupation, etc.
Supervisor [ ]
County of San Diego
1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335
San Diego, CA 92101
RE: 2020 General Plan Update, Working Copy Map
Dear Supervisor:
I am a concerned constituent, taxpayer, and voter in your district.
In the 2020 Update, I ask that you reduce the amount of development being proposed in the GP 2020 Working Copy Map. We want you to protect San Diego's countryside, wildlife areas, and farmland from sprawl. By following "smart growth" principles, we can save on infrastructure and service costs, and preserve our scenic treasures, rural serenity, agriculture, and biodiversity.
Please direct staff to increase the 80 and 160 acre designations in the eastern-most, groundwater-dependent areas of the county. Further map revisions are needed to protect important resource areas, such as sensitive land along creeks and streams.
Please stop the taxpayer subsidized suburban sprawl into the unincorporated areas. San Diego is counting on you to provide a sustainable and environmentally secure future for generations to come.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
City, State ZIP
SAMPLE PHONE MESSAGE
In the 2020 Update, please protect San Diego's countryside and farmland from continued sprawl. We ask that you make further map revisions to reduce growth in rural San Diego County. We do not want to continue to subsidize suburban sprawl.
SAMPLE TESTIMONY
First, provide some personal information: Say who you are, what you do, etc. State that San Diego's natural treasures, farm and ranchlands, and scenic countryside must be protected -- and why this is important to you personally. Stress the need for very low densities in backcountry areas, especially 1 unit per 80 and 160 acres and that overall growth planned in the rural areas must be further reduced. Infrastructure dollars are needed to reduce current infrastructure deficits and for transportation improvements in urban areas where we need it most. You do not want your tax dollars to subsidize continued sprawl in rural San Diego County.
For further information, contact:
Eric Bowlby
Co-Chair, Smart Growth Task Force
Sierra Club, San Diego Chapter
Phone# 619-284-9399
savewetlands@compuserve.com
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