[SDCBC] Editorial in North County Times

[Kathy Keehan]

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/19/opinion/editorials/20_32_022_18_0
8.txt

 

Below is the text of the editorial in Tuesday's North County Times. The
stuff about Rancho Guejito is interesting, but to advocate using the Bike
Ped SANDAG funding to pay for it is ridiculous. Some letters to the editor
might be appropriate! If you do write, but sure to mention that the $377
over the next 40 years will be going to projects that improve the lives of
people right in their communities, like providing sidewalks for places that
don't have them, bike lanes on streets that need them, improvements that
help people walk and bike in their neighborhoods - to work, to school, to
shop and to play. NC Times might not like bicycling, but the people in north
county do, and the opinion staff needs to hear that. 

 

Kathy

 

North County's sleeping giant 

By: North County Times Opinion staff 

Our view: Region must prepare now for future of Rancho Guejito

Since the death in 2004 of Rancho Guejito's owner, Benjamin Coates, the
future of these 21,000 acres of undeveloped, privately owned land east of
Escondido has been in doubt. Further confusing the matter is a court
<http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/18/news/top_stories/21_28_272_17_08
.txt>  case involving claims by a Texas investor and friend of Coates that
he, and not Mr. Coates' heirs, should be given control over the land.

One thing is clear, however: With every twist and turn in this saga, the
possibility of preserving this jewel intact becomes more remote.

	

At various times over the past several years the Coates family has said it
wants to preserve the rancho as is. But the actions of those who are working
on behalf of the family raise questions about its true motives.

In 2005, land-use consultant Jim Whalen submitted a multi-year schedule for
environmental studies and a map of potential development areas on 7,300
acres of the ranch.

In 2006, while the Coates family was hosting locals for lunch at the rancho
and promising $100,000 to the Valley Center History Museum, its consultants
were putting out feelers to the county to test its development ideas.

It was during this time that Whalen suggested to county officials that
high-rises should be built on the land as a way to preserve open space.

In 2007, realizing that they were getting nowhere with the county, lawyers
for the Rodney Co., which directly owns Rancho Guejito, approached Escondido
to see if the city was interested in annexing the land.

In June of last year, residents from throughout North County started getting
mysterious phone calls polling them for their thoughts about the future of
Rancho Guejito.

So all of the evidence indicates that plans for development are moving
apace. What's lacking is a coordinated response from local leaders to
provide a counterweight to these plans.

At one point, it looked as if Supervisor Bill Horn might step into the void.
That would be a nice fit. The rancho is located in his district and his
notoriously development-friendly outlook would give legitimacy to the cause
to preserve Rancho Guejito.

Horn would also be well-placed to ensure that protections for the rancho are
incorporated into the county's still incomplete General Plan 2020.

Should Horn accept the challenge, he'll need to lead efforts to find the
massive amounts of public and private financing that will be required to
purchase the land.

Perhaps he could begin by getting his colleagues at the San Diego
Association of Governments to reconsider the expenditure of $377 million for
bike and pedestrian paths between now and 2030.

While they're at it, there's also the $1 billion that SANDAG plans on
spending for a trolley extension between Old Town and the University Towne
Centre in La Jolla that could best be spent elsewhere.

Another funding possibility could include setting aside some portion of
SANDAG's proposed "quality of life" tax for the future purchase of rancho
land.

Of course, there are those who would argue that the region needs these funds
to reduce congestion. We would counter that preventing the wholesale
development of Rancho Guejito is the most effective traffic reduction plan
there is.

Whether it's Supervisor Horn or another person (elected or unelected), it's
time for someone other than the Coates family and its various agents to
start actively planning for Rancho Guejito's future.

If not, the region could someday find itself home to a new development the
size of Escondido that will forever change inland North County and the
county as a whole.

 

 

 

------------------------------------------

Kathy Keehan

Executive Director

San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

P.O. Box 34544

San Diego, CA 92163

858.487.6063

execdir at sdcbc.org

www.sdcbc.org

 

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