North County Developer Promises Smart Growth by Creating more Sprawl

Our friends up in San Diego’s north county’s coastal region recently wrote about the Merriam Mountain project –  a new housing development that is redefining what “smart growth” means.

The developers have rights to build 345 houses. They do not own the development rights to build 2,700 houses.

The developer, Stonegate Development Company, requested an upzone which the San Diego County Planning Commission granted with only two commissioners voting against the upzone, one being Peter Norby who wrote:

If we are to have confidence as a society in these General Plans. we need to uphold them and adhere to them.

To the extent we do so, citizens gain confidence and trust in our government and our planning documents. To the extent we don’t adhere to them, and upzone or do political favors, citizens (including planning commissioners) become skeptical and mistrust government and the planning documents. Done to an extreme, they can become worthless.

Like our constitution there is an amendment process call a General Plan Amendment Application…

[The Merriam Mountain project] results in in 35,000 vehicle trips a day. More vehicle trips on Hwy 15 during peak hour than the entire NCTD Coaster removes from I-5 all day at huge tax payer expense.
A population of around 8000 in a urban development pattern with approx 1700 school age children. No schools, No library, no post office, and only freeway serving commercial down by I-15 at the off ramp.

The nearest schools elementary middle and high school, are 8 miles to 12 miles away (the exception is twin oaks elementary where 1/3 will go, it is 2 miles away)

This is a development pattern that is typical of urban sprawl.

The developer, Stonegate, envisions that the planned community will look like the image above. Despite projecting a vision of smart growth for the community, there is not a mention of walkability or bikability for the new community. For example, the goal is to widen Deer Springs Road into four lanes:

Q: How will the project mitigate its traffic impacts?

A: The development of Merriam Mountains provides an opportunity to address some long-standing traffic problems in the community.  Deer Springs Road is planned to be widened to four lanes from I-15 to Twin Oaks Valley Road, and improvements are proposed to the I-15/Deer Springs Road interchange.  These improvements are designed to improve existing level of service as well as accommodate cumulative impacts from other planned projects.

In addition to the problems with creating more sprawl, there has been plenty of opposition from residents in the area strongly in opposition to the development.

To voice your concerns, the authors from The Leucadia Blog has urged readers to contact the County supervisors using the email addresses listed below:

Greg Cox – greg.cox@sdcounty.ca.gov
Dianne Jacob –dianne.jacob@sdcounty.ca.gov (who has also been stalling in taking action against Pointe Communities for blocking a one mile stretch of bike lane along Jamacha Boulevard).
Pam Slate – pam.slater@sdcounty.ca.gov
Ron Roberts – ron.roberts@sdcounty.ca.gov