The Board of Supervisors Sept. 24 will review how County planners handled referrals of individual residential property owners’ complaints on how their property was designated in General Plan 2020 map.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Hwy, Rm. 310, San Diego.
About 183 complaints countywide were filed. Ninety-one were in the Fifth District. The board referred them back to the county Dept. of Planning & Land Use on June 25.
Fifth District Supervisor Bill Horn told The Roadrunner Monday that he is unhappy with the preliminary map on the referrals.
“My understanding is that I’m not going to be happy with it because they didn’t do what I asked them to. The message I tried to give out was that I didn’t want to downzone anyone,” Horn said.
“What I asked Ivan [Holler, division chief for General Plan 2020] to do hasn’t been done. I know he’s got a lot of pressure from various groups, but I can’t downzone everyone just because someone wants to save their land for them. That’s not right,” said Horn.
The net result for many owners who apply for permits under the Resource Protection Ordinance (RPO) is that they will be restricted from a lot of building anyway, he said. “We shouldn’t downzone anybody. Let the project do that.”
He added, “I haven’t discussed it with her, but I’ve heard that Dianne [Jacob, supervisor, District 2] is saying the same thing. I’m probably going to make a lot of individual changes on the day of the hearing.”
Horn concluded, “I don’t know why we shouldn’t get our way. The environmental community shouldn’t have a say so, the property owner should have the say so.”
Horn is one of five votes on the board of supervisors, a hard fact that he acknowledged: “I don’t say it’s going to be solved, but I’m going to do my best to keep from downzoning anyone.”
Mass Resignations?
Larry Glavinic, chairman of the VC Planning Group, Monday called DPLU’s attitude towards individual protests “intransigent.”
Glavinic wants to meet with other planning group chairmen and craft a unified position to present to the Board of Supervisors.
He complained that the GP2020 Steering Committee, whose members are planning and sponsor group chairmen, has not met recently.
“If it’s a good plan, when you get feedback, you modify things,” said Glavinic of GP2020.
The plan is not consistent with its own objectives #1 and #9, “defensibility” and “community consensus,” he said.
“I don’t believe they have consensus,” said Glavinic. “If they have consensus why do they have one hundred and eighty three complaints? There’s a lot more people out there with just as good a case who have not been heard.”
Glavinic has contacted ten planning chairmen, including those in Alpine, Crest/Dehesa, Descanso, Hidden Meadows, Pala, Pauma, Rainbow, Ramona and Twin Oaks.
He wants to meet with them this Friday at the Holiday Inn Express in Escondido.
He wants them to consider three basic positions.
1. Add some feature(s) to get consensus from us.
2. Stop GP2020
3. Mass resignation of PG/SG chairs
“I want them (the Board of Supervisors) to hear from the planning group chairs that there is no consensus on GP2020,” he told The Roadrunner. “The job is not done. How can you go forward with things that have major flaws. If they had done their job we would all be singing the same tune.”
Glavinic urged people who have an opinion on GP2020 to attend the Sept. 24 meeting.
“Now is the time to do it. Now is show time. Some people think it’s already too late, that the die is cast.”
The Tantlinger Trust
One VC family who is angry over how its property has been treated in the GP2020 map is the Tantlinger family.
For 35 years Keith Tantlinger of Pauma Heights Road has owned three contiguous parcels that total 36 acres.
His land is adjacent on three sides to properties that are designated one dwelling per two acres, including a project by Crews Development. The VC Planning Group has approved his request for one unit per two acres.
Tantlinger complains that DPLU’s justification for its “compromise” to make his land one unit/4 acres is that it be “consistent with surrounding densities.”
Since two of his parcels are 7.69 acres and 7.42 acres, that would effectively limit each parcel to one unit.
In a letter to Gary Pryor, Director of DPLU, Tantlinger wrote: “I foolishly believed that without a power point presentation or a professional ‘hired gun’ to present our facts to your staff and the commissioners, that an unprofessional private citizen could be heard.”
Unenviable Position
Andy Washburn, a member of the VC planning group, said he doesn’t envy the supervisors, “given the forces that are in play in the final pieces of GP2020. The community through several mechanisms has made their voice known. The owners of the properties are often in conflict with the desires of the community. Then, you go up a level to the County and try to do regional planning or try to make sense on county level and you find yourself in conflict with both the community and the property owners. Somehow, through this process, the Board of Supervisors faces some tough decisions.”
Craig Adams, another planning group member, agrees with Glavinic’s position.
“Valley Center is lucky to have dodged most of the proverbial bullets because we are west of the San Diego County Water Authority Line. We got 80 percent of the referrals. But I still feel sorry for the Hellhole people who are being held hostage on their own property.
“It’s clear there is no mechanism in place that will compensate the property owners for being downzoned. Until there is one in place and funded I don’t see how anyone can approve a government land grab which is what this in our opinion. I’m still appalled that a small group of people that are not elected (SOFAR) has final say over who can develop their property east of that waterline. SOFAR does not represent the county or the people. It represents a small interest group.”
By DAVID ROSS
Welcome to California’s budget crisis. This week your contribution will be an extra $35 per parcel of land that is served by the California Dept. of Forestry & Fire Protection.
CDF had its budget cut by about $52 million this summer. But the Legislature came up with a solution: raise $35 a parcel on lands that are provided wildland fire protection by the state agency, i.e. lands in the State Responsibility Area (SRA) lands.
The bill awaits Gov. Gray Davis’s signature.
The SRA includes every parcel in Valley Center, Chuck Maner, chief of CDF for San Diego County, told the VC fire board on Thursday night There are 5,732 parcels in VC.
“Your entire district is within the SRA,” he said.
The new fee takes effect Jan. 1, 2004, assuming that Davis signs the bill.
Any parcel, no matter the size, no matter what’s on it, will pay the same $35. Brush pays the same as a house.
Maner told the board that, initially CDF had opposed the bill, but currently is neutral.
“You lost $52 million, yet you say you were against this,” commented Director Stan Johnson. “How were you hoping to make up the loss?”
“We were hoping that the Legislature would make it up,” said Maner. “We were against it in the past. We are told that we’re neutral now.”
The $52 million loss was 10% of the agency’s total budget.
Director Dan Thornton, who is also the district’s chairman of the finance committee, asked if VCFPD would pay less since it pays for CDF to administer its fire department.
The answer is “no.”
“The cost is going up and up for us,” said Maner. “The rest of the citizens don’t get any benefit from us so the logic was that we’d pass it on to those who do.”
Director Mel Schuler said he thought this new fee will make it even harder for the district to attempt to float a bond issue. “Now we have to say to the people ‘You are now paying an additional $35, but it’s not to us.”
Paramedic Services
At a special meeting Monday night the board directed Chief Kevin O’Leary to enter into negotiations with Mercy Ambulance.
The Mariposa County-based company had been recommended by the source selection committee, which reviewed all of the proposals. The names of the members of the source selection committee are kept secret until after the make a recommendation.
The other companies that made proposals were Americare and San Diego Medical Services Enterprises.
The contract will be presented to the board at its next meeting, in October.
Director Mike Pacheco stepped down from working on the selection because, as a member of the San Diego Fire Dept., he works closely with San Diego Medical Services.
A contract must be approved by Nov. 14 to avoid a lapse in service.
Benefits Package
At Thursday’s board meeting directors discussed a benefits package for the two existing fire district administration positions and the one that has just been created.
Although directors agreed that they want to provide the package, Thornton cautioned that they haven’t yet identified how the district will pay for it.
“The numbers, based on what we have projected, at the current rates of spending, is that we are spending more than we are taking in,” said Thornton. He added that benefits are “certainly a tool to hold employees.”
Schuler commented, “It’s something we’ve never done but isn’t it something we’d all like to have?”
Chief O’Leary asked that the board to make a decision on the proposal soon as he will soon begin advertising to fill the new administrative assistant position.
A major player has elbowed its way onto the stage in the area’s
“battle of the casinos.”
Caesars Palace will be where the current Casino Pauma is now. It will be just a few miles down the road from Harrah’s Rincon Casino, which has enjoyed phenomenal success this last year, and just a hop, skip and a jump from Pala Casino, which just opened its 500-room hotel and spa.
Let’s get ready to ruuumble!
Last week the Pauma Indians by tribal vote approved a deal with Nevada-based Park Place Entertainment, the company announced Sept. 18.
Park Place is the world’s largest casino company.
Caesars parent company will manage a casino resort whose cost has been estimated at $250 million. It will include a 500 square foot hotel, restaurants, a spa, 2,000 slot machines and 100,000 sq. ft of gaming floor. The project is expected to be completed by 2005.
This will be the first time that Park Place has put a casino on an Indian reservation.
The proposal still must be finalized by the tribe, which is in negotiations with Park Place, and signed off by the National Indian Gaming Commission.
“We’re pleased and honored that the Pauma Tribe has chosen to partner with Park Place to develop a premier destination resort in Southern California,” Park Place President and CEO Wallace R. Barr announced in a press release last week.
“The sovereign tribal lands on which Caesars Pauma would be built are easily accessible for millions of people living in greater Los Angeles and greater San Diego. The scenic setting of the Pauma tribal lands is perfect for a new Caesars resort.”
Park Place owns, manages or has interest in 29 casinos, including such brand names as Caesars, Bally’s, Flamingo and Paris.
Casino Pauma opened its doors about two years ago with 850 slot machines and a tropical island theme. Always the smallest of the area’s casinos, Casino Pauma nevertheless developed a devoted following of local players.
It has also introduced some innovations, such as card-based “craps” and “roulette” games.
The Valley Center Mexican Fruit Fly quarantine was lifted Tuesday, less than a year after the first Mexfly was detected here.
Representatives of the Cooperative Mexican Fruit Fly Eradication Project, the California Dept. of Food &Agriculture, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and the County made the announcement Tuesday at the California State Building in San Diego.
CDFA Secretary William (Bill) J. Lyons, Jr., announced, “Thanks to cooperation from local growers and residents, we have eradicated this infestation quickly and and effectively.”
He added, “As a farmer and rancher, I understand the hardship that a quarantine can bring to growers who must forego selling their crops while the problem is solved. When we declared this quarantine, I pledged to eradicate this pest as quickly as possible. We kept that promise.”
Other dignitaries at the announcement included Fifth District Supervisor Bill Horn, State Senators Denise Ducheny and Dennis Hollingsworth.
Erik Larson, director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, told The Roadrunner, “We’re very pleased that this happened earlier than expected. The actions by the agencies were very aggressive but that proved to be the correct course of action, by virtue of it being done now rather than carried forward next year.”
The requirements of the quarantine, which was imposed Dec. 5, were onerous, involving specialized treatment of all fruit before it could be shipped out of Valley Center.
Millions of dollars were lost by VC’s growers. The hardest hit were avocado growers. The California Avocado Commission estimated that 5-8 million pounds were lost in early January when winds dropped much of the harvest. Under normal circumstances those fruit could have been sold. Under the quarantine they had to be destroyed.
Nevertheless, many had expected that the quarantine would last a lot longer than it has. So, despite millions of dollars lost in the quarantine, the eradication of the Mexfly can be considered a success.
The first Mexfly was discovered Nov. 21. No adult Mexflies have been found since May 20. Before that date 297 fruit flies had been trapped. Late summer and early fall are traditionally the busiest time for fruit flies.
The eradication of the pest has been attributed to the use of a new substance, Naturalyte [whose active ingredient is spinosad], to fight the flies. It was sprayed over the quarantine area by low-flying aircraft every two weeks for several months until the middle of June.
This was followed by the release of millions of sterile male fruit flies.
This was the first time that spinosad had been used to fight Mexflies. CDFA worked with California Dept. of Pesticide Regulation to allow the use of the
The infestation was confined largely to the original “core area” where the first adult Mexflies were found. All were within about 2.5 miles of each other in the northwest part of Valley Center and parts of Pauma Valley.
In June Hass avocado growers were released from the quarantine after a study by the USDA said that the Hass’s skin is too tough for the Mexfly to penetrate to deposit its eggs.
Larson is one of those who believes that we haven’t seen the last of the Mexfly in these parts.
“San Diego county will be subject to serial quarantines year and year after year until we get control of the borders and when the public understands that they can’t bring fruit and vegetables into this country. The Mexican fruit fly can’t fly here on its own.”
Joe Critelli who, with his wife Connie and partners, started Pepperoni’s and Snappy’s restaurants in VC, died last week.
Joseph V. Critelli, son of John and Carmella Critelli, was born on October 26, 1937 in Des Moines, Iowa. He died Sept. 16 at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, California at the age of 65.
Mr. Critelli attended Des Moines area schools and after graduation attended Teachers College for a short time. He then changed career paths and after attending barber college opened Joe Critelli’s Barbershop on the corner of Seventh and Grand.
At the age of 23 he enlisted in the Air Force Reserve and subsequently received an Honorable Discharge.
In his early 30’s, along with John Compiano, he opened the Husker restaurant which he operated successfully for ten years. During that time, he decided to expand his entrepreneurial talent, and with Ron Burns, opened Oakmoor Racquetball Club in Des Moines and later the Glass Grill restaurant in Johnston.
In 1986 Joe and Connie moved from Des Moines to Las Vegas where they lived for ten years and once again owned restaurants. Ready for new challenges, Joe and Connie moved to Valley Center, California in 1996 to be closer to their children and grandchildren. There, they owned and operated two restaurants.
Preceding him in death was his father John Critelli, Sr.
He is survived by his wife Connie of Valley Center, California; his mother Carmella of Des Moines; his brother Johnnie, Jr. of Las Vegas and fiance Victoria Jurovich of Los Angeles; his daughter Kathy; son-in-law Howard; and grandchildren Anthony and Nicole Puterman of Henderson, Nevada; daughter Brenda Reish and son Gregory Reish, both of Play del Rey, California; his nephew Jeffrey Critelli of Las Vegas; niece Julie Critelli Larson and her family of Des Moines; mother-in-law Ivalee Shepherd of Osceola, Iowa; and a host of relatives and many, many great friends.
Mr. Critelli was always ready for a great dinner, a great time with friends and a competitive game of golf. He will be remembered for his generous spirit and anonymous giving to others.
Mr. Critelli was a member of the Church of Christ.
Memorial contributions can be made to Scripps Green Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant Center in La Jolla, California.
Funeral services were held Sept. 22 at Westover Funeral Home in Des Moines, Iowa. A memorial will be held Oct. 4 at 11 a.m. at the Valley Center Community Church.
Phil Geddes resigned as chairman of the VC Design Review Board at Thursday afternoon’s meeting.
Robert Hancock was immediately elected to replace Geddes as chairman. Geddes was willing to continue to serve as secretary of the board for a short time until a replacement can be found for him, at which time he will step down.
Geddes was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to a five year term, which has nearly run its course.
The board is looking for a local architect/engineer who is willing to serve on the board, which reviews architectural plans of projects and advises the County whether the plans meet Valley Center’s Design Guidelines.
Woods Valley Gate
The board reviewed the primary entry gatehouse for the Woods Valley Ranch project.
The board chairman scolded the architect that presented the plan, Jim Stewart of the Dahlin Group, Solana Beach for not following the county Dept. of Planning & Land Use’s procedures in submitting an application.
Geddes told Stewart that he was being heard as a courtesy, but that in future he would be expected to follow the rules.
Geddes noted that Newland Communities, the developer, had provided board members with a set of draft design guidelines for the three builders of the project. On page 5 the guidelines referred to the cooperation the project with the VC Design Review Board.
However, no such participation has taken place, said Geddes. If the project’s waste treatment plant and golf clubhouse are to go forward, he said, that cooperation would be necessary.
Geddes also complained that there were no drawings available showing the overall entrance, and that the drawings that showed details of the entrance were different from the original design submitted.
Hancock, a nursery owner, criticized the project’s landscaping. According to him, the project had ignored the list of suggested plants that are contained in the Design Guidelines.
Hancock has arranged to meet with Newland’s landscapers.
Board member Lael Montgomery suggested that healthy mature oak trees that will be dug up in the course of the VC Road Widening Project might be available to be planted at the development.
At the end of the presentation the board voted to allow the project to proceed, with revised landscaping.
VC Community Church
A presentation on this project was postponed until church officials reach an agreement with DPLU on dealing with entrances to the church property.
Miss Valley Center, Malinda Lasley, along with fellow queens from Fallbrook and Escondido, will be a celebrity auctioneer for the Redwood Elderlink fund-raiser “A Western Round-Up of Family and Friends,” Sept. 27, 3:30-8 p.m. at Redwood Elderlink center.
Top celebrity auctioneer for the evening will be Stephanie Edwards, Rose Parade commentator.
Also appearing will be Rick Robledo and the Working Cowboy Band and the Valley Center Promenaders. The square dance group will put on an exhibition.
Redwood Elderlink, although based in Escondido, serves many people from Valley Center.
Miss Lasley, Miss Fallbrook, Autumn Garcia, and Miss Escondido, Chantel Giamanco, will assist with the silent and live auction.
For tickets: call the Elderlink office at 480-1030. Tickets are $40 apiece and two for $75. This includes dinner, beer, wine and entertainment.
Auction items include: dinner at local eateries, tickets to all of the major theme parks in the area, golf packages, a Puerta Vallarta trip, a week in Big Bear, golf clubs from Callaway, season passes to the 2004 Del Mar races and tickets t o local theater productions.
This the the second annual fund-raiser. Money will go to provide services to adults and seniors with dementia, Alzhiemers, physical and mental disabilities and shut-ins.
Elderlink is beginning its tenth year. Although it predominantly serves a senior population, it serves anyone in the population who has a need.
It has several divisions. One such, Homelink, sends caregivers to people’s homes so they can stay independent.
It also provides the Out and About Shuttle for seniors within Escondido. The shuttle transports its clients to go shopping and to medical appointments.
It also provides rehab therapy and partners with the Arthritis Foundation to provide aquatic exercises.
Keri Salmon, a Valley Center resident who is program coordinator for FAST (Financial Abuse Specialist Team), another program of Elderlink, says that the team works with aging and protective services to seniors to protect them from economic scams.
The Valley Roadrunner
P.O.B. 1529, Valley Center, CA 92082
Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
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