February 1, 2006 - Top Stories
The Valley Center Design Review board appears as unhappy with the proposed 300-unit Orchard Run Development as the VC planning group, although they have yet to take a vote on the matter.
Last month the planning group voted to oppose Orchard Run. Now the design review board is tussling with the developer over points the board says it wants incorporated into the design—and which the developer is dragging its feet over— at least according to the design board.
It’s a David and Goliath scenario, with the tiny board, which has no resources, budget or enforcement capability, ranged against the largest builder in the United States.
At their meeting with the Fort Worth-based developer D.R. Horton on Jan. 24, the five member board expressed concerns that previous requests for changes to the design had not been addressed.
Roger Levkulics, secretary of the VCDRB, told The Roadrunner Monday, “We felt like they had not responded significantly to our previous requests. We determined that individual members of our team were going to meet with their architect and nudge them to comply more with the guidelines.”
Like the planning group, the design review board is advisory to the county Board of Supervisors and Dept. of Planning & Land Use (DPLU).
Note: “the guidelines” mentioned are the Valley Center Design Guidelines, adopted more than a dozen years ago. They establish architectural standards for developments inside the north and south commercial nodes and in what used to be called the Country Town.
The project, on 118 acres proposed for Lilac Road & Betsworth, is divided up into five neighborhoods. On only one of these, Neighborhood A, is the board given jurisdiction by the County.
“We feel like the present plan does not begin to comply with the specifics that are in our design guidelines. We are asking them to review that,” said Levkulics. He added, “They [Horton] are very non-committal about meeting our requests. In fact, in the previous meeting on Jan. 10, they were given dozens of pictures that we as a design review board had gathered around Southern California that demonstrated the character that we feel the design guidelines call for.”
According to Levkulics the plans they were shown on Jan. 23 didn’t reflect any of the suggested changes and none of the pictures.
“They made no changes to design of the buildings at all,” he said. “They remarked that because they are affordable housing units they are constrained from making any changes.”
Representatives of the building giant, which expects to build 58,000 new homes this year (300 of them in Valley Center) told the design board that they are on a schedule to build their first house in six months and that any changes to design would mean delays and lost profits.
That project includes 26 low to moderate duplexes, confined to the north side of the property.
Levkulics complained about the process, “We do not understand why but we have been excluded by the County from having any input into anything but the A Neighborhood. Our problem with the project is that the County has so structured this so that we basically been told to mind our own business.”
Thure Stedt of TRS, a consultant with the project, explained that design review has been limited to the A Neighborhood
Patrick Richardson, D.R. Horton’s project manager for Orchard Run, told The Roadrunner, “I understand their comments but I think the guidelines are fairly broad enough to allow for all kinds of different styles. Our architect is working with them to incorporate some elements. We’re continuing to work with them. What we have right now is the finished product.”
Regarding the design review board being limited in which “neighborhoods” it can review, Richardson commented, “Typically on subdivisions there’s not a design review component.”
The project’s tentative map has already been approved by the planning department, “and under state law the tentative map can further define conditions through an approval,” he said.
Robson Splane, vice chairman of the VCDRB, was going to meet with the development’s architect Everitt Kang, sometime this week.
Kang is also reviewing the photos of illustrations of preferred designs, according to Richardson.
According to Richardson, “It is a very helpful booklet. What we’re trying to do is incorporate some of those elements. Our architect is reviewing them [the pictures provided by the board]. The booklet they provided us deals with all kinds of buildings.”
The Maxine Theater cost $8.4 million to build, according to final construction figures released this week by the VC-Pauma Unified School District.
“The Max,” which opened to great fanfare in November of 2005, is a joint-use project of the Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District and the VC Parks & Rec District.
According to finance director Pam Moe it cost $8.4 million, paid for with $1.7 million in state matching funds; $1.71 million from local donors; $2.948 million from Community Facilities Development (Mello-Roos) money from Woods Valley Ranch development; $1.64 million in savings from other state programs; and $802,000 from developer fees.
The theater, designed by Davy Architecture, holds 577 seats, making it one of the largest state-of-the-art theaters in the region.
It is somewhat larger than the Center Theater at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. As another comparison: the Old Globe Theater’s Simon Edison Center for the Performing Arts is 581seats.
All donations to the Maxine are tax deductible. If you have any questions call the Valley Center-Pauma District Office at 749-0464. Donations can be made out to the VCPUSD Joint-Use Account and mailed to: VCPUSD, Olivia Leschick, 28751 Cole Grade Road, Valley Center, CA 92082.
The high school ag farm was vandalized over the weekend.
Someone with a truck broke down the gate on Oak Glen and ran over everything, destroying plants, irrigation, etc.
Water shot up into the air from the broken pipe. The vandals apparently tried, but were unable, to break through the gate by the greenhouse.
They also drove onto the girls softball field and JV baseball field, wrecking a lot of it, then ripped up a soccer goal post and dragged it up the ramp.
They also cut part of the railing off the driveway going down to the field.
The vandalism occurred sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning, according to school Supt. Lou Obermeyer.
A passerby, John Sciblia, who saw the wrecked gates, called grounds manager Gary Pay around 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
Pay went to the school and met with a VC deputy sheriff.
Pieces of the vandal’s truck were strewed along their path of destruction, including pieces of the luggage rack, a propeller off the trailer hitch, broken glass from a window and a turn signal.
Pay speculated that whoever was driving may have been driving a stolen car, since the car was so badly used.
Monday Dr. Obermeyer reiterated that, “We don’t know who did it. We don’t know too much about the vehicle.” She questioned, “What in the world was the purpose of this?”
No estimate of the damages has been made yet, she said.
Valley Center 4-H will hold its annual Pie Auction Feb. 15 at VC Middle School, 6:30 p.m.
There is every kind of pie imaginable, some still warm from the oven.
Jason Armstrong’s grandfather makes his famous salsa, known as “Grandpa Jack’s Salsa.” Although this is a pie auction, this is a very popular item.
Proceeds from this annual event go back to the community.
For the past dozen years, the proceeds have gone completely to various scholarship funds.
The Karen Bose Memorial Scholarship Fund was started in 1978 when Karen died in an automobile accident.
Karen, daughter of Jack & Caroline Bose, was 14 when she died. She was an active member of Valley Center 4-H and Orange Glen FFA.
In 1995 a memorial scholarship fund was started for Jason Armstrong, son of Michael & Sue Armstrong, who was killed when he got off of the school bus and started to cross the street. Jason was also an active member of VC 4-H and Orange Glen FFA.
In 1999 Matthew Cully, son of Steve & Kelly Cully, died in a motorcycle accident. That year some proceeds of the auction were donated to a fund in his memory. He, too, was an active member of Valley Center 4-H and a member of VC FFA.
In 2001 the Bose family added a name to the memorial scholarship fund, that of Kristen Bose killed in an automobile accident. Kristen had also been active in Valley Center 4-H but was an adult living in Las Vegas running her own flower shop, which had been her dream.
Valley Center 4-H now donates all proceeds to the memorial scholarship funds. The pie auction is the only fund -raiser that these scholarship funds have.
Both of these funds have provided many students with college scholarships.
During the event, first year members are the pie runners and older members help with the paper work. The pies are made and donated by the families in 4-H and the friends and families of the scholarship funds.
For more information, contact Robey Cobb at 749-0294.
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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