Planners have “limited confidence” in the County’s General Plan Update process, although at their March 10 meeting they stopped short of saying they have “no confidence.”
The general plan update, once called GP 2020, is now in its tenth year.
The “limited confidence” vote was the initial part of the planners’ Dept. of Planning & Land Use report review. Keith Simpson, acting as chairman in Andy Washburn's absence, proposed a full out no confidence resolution in the subcommittee meeting.
This was based on his and others’ concerns about Valley Center being steamrollered by the County.
However, according to VC Planning Group Chairman Oliver Smith, “The subcommittee (and the whole planning group at the meeting as well) did not support a no confidence vote because it had the ability to get us completely ignored from here on by the County.
“The limited confidence vote was our way of expressing serious reservations about the process leaving out key issues while still trying to maintain a level of communication with DPLU,” he said.
Those issues include:
• Using “Smart Growth” as an umbrella for change without including community planning, town center planning, design guidelines, etc. as the inherent basis for implementation.
• Equity mechanisms to compensate those landowners for their losses from downzoning.
• Maintaining the already agreed to limit of 14.9 dwelling units/acre maximum in the villages.
• Lack of inclusion of the community plan and town center planning in the update resulting in loss of enforcement mechanisms for the existing community character.
• County Board of Supervisors routinely changing the maps developed by the community and DPLU without sufficient opportunity for community input.
The vote was 11-1-0 in favor of the motion expressing the limited confidence in the County.
The vote was 12-0-0 in favor of a second motion containing 18 of the 19 subcommittee recommendations for the update.
Another motion of 9-3-0 endorsed the Light of the Valley Lutheran Lutheran Church’s request to be allowed to connect to the sewer in the Southern Village, even though the church is outside of the Village Limit Line.
The resolution passed says, in part, “VCCPG hereby notifies the BOS (Board of Supervisors) it has limited confidence in the current GPU process…”
It adds, “Be it further resolved the VCCPG requests DPLU incorporate Community Plans, Design Review Guidelines, and a development-restricting definition of Village Limit Line in the General Plan, and
“Be it further resolved the VCCPG requests DPLU dedicate sufficient planning resources to properly conduct Town Center and Smart Growth planning, and
“Be it further resolved the Board of Supervisors ensure adequate infrastructure is completed, as defined by the Town Center and Smart Growth planning processes, BEFORE any further development in Valley Center.”
The local Teacher Parent Club is organizing a “Letter Signing Day” at all of the Valley Center and Pauma schools on Wednesday, March 26.
This is being organized by parents concerned about proposed California school budget cuts. They have organized to get local residents to send signed letters to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other state representatives.
According to volunteer Christine Stolec the volunteers will be at the Primary, Lower, Upper and Lilac Schools, the middle school and possibly the high school and the Country Junction Deli.
TPC will provide the materials (letters, envelopes, labels, and stamps) and will have volunteers at each school site outside from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
They also hope to have volunteers with signs at the corners of the VC Road and Cole Grade and at the corner of Lilac Road and Old Castle. The signs would encourage the community to stop at the school sites and sign the letters. After the event, the TPC will do the rest, label, stuff, and mail.
In addition, the March TPC newsletter will have facts explaining the district’s financial situation, encouraging parents to either send the letters on their own, or by visiting the VCPUSD Web site for information at www.vcpusd.net/
Questions? Call, Christine Stolec, TPC parent volunteer. at 749-7791 or Amy Archipov, TPC president, at 760-525-6905.
A division on the VC-Pauma school board became a very public rift Thursday night when two members of the school board voted against the nomination of a third trustee to a state assembly of school board members.
Open warfare on school boards is pretty routine across the county, but has been unknown on the VC-Pauma Unified School District board for 30 years or more.
That era of good feeling came to an end Thursday when board Pres. Lori Johnson joined trustee Wendy Zeugschmidt in unsuccessfully trying to block the nomination of Dr. Doug Dechairo to the California School Boards Assn. Delegate Assembly, which is a lobbying organization representing school boards statewide.
Valley Center has had members of its board serve on the delegate assembly in the past, and Dr. Dechairo had volunteered to serve if he could garner enough votes from the region. However, in this instance he almost didn’t get enough votes at home.
Apparently unaware of what was coming, Dr. Dechairo jovially suggested that trustees only vote for him, although the board could make multiple nominations.
However, when it came to vote Mrs. Zeugschmidt said she opposed Dr. Dechairo’s nomination because he had voted against the school board code of ethics last year. “I was very uncomfortable with his behavior at last month’s board meeting and don’t believe he should represent the school district,” she said.
She was apparently referring to a disagreement at last month’s meeting between Dr. Dechairo and other board members. At that meeting the board voted 4–1 to make certain staffing changes, including hiring a new assistant superintendent. Dechairo said they should have discussed the staffing changes in closed session before adopting the changes. The other board members said they had. He denied it and voted against the motion.
In spite of the vote by Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Zeugschmidt opposing his nomination, he voted for himself and was joined by trustees Don Martin and Henry Van Wyk, so his nomination was sent forward.
The State Dept. of Education is demanding $150,000 be returned by the All Tribes American Indian Charter School.
The State is, in effect, challenging the attendance figures that the school has been sending it.
This was revealed at Thursday’s meeting of the VC-Pauma Unified School District board when financial director Pam Moe gave a report on the issue.
Multi-year projections show that the charter school will be in negative revenue next year, Mrs. Moe reported.
“It is a very serious finding, because it was a rejection of most of their attendance,” she told the board.
Schools are paid according to how many students attend each daily. This is called ADA, or average daily attendance.
Board Pres. Lori Johnson commented, “This isn’t anything new. It seems that for the past four years there have been negative findings.
“It seems to me that this has been an ongoing concern and that a lot of staff time has been spent on this,” added trustee Wendy Zeugschmidt.
Board members were concerned that the district might be responsible for the charter school’s financial difficulties. However, although ATAICS is chartered under the auspices of VCPUSD, the VC district is only responsible for informing the charter school of its responsibilities. It is not responsible if the charter school doesn’t carry them out.
Mrs. Moe said that she expects the tribal school to file an appeal with the State on the matter.
Trustee Doug Dechairo asked if the charter school would have the reserves to pay back the $150,000 to the State if its findings are upheld.
Mrs. Moe said she didn’t believe so.
The water district will replace 1,000 feet of failing water main along Cole Grade Road this summer.
The VC Municipal Water District board Monday voted to adjust the budget to allow for a $225,000 expenditure to replace 14-inch steel water main that was originally installed in the mid-1950s.
There have been three major breaks in this line in the last few months, most recently in January.
At the time of the last break they found that 1,000 ft. of the pipeline was substandard and needed immediate repair. Each incident caused road damage and resulting flow damaged private property downstream.
The 1,000 feet, which is near the chicken ranch on Cole Grade Road, is part of a longer section earmarked for replacement in the water district’s master plan.
The plan had always been to replace it when the County widens Cole Grade Road, but the County has put that project on a back burner.
The deterioration in the tar-wrapped steel pipeline has been caused by eucalyptus roots, which are aggressive compared to other trees, getting under the tar wrap, allowing corrosion of the steel.
“Our goal ultimately is to replace the entire pipeline, but this needs to be replaced immediately,” said Gen. Mgr. Gary Arant.
The project will start in July and take 60 days to complete. It will require traffic control with traffic reduced to one lane.
IN OTHER business the board voted to set a June 2 hearing date for the annual levy of district wide availability charges. This $10 per acre per year charge is on all property within the district. It must be renewed each year.
During the discussion Arant, who recently returned to work after getting hip surgery, noted that water prices will most likely soar in January 2009 due to rate hikes in the works at the Metropolitan Water District, the big agency that sells to all of Southern California, and the San Diego County Water Authority.
After both hikes are passed down, Valley Center residential customers should see water bills go up by 12%, while growers will see bills increase by 13.3%.
Arant added that there is more and more discussion at the Met and Water Authority to do away with the program that sells water to farmers at lower prices in return for them agreeing to cuts during dry years—as they are doing this year.
This program, called the IAWP (Interim Agricultural Water Program) was adopted in 1991 and has saved local growers millions of dollars. Farmers in the program are required to cut water use by 30% this year.
Arant said there is still tremendous pressure to end the discount and make growers cut 30%.
“You can’t do both. It’s double jeopardy, but it continues to be an issue,” he said. “For the long-term I think there will be huge move to do away with the ag discount. I think the discount has seen its day, because the argument is that we have entered the era where there is no surplus water. If there is no surplus water there is no logic for the discount.”
He noted that even with the 30% cuts farmers have to live with that residents are still only being asked to voluntarily cut use by 10%.
Fifth District Supervisor Bill Horn will give his annual State of North County Address on Thursday, March 20 at 10 a.m. at the San Marcos City Hall.
Horn, a Valley Center resident, will include updates on the North County Gang Commission, the status on widening of Hwy. 76, land conservation, and coping with expected state budget cuts.
The public is invited.
Questions? Call 619-531-5555.
School kids learn about a milk cow at Friday’s Ag Day at the Gang Ranch. See Page A8 for a complete story on the event.
The Women’s Navy Glee Club from Maryland Friday entertained visitors to the Lake Wohlford Cafe. KSON spent the day broadcasting from the cafe and singing was part of the day’s activities.
The Valley Roadrunner
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