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County Considers Bundling Big Land-Use Decisions

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Multiple large-scale development projects that don’t meet the county’s existing growth plan have been inching toward a vote from the County Board of Supervisors for years.

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Those projects are potentially facing a new hurdle. Opponents are pursuing a November ballot measure that would force all general plan amendments to a countywide vote.

What’s new: Mark Wardlaw, the county’s planning director, has a plan to get a bunch of those projects approved this year.

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At last month’s Planning Commission hearing, Wardlaw said the county could bundle multiple projects together so they could get approved by one vote of the Board of Supervisors.

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State law prohibits counties from approving more than four general plan amendments a year. The county already approved one, the Lake Jennings Marketplace shopping center in Lakeside.

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But many others are on the way, and Wardlaw said the county wants to have a way of approving them all before the end of the year.

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“We will be grouping them, and bringing them forward to the Board of Supervisors,” he said. “Obviously, these are large projects, and there will be controversy with them.”

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What’s included: Wardlaw specifically name-checked six projects that could be included in the plan to group amendments together for a single board vote. They were:

Newland Sierra: 2,100 units near Bonsall

Warner Ranch: 781 units near Pala

Otay 250: 3,158 units in East Otay Mesa

Valiano: 326 units in San Dieguito

Harmony Grove Village South: 453 units in San Dieguito

Lilac Hills Ranch: 1,746 units near Valley Center

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What’s confusing: “Moving too fast” is not a common problem for large land-use decisions like this, which have each been in the pipeline for years. Rather, the process tends to get delayed at each step, extending decisions beyond their stated timeline. The idea that the county needs a contingency in case the board can approve a half-dozen projects within the next eight months doesn’t jibe with history.