INLAND EDITION
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92025 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
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THREE CITIES ONE VOICE
VOL. 28, N0. 25
JUNE 20, 2014
Cocos fire may cost city $1M
SAN MARCOS -NEWS
.com THE VISTA NEWS
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By Aaron Burgin
SAN MARCOS — San Marcos will likely have to shell out $1 million to pay for its share of the cost to fight the Cocos fire, city officials said during last Tuesday’s council meeting. The City Council voted, in connection with the approval of next year’s $100 million operating budget, to pay for the fire cost out of its anticipated $1.8 million surplus from the current fiscal year. “The budget addresses the anticipated worst case scenario of fire-related costs,” said City Manager Jack Griffin, who said the city should find out the exact amount it will have to pay later in the week. Officials originally said in late May that the cost to fight last month’s fire, which charred more than 2,000 acres, would be upwards of $10 million and that the city’s share of the cost could be as much as $2 million. City officials expect
Escondido Councilmember John Masson supported the new homes in the North Broadway Deficiency Area, maintaining that under the terms of the development agreement that Pacific Land Investors was paying its share of the infrastructure improvements. Photo by Rachel
Stine
RANCHO SFNEWS
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With imminent development, city searches for deficiency solutions By Rachel Stine
MR. PADRE
Tony Gwynn passed away this week at the age of 54. Sports writer Jay Paris reflects on a lasting memory of the San Diego Padres great and Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee on page 20. Photo courtesy San Diego Padres
TURN TO FIRE COSTS ON 27
New park a shot in the arm for neighborhood By Aaron Burgin
SAN MARCOS — Just eight months ago, the five-acre plot of land adjacent to San Marcos Elementary School was a debris-filled lot, home to impromptu soccer matches and unscrupulous activities. On Wednesday, Crystal Ashby slid down a brand new playground slide with her 16-month-old daughter Savannah. Sisters Amaris and Jazmin Ortiz played on brand new swings. A local soccer team practiced on a shimmering green artificial-turf field with fresh white hash marks. “It’s great, there is a lot of stuff here,” the elder Ashby said, as her daughter scurried around the play equipment. Mary Connors Park, San Marcos’ brand new recreation facility, opened last week, another key piece of the local revitalization of the city’s Richmar community. More than 1,000 people attended the grand-opening celebration, including the City Council and representatives from State Sen. Joel Anderson’s office. “It is one of our oldest neighborhoods, and it is undergoing some-
Crystal Ashby with daughter Savannah play on a structure at the new Mary Connors Park in San
TURN TO PARK ON 22 Marcos. Photo by Aaron Burgin
ESCONDIDO —City Council debated how the city will finance $11.34 million of priority infrastructure improvements in Escondido’s North Broadway Deficiency Area as it approves more new homes for construction. At their Wednesday night meeting, City Council approved Pacific Land Investors’ (PLI) proposal to build 32 new homes in the mostly undeveloped area north of Lehner Avenue, south of Stanley Avenue, and between Conway Drive and Ash Street. The future development is located in the North Broadway Deficiency Area, a portion of the city that officials have determined is in need of infrastructure improvements to support health and safety standards its current and future residents. “There’s very few sidewalks… There’s water lines that are undersized. We have some water pressure issues,” explained Bill Martin, the principal planner handling the project. To pay for such enhancements, the city established a deficiency fee for every new home built in an area with insufficient infrastructure. By paying the fee, developers can move forward with a project without having to wait for the city to obtain the needed funds and construct the needed infrastructure. “If residential development is to go forward before we (the city) have an opportunity to address these deficiencies, then (the developers) are going to need to help us
move that along,” Martin said. PLI is working towards obtaining city approval to construct about 125 total homes in the North Broadway Deficiency Area. After City Council’s most recent vote, PLI has secured authorization for 59 of those homes. When PLI came forward in December with proposals to construct 27 homes along Lehner Avenue, city staff determined that the priority street and drainage improvements needed in the North Broadway Deficiency Area would cost about $11.34 million. Staff divided the total cost by the 668 units that could potentially be built in the area and calculated the deficiency fee to $17,000 per house. But PLI argued that a $17,000 deficiency fee was cost prohibitive. The majority of city council decided to set the fee lower than staff’s recommendation to $12,500 per unit instead. Following city council’s previous direction, staff recommended a $12,500 deficiency fee for each of PLI’s 32 units proposed on Wednesday night. Martin stated that staff would have put forth a $12,500 fee even if the proposal came from a different developer. But on top of the deficiency fee, PLI is additionally required to construct or pay thousands of dollars per unit for multiple water line and street improvements directly impacted by the new homes. These improvements TURN TO DEVELOPMENT ON 22