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The Coast News
INLAND EDITION
.com VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO
VOL. 13, N0. 30
NOV. 3, 2017
Caltrans weighs in on Newland Sierra plan
San Marcos bans pot cultivation and sales
By Steve Puterski
REGION — A massive development project off Deer Springs Road and Interstate 15 near San Marcos and Escondido received a recent setback from the California Department of Transportation. In a letter dated Aug. 10 to Newland Communities, which is attempting to develop a 2,100-home project called Newland Sierra, Caltrans stated Newland Communities Draft Environmental Impact Report concerning the traffic analysis and mitigation was “insufficient and misleading.” The draft environmental impact report was submitted on June 15. Caltrans said it is the developer’s responsibility to initiate interchange improvements and mitigate traffic impacts from its proposal. In addition, Caltrans said the interstate’s mainline from Deer Springs Road to Pomerado Road has no program in place to “implement the necessary improvements” and there is not “feasible mitigation that would reduce the identified impact to less than significant.” The letter stated the impacts are considered significant and unavoidable. The development site is about five miles south of where Lilac Hills, which voters rejected in last year’s election, is located and near Merriam Mountain. The San Diego County General Plan, which was passed six years ago, calls for 99 homes in the area. The surrounding neighborhoods include Twin Oaks, Bonsall and Hidden Valley. “Newland is aware of the Caltrans DEIR letter submitted to the county during the public review comment period for the Newland Sierra DEIR,” Newland Communities Vice President Rita Brandin said. “Responses to the TURN TO ENVIRONMENT ON 16
By Aaron Burgin
Breeders’ Cup makes Del Mar debut Gun Runner, one of the favorites in Saturday’s $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, gets a bath after morning workouts on Oct. 30. Del Mar is hosting the two-day, 13-race Breeders’ Cup for the first time since the season-ending competition began in 1984. The races kick off with four on Friday, starting with the Juvenile Fillies Turf, and culminating with Saturday’s Classic, among the richest races in the world. Photo by Jesse Caris
San Marcos is poised to become the latest North County city to ban growing, processing or selling cannabis outright in advance of Proposition 64 taking effect on Jan. 1. Voters in 2016 approved the legalization of recreational marijuana and a state licensing and taxation system for the product as part of Prop. 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act. The new laws, however, defer to states on questions of whether to allow commercial cannabis activities, which has sent a number of jurisdictions scrambling to craft new rules before the Jan. 1 deadline. The San Marcos City Council unanimously voted Oct. 24 on the first reading of an ordinance that would ban all commercial cannabis activities and would limit indoor cultivation to the limits outlined in Prop. 64, six per residence. The ordinance would also prohibit people from smoking canTURN TO POT BAN ON 10
Escondido Planning Commission approves country club plan By Steve Puterski
ESCONDIDO — It was one big step forward for New Urban West, Inc., but its plan for 380 homes at the Escondido Country Club, dubbed the Villages, still has another hurdle. The Escondido Planning Commission voted 5-1 on Oct. 24 at City Hall to recommend NUWI’s development in the northwest part of the city to the City Council, which will hear the matter Nov. 15. Commissioner Joe Garcia was the lone no vote and Stan Weiler recused himself due to a conflict of interest. The three-hour meeting featured dozens of residents speaking, mainly from two groups — Restore Our Country Club and the Escondido Country Club Homeowners Organization — each sporting shirts
Residents packed City Hall to hear discussion and ultimately watch as the Escondido Planning Commission approved to recommend New Urban West Inc.’s plan for 380 homes at the Escondido Country Club. Photo by Steve Puterski
for their cause. Of the 119 in attendance, 60 were against and 59 supported the project, according to a tally by city staff. “I walked the course last
week,” Commissioner Jeff Weber said. “I can’t find a reason not to support it. It’s time to accept change and move on.” In addition to the 380 homes,
NUWI’s plan also calls for 48.9 acres of open space including parks and a greenbelt, four miles of trails and renovating the dilapidated clubhouse. There will be three Village sites, each with different architecture, along with road improvements on Country Club Lane. Many supporters of the project railed against the clubhouse as a source of graffiti, gang activity and slumping property values. Many said the environment isn’t safe for their kids. “It’s extremely encouraging, “Miles Grimes of ROCC said. “What you heard from each of them was they were poring over the documents, the comments made by people in our community TURN TO COUNTRY CLUB ON 10
Beach race poised to set Guinness World Record By Aaron Burgin
Organizers of Surfing Madonna Run have called the race “the world's largest beach run” the past two years. Now, in its fifth year, with just under 5,000 people expected to sign up for the race, the popular beach 5K/10K/15K run could become officially the largest race run on sand — desert, beach, or playground.
A judge from Guinness Book of World Records, which documents all records large, small and quirky, will be on hand at Moonlight Beach on Nov. 5 to determine if the fifth Surfing Madonna Run indeed sets the record. Race organizers are excited and confident that it will happen. “I think we’ve absolutely got it,” said Bob Nichols, founder
and CEO of the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project, the nonprofit that hosts the race. “We are pretty excited.” The confidence is well placed: Largest sand race is a new record category that Surfing Madonna sought to create. In order to create the category, Surfing Madonna representTURN TO RECORD ON 10
Runners hit the sand in last year’s Surfing Madonna Run. File photo