A6 FISH
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fish, release them and issue regular reports. “I was attracted to this study due to the sample size — millions of gallons of cubic yards of water going into the plants a few times every year,” said co-author John McGowan, a professor emeritus at the Scripps Institution of
HOUSING
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with no debt. That’s a huge asset because it gives them a revenue stream. “And people who provide services here can now afford to live here,” Emerson added. “It’s a whole bunch of wins all wrapped together.” According to a graphic provided at the open house, tenants who would qualify for an affordable unit include police officers, firefighters, sanitation drivers and public school teachers whose annual salaries range from $37,000 to $73,000. The affordable component will have one studio apartment, three one-bedrooms and three two-bedrooms. Three will be available to those who make less than $40,000 annually, with rents from $1,100 to $1,500 monthly.
FIRE FEES
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About 66,000 property owners in San Diego County will be billed for the fee this year, according to Mathisen. Much of the land in the SRA in San Diego County is in Rancho Santa Fe, where residents already pay six percent of their property
AUG. 9, 2013
RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS Oceanography. The study, published last monthin an issue of the “Journal of Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science,” looked at 21 common fish species in Southern California during the past four decades. From queensfish to anchovies, the populations for nearly all types of fish declined sharply. “I would be skeptical if data was only collected at
one power plant, but the results from the five plants were similar,” McGowan said. He noted that it’s “extremely unlikely” the fish learned not to swim near the power plants since they have limited cognitive abilities. The power plant records are largely consistent with other independent fishing stock assessments. Those assessments also
show an ongoing decline in many of the same fisheries over the past 30 years, according to McGowan. The findings indicate the fishing industry isn’t the main cause of the big drop in counts. That’s because both commercial and noncommercial species suffered similar population declines. Of all the species, schooling fish like sardines
were hit hardest. And consequently, seabirds, sea lions and larger fish had less food to prey on, hurting their populations, according to the research. “The entire ecosystem is thrown off,” McGowan said, adding that not only has there been a drop in schooling fish numbers, but those fish weigh less on average.
The study notes that ocean temperature changes, spurred by global warming, likely explain the drop-off. And the shift in ocean salinity is another likely factor. “More studies should look at the effects of global farming,” McGowan said. McGowan said the power plant records are a valuable resource scientists can “continue to utilize into the future.”
Four will be available to those who make between $60,000 to $85,000 annually, with rents from $1,600 to $1,900 monthly. “It’s about time we had something like this,” one attendee said. Bob Scott of RJS Planning + Sustainability, a Del Mar consulting firm, said the comments he received at the open house were “overwhelmingly favorable.” “People liked the idea of converting the development to residential,” he said. “They like the gateway entry and the affordable component. And they liked the coastal-style architecture rather than something that was too Spanish or mission-style.” He said attendees told him they support the concept of attached homes to balance the mix of housing in the city. While much of the input was positive, resi-
dents also had concerns, mostly about traffic, providing sufficient parking and the density. “The lot doesn’t look big enough to accommodate what’s being proposed,” Susan Morrison said. Sharon Hilliard said the units appeared small and there wasn’t enough open space. Architect John Maple said seating and barbecues will be included in common areas. Hershell Price said the buildings look too large and are set too far back into the hillside. “But whatever the developer does, there has to be a roundabout at Jimmy Durante and San Dieguito,” Price said. “If they don’t build it with this project it’ll never go.” Planning Manager Adam Birnbaum said while “something is needed there, clearly, the developers don’t want to be the ones that drive that decision.”
“The best way to control traffic there will be a community decision, but the developers will be required to implement whatever the community determines is the best approach,” Birnbaum said. A commercial project known as the Riverview Office Complex was approved for the site in 2008 by the Planning Commission and Design Review Board but the owner decided not to pursue implementation, Birnbaum said. A formal permit application for Watermark has not yet been filed with the city. The goal of the open house was to garner community feedback and determine whether residents wanted residential over commercial. Before anything happens the property must be rezoned from commercial/office to residential.
The city also has to create a zone density that will allow 20 to 25 units per acre. To mitigate for the higher density, the developer will be required to provide community benefits, which will likely include gifting the units to Del Mar Community Connections. According to a timeline presented at the open house, applications will be filed in August and an informal Design Review Board review is scheduled for January 2014. Public workshops are planned for October and November of this year and in February 2014, when the project design is 30 percent, 60 percent and 90 percent complete, respectively. Public hearings are tentatively set for February, March and April of next year. A draft environmental impact report is slated to be released for a 45-day review this November.
“There was enough positive momentum to keep us moving forward with a residential project,” Scott said. “But we know we need to keep working on it.” “It’s a good start,” Morrison said. “I like the concept drawings.” “In general I like the use,” Councilman Al Corti said. “I have some concerns about density and traffic but the EIR will figure those out. It’s a little premature. Right now it’s just pretty pictures.” “As long as they deal properly with the drainage off the hillside and potential traffic issues, I’m in favor of the project,” Earnest said. Emerson said he is confident the developers will use the community input provided. “They have genuinely been listening to us and not pushing us to swallow their ideas,” he said. “It’s been a very cooperative process.”
tax for protection from the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District. Other areas in North County being charged the fee include unincorporated parts of Escondido and Ramona. Since the fire prevention fee was first issued, San Diego Board of Supervisors has argued against it because the county already pays for fire protection in rural areas and that there is no guarantee that the money collected from the
county will be spent on fire prevention work in San Diego. San Diego pays about $15.5 million annually for fire protection, $10.2 million of which is contracted with Cal Fire, according to Steve Schmidt, Supervisor Diane Jacob’s communications advisor. Cal Fire did not respond to Jacob’s request to exempt the county from the fee on those grounds. C u r r e n t l y , Assemblymen Mike
Morrell’s and Tim Donnelly’s bills to repeal the fire prevention fee, AB 124 and AB 23, remain in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro’s AB 468 seeks to replace the fire fee with 4.8 percent charge on all property insurance policies throughout the state and remains in the Assembly on Natural Resources. The Howard Jarvis Tax Association (HJTA) is in the process of suing Cal Fire
and the State Board of Equalization based on the claim that the fee is an illegal tax. The HJTA aspires to have the fee repealed and have the state refund property owners for the fire fees collected. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Eugene L. Balonon, who is hearing the case, ruled this month that the matter can proceed as a class action lawsuit. Mathisen said that for the fiscal year 2011-12 billing cycle, 105,000 prop-
erty owners statewide petitioned against the fee. About 15,000 successfully appealed, primarily on the grounds of the actual numbers of habitable structures and structures’ ownership. Bills will be sent out to property owners in the San Diego region from Sept. 25 to Oct. 4, according to the State Board of Equalization. Property owners can appeal the fee by petitioning Cal Fire for redetermination.
TRAYVON
would have no idea what those two words mean. To be white in America is to be privileged from birth. Your orthodoxy as a citizen and human being are taken for granted because you are in the majority, your “people” have always held power in
society, and they have had the opportunity to set the rules therein. There is no mantle of suspicion associated with a white skin. That skin is akin to a passport granting the user freedom of movement and peace of mind: freedom from fear and suspicion. My sense is that few African Americans feel either of those freedoms all the time and absolutely, while many white people assume them as natural law. Trayvon Martin was shot on his way to his father’s fianceé’s residence where he was staying at the time, armed with an Arizona Iced Tea and a box of Skittles. He was shot to death 70 yards from the back door of that
residence. He was walking home when George Zimmerman accosted him. I know one thing about this incident: Trayvon Martin’s death was unnecessary, and speaks to the burden of blackness in America. I have a 13-year-old son. We live in a townhouse down the block from a 7Eleven in Village Park. I know — know — that if my son goes down the block to buy a drink and snack, the police may see him, but they will not stop him; residents may note his presence but will go on about their business. Because of this, I don’t send my son out in the world every day with the fear that
something he does, or says, or just the fact of his being will incite someone against him. While I am glad that my son will grow up absent that mantle of suspicion, my gladness is tempered by my sense of the difficulties that African Americans live with every day. Each of us, by our actions, still bears responsibility to realize a more perfect union, and white Americans’ recognition of the privileges they enjoy set against the automatic challenges of blackness has to be an essential element in moving us toward that realization.
BILLBOARDS
extremely distracting and anybody who reads the local news sees there is always a ton of accidents on highway 78,” she said.“It is also a blight and it is not the image the city needs to convey.” According to the city of Vista website, the proposal would have likely been the second largest single revenue source in the city’s portfolio.
Byzak said the billboards should be done in a way that satisfies the community. “I think there are ways to do it that meet everyone’s needs,” Byzak said. “The NCPC is not necessarily against the billboards themselves, but our approach from the beginning was to make the city officials aware of what was going on in the community.”
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that must make it hard at times simply to walk out the door. Black Americans understand that white privilege is real. Many white Americans
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to affect that Environmental Impact Report and I am not convinced this issue is dead,” she said. Holbrook added that the billboards are a safety issue for drivers on state Route 78 and a stain on the city of Vista. “These billboards are
Joshua Lazerson is an Encinitas resident.