By Jake Christie
(Rancho San Diego) — A crowd of around 50 people filled the Community Room at the Rancho San Diego Public Library Sept. 1 due to notices mailed by Supervisor Monica Montgomery-Steppe’s office concerning two proposed projects that if approved, would bring 413 new housing units to the area .Each would have some units designated as affordable housing.
Photo, top: location of CalWest’s proposed 335-unit “Trellis” housing project
CalWest’s “Trellis” project would include 335 units in motor courts on a 35-acre lot off Jamacha Road and Lamp Airport Road. The project would include a recreational area with pool, clubhouse, pickleball courts, dog park, BBQs and other amenities. The CalWest project would mostly be two-story homes, with the affordable housing units in a three-story apartment building.
Lennar’s unnamed 79-unit “townhome”-style project would be located next to Skyline Church on Campo Road (Highway 94),The Lennar buildings would be be two stories. The Lennar project is on a site originally planned by Skyline as a retirement home, but COVID scrapped those plans. Skyline later sold the property to Lennar.
Photo, right: location of Lennar’s proposed 79-unit housing project.
Because these were informational items only, none of the proponents were in attendance. After Chair Yousef announced that there had been no traffic or environmental studies on these projects yet because they are newly proposed, the floor was opened for public comments.
Bill Zuris posed a number of questions on how information on these projects would be released and where it would be kept online. He also expressed that the projects don’t “fit the character of East County” because they would intrude onto the remaining open space in Rancho San Diego.
Yousef responded that the County would be putting these projects up on the Planning and Development Services website and reiterated that the projects were in their most initial phase. An unhappy man and his wife got up and left.
A man and a woman who did not give names each talked about a possible underground river running through the CalWest property and said that it is protected land.
Another woman who did not name herself said she attends Skyline Church and that when exiting onto Campo Road, “You take your life in your hands.” She said the Lennar plan to connect its massive project’s entrance and exit to Skyline’s secondary exit ramp is an awful idea, adding that any wildfire evacuation east or in the area would be made much worse, with more people having to leave on the freeway.
At the end of the public comment session, Valle do Oro Chair Yousef urged the audience to stay involved with this process, adding, “We are four years out from a final decision….we are a long way from anything actual.”
With those present eager to spread the word to others, it’s likely that even more concerned residents in the Valle do Oro area will show up to the next meeting when these projects are on the agenda.
Photos below: Site drawing of Lennar project (top) and CalWest project (lower).
