A day before the deadline to finalize ballot measures, a judge ordered some changes to the language in opposition statements to Measure B, which will decide the fate of Lilac Hills Ranch, a 1,700-home project near Valley Center.
Supporters of the measure had sued the County Registrar of Voters, saying the ballot language wrongly characterized the project. One of opponents’ primary complaints – that an elementary school to accommodate all the new kids wouldn’t be built by the developer – was struck after it was found to be untrue.
A couple of weeks ago, Accretive Investments, the developer of Lilac Hills, reached an agreement with the Bonsall Unified School District to build a school.
The other changes to the ballot language were minor, and about half of the statements opposing it remain unchanged.
“Of the 25 points argued, the judge ordered revisions or slight wording changes to about half. Most changes were switching out phrases such as ‘would force taxpayers to pay for road improvements’ to ‘may require’ or changing statements like ‘in violation of the County General Plan’ to ‘inconsistent with the County General Plan,’” the Union-Tribune reports.
Supes’ Stance on Measure B Matters to Future Housing Projects
It’s one of the ballot measures this November with the biggest effect on North County, but Supervisor Dave Roberts, and Encinitas Mayor Kristen Gaspar, both candidates for District 3 county supervisor won’t – or can’t – take positions on Measure B, to decide the fate of Lilac Hills.
That’s because they may have to vote on related issues if they’re elected, so a county lawyer advised them not to voice an opinion on the measure.
But Roberts has said he’s concerned the project that’s going before voters isn’t the same as the one that started to go through the traditional planning process. He’s also got an eye toward future projects that might try the same ballot route as Lilac Hills, and puts his stock in upholding the county’s general plan, which was adopted five years ago.
“Roberts, though, said in an email that the county’s long-term blueprint for future growth – adopted just five years ago – allows for plenty of new development, and he considers it one of his ‘primary responsibilities to uphold our general plan,’” Maya Srikrishnan writes this week.
Gaspar, meanwhile, said projects that build in undeveloped areas aren’t “ideal”, but cited the countywide shortage of housing as something that needs fixing.
“Development where development already exists is always the easiest,” she said. “We have an increasing need in housing stock for the county as the county continues to grow … is going to be an ongoing challenge. Lilac Hills will come and go, and then there will be other projects behind it.”
Oceanside MMJ Measure Up in Smoke
An effort to get a measure on the ballot that would permit medical marijuana in Oceanside appears to have burned out.
The Association of Cannabis Professionals began circulating a petition in April that stemmed from a decision by the City Council to prohibit the sale and cultivation of medical marijuana through its zoning ordinance. The city had also originally banned deliveries, though that was overturned, under the condition that the delivery business is based outside the city.
The proposed ordinance was modeled on the one adopted in San Diego, which permits sales and manufacturing in industrial areas with a conditional use permit, and cultivation in industrial and agricultural areas with a conditional use permit.
It was the only local measure headed to the ballot, but Oceanside City Clerk Zack Beck said ACP, the petition’s backer, failed to turn in their papers.
Also in the News
• Doug Applegate, a Democratic challenger to Republican Rep. Darrell Issa for the 49th Congressional District, is fending off attacks based on reports that he threatened and harassed his ex-wife during their divorce, over a decade ago. (L.A. Times)
• Encinitas is taking another stab at collecting public comments online. (Del Mar Times, Encinitas Advocate)
• It’s been a violent summer in one working-class neighborhood of Oceanside, which for years struggled with gang violence. (Union-Tribune)
• A push for owners of short-term rental properties, who often reside outside the area, to change their voting registration to Del Mar, is under way. (Coast News)
• A beloved Leucadia bookstore, gift shop, music and art venue is closing its doors after 20 years. (Coast News)
• Escondido will get new industrial space for the first time in 10 years – outside of Stone Brewing’s expansions. (Coast News)
• Loretta Sanchez is hitting her opponent in the race for the U.S. Senate, Attorney General Kamala Harris, for Harris’ handling of the investigation into the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. (KPBS)