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A coalition of environmental and community groups has taken aim at a proposal to build 550 estate homes on a vacant 1,100-acre parcel north of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, contending the project faces “insurmountable obstacles” due to wildfire risks and potential loss of plant and animal habitat.
In a letter sent to the Escondido City Council last week, the group outlined its concerns and asked the council to take a series of actions before considering approval of the project, which is expected to come before the council later this year.
Among its contentions, the letter points out that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CalFire, has designated the project site as a “very high fire hazard severity zone.”
San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy elects new president and board member
April 3, 2021 1:21 PM PT
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The board of the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy (SDRVC) has elected Del Mar resident Jim Smith as its next president.
Jim Smith
(Courtesy)
As the new president, Smith hopes “to continue the great work of my predecessors by protecting the watershed and encouraging public enjoyment of the area.” His long list of actions includes closing gaps in the Coast to Crest Trail, seeking opportunities to partner with agencies to purchase and preserve pristine properties, and looking for ways to increase the board’s outreach with its partner, the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority.
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The Del Mar fair board said it will consider contracting with an independent operator to reopen the 64-acre horse park that closed this year because of groundwater issues.
The 22nd District Agricultural Association, which operates the state-owned Del Mar Fairgrounds and the horse park, cancelled all contracts for horse shows, boarding and equestrian activities at the horse park this year because the district needs to make water quality improvements expected to cost from $3 million to $8 million.
The district’s board of directors, also called the fair board, said at its monthly meeting last week that hiring an independent operator could be a way to reopen the horse park, but it asked staffers for more details about the work that’s needed before seeking bids on a contract.
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Gabriele Wienhausen is as passionate about the local environment as she is about educating others to help protect it. The La Jolla resident retired in April from teaching biochemistry and physiology at UC San Diego but hasn’t retired her efforts to teach others to protect the natural spaces that have kept her here for nearly four decades.
Born, raised and educated in Germany, Wienhausen arrived in La Jolla more than 38 years ago for a 12-month stay to research biochemistry at UCSD, but she was so enamored of the university and the local natural environment that she and her husband never left, raising their children here as she continued her research.