Supervisors approve purchase of Clemmens Lane park site

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of a .56-acre site for the future Clemmens Lane Park.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote April 18 authorizes the purchase of the land from Donald and Wilma Lanning for $285,000. The site on Clemmens Lane west of Mission Road and south of Ammunition Road will be developed with recreational facilities in the future.

“It’s all good news,” said Renee Bahl, the director of the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation. “We look forward to building a local park.”

The park will serve the surrounding residential neighborhood which consists mainly of multi-family housing. The county had originally identified a site in the 200 block of West Clemmens Lane which is owned by San Diego Gas & Electric, but that property was not suited for park development due to utility easement restrictions and the appraised value was higher than the anticipated estimate. The Department of Parks and Recreation selected the Lanning site as a more suitable location, and the Lanning family was willing to sell.

A review and investigative work for hazardous materials on the property was completed, and on January 16 the county’s Department of Environmental Health recommended that no further environmental investigation for the parcel was needed.

On March 21 the supervisors set the April 18 hearing date for the acquisition and also approved additional allocations, bringing the total budgeted amount to $413,859. The funding in excess of the purchase costs will be used for future design and construction work.

Potential amenities include picnic and playground areas, a mini-soccer practice field, and a half-court basketball facility. The April 18 hearing also included the adoption of a Finding of No Significant Impact under the National Environmental Protection Act for the project; the national-level environmental statement is required because the project is funded in part with Community Development Block Grant funds provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In addition to CDBG funds, revenue for the project was derived from Park Land Dedication Ordinance funds paid by developers to fund park facilities in the development’s community and by a state Proposition 12 grant (named after the March 2000 ballot measure approved by the state’s voters).

An independent appraiser determined the $285,000 amount to be fair market value for the property.