Typo threatens I-15 Corridor Design Review Board

The I-15 Corridor Design Review Board, which has been a discussion topic for abolition but which has strong support for retention by many residents of the covered communities, may be eliminated due to a typographical error.

Members of the Bonsall Sponsor Group and Bonsall Design Review Board have requested that the county combine those two groups, and when the County of San Diego’s Administrative Code section was revised to eliminate references to the Bonsall Design Review Board the I-15 Corridor Design Review Board was accidentally replaced by the non-existent I-5 Corridor Design Review Board.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the introduction of the ordinance and first reading on the October 24 consent calendar. The ordinance will return to the supervisors for a second reading and adoption November 7.

The Bonsall Design Review Board consists of up to nine appointed members. One member is also a member of the Bonsall Sponsor Group, one member is from the Bonsall business community, and the other seven members are at-large. The Bonsall Design Review Board members do not wish to continue the board, and the Bonsall Sponsor Group has agreed to take over the design review board’s function.

The elimination of the Bonsall Design Review Board requires the county to amend Administrative Code Section 396.10 to delete references to the Bonsall Design Review Board. The new ordinance section as amended now applies to the Valley Center, Alpine, Lakeside, Ramona, Sweetwater, and “I-5 Corridor” Design Review Board.

The I-15 Corridor Design Review Board consists of seven members. Representatives from the Bonsall Sponsor Group (currently Chuck Davis), Fallbrook Community Planning Group (Jim Oenning), Hidden Meadows Sponsor Group (Joan Van Ingen), Rainbow Community Planning Group (Larry Pearce), Twin Oaks Sponsor Group (Michael McIntire), and Valley Center Community Planning Group (Barbara Rohrer) serve on the design review board, as does one at-large member (Greg Izor, who lives in the Escondido area and is also the current chair of the board).

The I-15 Corridor Design Review Board was created to preserve the visual aesthetics of the corridor, and if the County of San Diego believes that a proposed project may impact the visual aesthetics of the corridor that project is sent to the I-15 Corridor Design Review Board for input. While the community design review boards only review commercial properties, the I-15 Corridor Design Review Board reviews all structures and also signs.

The I-15 Corridor Design Review Board only addresses aesthetics and does not address issues such as traffic or environmental impacts and thus usually only debates aspects of specific projects rather than the projects themselves. The I-15 Corridor Design Review Board works with developers to ensure that no aesthetic objections exist.