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Annexation will destroy prime Bonsall farmland

BONSALL – The City of Vista is conducting an Environmental Impact Report in order to annex Bonsall Farms, a whopping 300 acres of prime farmland known locally as Strawberry Hill (#41 on the map), to build a sprawl development of luxury homes.

Guajome Alliance for Responsible Development (GuARD), a nonprofit neighborhood group, is located in the unincorporated Guajome area of North San Diego County – north of Vista, east of Oceanside, south of Highway 76.

GuARD and the Bonsall Sponsor Group oppose this annexation. The property is in unincorporated San Diego County and part of the Bonsall Community Plan. Under the County's General Plan, development would be limited to 4 acres lots which would allow for continuing use of the land for agriculture or small ranches.

The mission of GuARD is to protect and preserve the area's semi-rural environment and quality of life; it has been effectively advocating for traffic safety and responsible development for over 20 years.

GuARD strongly opposes the annexation, because of the loss of prime Bonsall farmland and loss of county control of this semi-rural area. The City of Vista is concerned with adding as much land as possible to urbanize the area and gain tax revenue.

The integrity of this local neighborhood is not of interest to the city. GuARD strongly advocates for keeping the area under the San Diego County General Plan land use designations, which supports the semi-rural character of the community, and limits sprawl development.

This proposed project:

• Destroys farmland that has a special microclimate and is designated as Prime Farmland, Farmland of Statewide Importance, Unique Farmland and Farmland of Local Importance.

• Builds homes in a Very High Fire Danger zone.

• Is incompatible with the semi-rural community character and the goals of the Bonsall Community Plan and the San Diego County General Plan.

• Increases greenhouse gases from motor vehicles and is counter to Smart Growth principles.

• Endangers biological species and riparian habitat-destroys a large wildlife corridor that extends into a bordering large area of open space.

• Increases traffic, which is already gridlocked in the morning and evenings.

• Will be growth-inducing in the East Vista Way corridor which is currently a scenic road.

For more information or to support GuARD and sign up, go to http://www.guardnc.org.

Submitted by Guajome Alliance for Responsible Development.

 

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