MSCP land acquisition, San Luis Rey River Park among Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program projects

An updated Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program list was approved by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote, March 27, approved the five-year needs assessment provided by the county’s Department of General Services. Although the approval of the needs assessment itself did not include funding for the projects on the list the supervisors also directed county Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer to determine timing and funding mechanisms to implement the individual projects.

“Well-maintained infrastructure is critical to our ability to maintain delivery of services,” April Heinze, the county’s deputy chief administrative officer for the Community Services Group and Department of General Services, said.

The plan includes $1.35 billion of active projects, fully funded future projects and partially funded or unfunded projects along with $167 million of recently completed projects. Funding totaling $727 million has already been earmarked for the active and future projects with an additional $208 million identified for funding consideration, which leaves an unfunded amount of $624 million.

The updated needs assessment covers facilities projects slated for implementation between 2019 and 2024. The capital planning process which includes the Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program focuses on facilities, so road projects are not included on the capital improvements list.

A Facilities Planning Board prioritizes projects based on criteria including benefits and linkage to the county’s strategic plan and ranks projects. Additional projects which have been identified but which require further analysis to define their scope will be brought to the board of supervisors in the future for addition onto the Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program list.

“It’s a great demonstration today of the investments that we put into capital projects,” Supervisor Dianne Jacob said.

The list includes 64 fully funded projects, 21 partially funded projects and 93 unfunded projects. The county’s Department of Parks and Recreation has 140 projects on the list totaling $709 million including $243 million already funded and $43 million identified for funding during fiscal year 2019-2020.

“A significant portion of the CINA is parks and recreation capital programs,” Brian Albright, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, said.

The highest priority among the partially funded projects is the Multiple Species Conservation Program.

“The MSCP is an extensive preserve system that provides public access and nature-based recreation,” Albright said.

The county has already purchased more than 19,600 acres for the MSCP and anticipated the acquisition of nearly 12,500 additional acres. The estimated cost to acquire that remaining amount is $294 million and $147 million of that has already been funded with an additional $94 million leveraged from partners.

The San Luis Rey River Park ranks fourth on the list of partially funded projects. The needs assessment plan addresses land acquisition and development of the planned recreation areas. The river park boundaries are yet to be determined and land will be acquired only from willing sellers, so the total acquisition cost estimate may require adjustment. The river park will encompass approximately 1,600 acres and the linear park will stretch for approximately 9 miles.

“It’s a great addition,” Supervisor Jim Desmond said.

The San Luis Rey River Park acquisition and improvement plan requires an expected $63,378,883 including $15,989,040 which has already been funded. In July 2005 the board of supervisors appropriated $5 million to purchase land for the river park, and the county’s 2006-2007 budget provided an additional $3 million. The county has already acquired 668 acres, and approximately 700 acres will be transferred to county ownership as part of the California Department of Transportation mitigation requirements for the widening of state Route 76. The estimated cost covers the acquisition of an additional 250 acres, including 40 to 60 acres for an active recreation site.

The future San Luis Rey River Park will provide open space areas including trails, staging areas and habitat preservation. Since those open space areas are for the most part within the draft MSCP boundaries, the MSCP funding will be available to purchase open space land within the river park. The park will also include active recreation land such as ball fields, play areas and picnic facilities; the active recreation areas will not be eligible for MSCP funding.

A phased approach to provide a trail system, a staging area and both active recreation nodes does not restrict those phases to being constructed in any order. The construction of trails throughout the park including land acquisition, design and environmental analysis has a $29 million cost estimate. Development of the 40-acre Dulin Road active recreation node including design, environmental analysis and road improvements has an expected cost of $20.6 million for the sports fields, sports courts, recreation building and parking lot. The 55-acre Moosa active recreation node would include disc golf, playgrounds, a staging area and other active recreation amenities and is expected to cost $12.95 million including design and environmental expenses. The design, environmental analysis and construction of the Flowerwood staging area which would also include fencing, trash cans, hitching posts, shade structures and picnic tables has a $750,000 estimate.

Improvements to Don Dussault Park were on last year’s priority list, but the $285,000 cost for Phase II of the improvements was funded Jan. 9 and the park is now on the list of fully funded projects. Phase II is expected to include an adult outdoor exercise area, picnic areas with tables, additional paths meeting Americans with Disabilities Act standards, additional security lighting, landscaping and irrigation. The Phase II improvements are now officially considered speculative because the actual improvements and their locations have not yet been designed. A construction contract will be awarded after the design and environmental review work has been completed.

A regional fire training center ranks eighth on the list of unfunded projects. The state-of-the-art training center with a $2 million cost estimate is currently in the planning stage.

A skateboarding park in Fallbrook would require $582,000 and an agreement with the entity managing the land. That planned park ranks 10th on the list of unfunded projects.

A new park in Fallbrook with a size of approximately 5 acres ranks 11th. The eventual improvements would include a soccer field, sports courts and a playground. The estimated acquisition and development cost is $2,000,000.

Acquisition and development of a new local park in the Pala-Pauma area, which would be approximately four acres and include a sports field and a playground, ranks 48th on the list and has an estimated cost of $1,500,000.

The 49th-ranked unfunded project is parks maintenance buildings. The $1,500,000 estimated cost would cover the design, environmental review and construction of storage buildings with security systems at up to four county parks.

A bicycle skills course at an undetermined North County location ranks 61st on the list. The environmental analysis, permitting, design and construction phases have a total cost of $2,000,000. The course would include a jump track, progressive jumps and other skills elements.

The Keys Creek Preserve work would realign Via Piedra Road to create a staging area driveway off West Lilac Road and install staging area amenities to include parking spaces, fencing, benches, signage, kiosks and trash receptacles. That is ranked 64th among the unfunded projects and will require an estimated $700,000.

Constructing a pickleball court and picnic improvements at Rainbow Park is ranked 85th and the estimated cost is $300,000.

Last year’s list but not this year’s included a playground on the Bonsall Elementary School campus which would cost $250,000 and would also require an agreement between the county and the Bonsall Unified School District.

“I’m sure we’re going to get a lot more done,” Jacob said.