Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Planning commission recommends Bonsall and Pala zoning and land use amendments

When the San Diego County board of supervisors approved an update to the county’s general plan in August 2011 the county supervisors directed county staff to develop a “clean-up” in the form of a general plan amendment every two years. The county’s planning commission heard the proposed 2019 clean-up amendments Oct. 11 and proposed zoning, land use designation, and other changes including the redesignation of four parcels in Bonsall and one in Pala.

The board of supervisors must approve any general plan amendment or rezone. The county’s Department of Planning and Development Services has targeted a Dec. 11 board of supervisors hearing date.

Both the Bonsall and the Pala land use designation changes involve a change to recreational open space for land which will be added to county parks. The four parcels in Bonsall total 63.26 acres and were acquired for the future San Luis Rey River Park. The 9.74-acre parcel in Pala will be part of Wilderness Gardens Preserve.

The initial general plan update was a multi-year process with much of the analysis occurring on a macro sale, so it was expected that oversights requiring correction would be found and the county supervisors directed county staff to develop proposed "clean-up" amendments every two years. The update direction also anticipated the need to clarify or revise policies or definitions in the general plan or community plans and to provide a process to handle changes in circumstances including changes in state law or ownership changes from private to public. The updates also accommodate minor community planning group or community sponsor group requests. Department of Planning and Development Services periodically reviews the county's general plan to correct errors or facilitate updates which reflect new circumstances.

The 2019 clean-up round includes 38 items for consideration. The planning commission considered recommendations on 28 land use map and zoning changes consisting of 17 ownership changes, 10 mapping errors, and one inconsistency. Five proposed revisions address text and tables in the general plan, four potential changes are to the mobility element, and one change would correct an incorrect reference in the Ramona Community Plan.

The planning commission voted 5-0, with David Pallinger and Bryan Woods absent, to recommend approval of 34 of the items. Michael Beck is the executive officer of the Endangered Habitats Conservancy and recused himself on the three East County zoning and land use designation changes reflecting the transfer of ownership to Endangered Habitats Conservancy; when Michael Edwards abstained the recommendations did not receive the necessary four votes for a positive recommendation although the explanation of the 3-0 vote will be included in the information for the county supervisors. The other item involves a property in unincorporated Escondido near Interstate 15; the planning commission voted 5-0 to send the item back to staff for additional analysis after neighbors objected to changing the rural residential zoning to match the land use designation given in 2011.

The Bonsall parcels will be rezoned from limited agriculture, rural residential and general commercial to open space. The land use designation will be changed to open space from rural lands with one dwelling unit per 40 acres, semi-rural with one dwelling unit per 2, 4 or 8 gross acres and public agency lands. Some of the property already has the open space land use designation. The parcels are east of state Route 76 at its bend and south of Camino Del Rey. Four dwelling units could have been built on the property under its current land use designation and zoning.

Open space zoning is intended for recreation areas or areas with severe environmental constraints. Structures such as restrooms, storage buildings, and pavilions are allowed on land with open space zoning if a site plan addresses the impacts of the structures. County-owned parks are exempt from the zoning ordinance, so the Department of Parks and Recreation will not need planning commission or board of supervisors’ approval for a site plan.

The parcel in Pala would be changed from rural land with one dwelling unit per 40 acres to recreational open space and from limited agriculture to open space. The property is east of Lilac Road and on the southern border of the Pala Indian Reservation. Under the current land use designation and zoning one dwelling unit could be built on the property.

The text changes add a clarification that road and bicycle classifications depicted in the mobility element are the classifications for full build out and traffic studies for individual projects may identify project design considerations which are less than the full build out classification and may not require a general plan amendment. A land use element amendment exempts emergency shelters from land use density regulations during recovery efforts related to a declaration of emergency by California or the San Diego County.

Author Bio

Joe Naiman, Writer

Joe Naiman has been writing for the Village News since 2001

 

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