Funding a challenge for Stage Coach Lane pathway

In order for a pathway or trail to be constructed along Stage Coach Lane funding must be obtained and right-of-way must be secured, so members of the Fallbrook community met virtually Nov. 16 to express their desire to the County of San Diego staff.

The meeting was hosted by the Fallbrook Revitalization Committee and included representatives from the office of Supervisor Jim Desmond and from the county's Department of Public Works and Department of Parks and Recreation.

The proposed pathway or trail along Stage Coach Lane would be between Reche Road and South Mission Road, which is a distance of approximately 2 miles.

"We would have to see how this project would rank with other projects in the entire county," said DPW Director Jeff Moneda. "We would evaluate it and see what the options are."

Pathways are within the right-of-way of a road. Trails are outside of the right-of-way.

Roads in most communities, including Fallbrook, evolved over time. "There never really was a master plan," said DPW traffic engineering manager Murali Pasumarthi.

In 2016 and 2017, DPW walked and mapped potential segments for the entire unincorporated county, which totaled approximately 800 miles for all 26 of the unincorporated communities and approximately 80 miles in Fallbrook. "We actually mapped every one of these areas," Pasumarthi said.

The projects were ranked with criteria including proximity to schools, libraries, parks, senior centers and health centers.

In Fallbrook, the priorities were Reche Road, Ammunition Road, Old Stage Road and Aviation Road as well as Stage Coach Lane. "Stage Coach is right up there," Pasumarthi said.

The priorities were also evaluated versus those of other communities.

"Each community has its own priorities, and the needs of Fallbrook are different than the needs of Spring Valley or Lakeside or Ramona," Pasumarthi said.

"Fallbrook is 10% of the entire County of San Diego," Moneda said. "We try to make sure that there is economic equity among all the communities."

In 2018, the Park Land Dedication Ordinance, which provides for collection of fees from developers to fund park improvements in the area of the development, was amended to allow up to 25% of a fiscal year's PLDO revenue to be used for the acquisition of land for trails or to develop new trails.

"We have been sharing this message with all the communities once the PLDO was updated," said Department of Parks and Recreation region manager Jake Enriquez.

"We wanted a lot more than 25%, but we settled for that because it was better than nothing," said Eileen Delaney, who chairs the Fallbrook Revitalization Committee's infrastructure subcommittee.

(Delaney is also on the Fallbrook Community Planning Group and chairs the planning group's Design Review Committee, but she participated in the Nov. 16 meeting as a member of the Fallbrook Revitalization Committee rather than as a planning group board member.)

The fees were also updated in that 2018 action, and the PLDO fee for a single-family home in the Fallbrook community planning area is now $7,237.

"PLDO funding can't be used for pathways," said Department of Parks and Recreation senior park project manager Nina Pisano. "You can use PLDO funding for trails, but you can only use 25% of your PLDO for trails."

"It has to be out of the right-of-way," Enriquez said.

PLDO funding must be spent in the area of the development for which the money is collected. "Our PLDO balance is less than a million dollars," Enriquez said. "The PLDO funds would need significant augmenting with other funds."

The state has a Safe Routes to School program which provides funding for sidewalks and other pedestrian protection for students traveling to and from schools.

"This pathway goes right between two schools," said Fallbrook Union High School District Board Vice-President Lita Tabish.

Fallbrook High School is on Stage Coach Lane. Potter Junior High School is on Reche Road just east of Stage Coach Lane.

"It is right in the realm of safety issues," Tabish said.

"There is no edge and it's very unsafe," Tabish said. "The kids walk to school, walk through there, they exercise."

Tabish added that Fallbrook High School's cross country team uses Stage Coach Lane for practice runs. "It is a very strong safety issue," she said.

The Safe Routes to School grants are awarded on a competitive basis. Pasumarthi noted that the criteria includes the ratio of safety improvement to cost. "We don't compete well," he said.

"They have more interest in doing larger-city projects," said Fallbrook Revitalization Committee Public Safety Subcommittee Chair Lila MacDonald, who is also the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce CEO.

"The number of projects that we can implement is dwindling down because of the metrics," Pasumarthi said.

Although a trail or pathway would provide exercise and other recreation opportunities, the safety improvements are also desired by the community.

"It's about safety. Health is secondary," said Michelle Albanna, who chairs the County Service Area No. 81 advisory board.

(County Service Area No. 81 covers parks in Fallbrook, De Luz and Rainbow. It is a dependent district, meaning that the San Diego County Board of Supervisors members are the actual governing board, but it has a local advisory committee. CSA No. 81 receives some property tax revenue, and the advisory board also makes recommendations on the expenditure of PLDO funding.)

"It has turned into a danger situation," Delaney said. "Even since 2016 we have more cars; we have more people walking."

Identifying potential funding will be among the future activities for the planned pathway or trail. "We want to find out if there are other sources," Delaney said.

The property off of some roads extends to the centerline of the street, although easements allow for the flow of traffic on public roads. Some easements may also include portions adjacent to the roadway. Community member Jackie Heyneman noted that Stage Coach Lane for the most part has a paved roadway 40 feet wide with an additional 10 feet on each side. "Most of the road is 60 feet," she said.

"We would have to get some surveyors out there to verify the right-of-way," Moneda said.

Heyneman expects minimal difficulty in obtaining easements from property owners for the area near the road. "They're not using it anyway," she said.

Fallbrook resident David Lynch noted that Stage Coach Lane between Reche Road and South Mission Road includes a preserve, the high school, churches and only a few houses. "We're not talking about a lot of people," he said.

A less complicated prerequisite is official support from a community group. Moneda would like a letter from the community planning group requesting the Stage Coach Lane project. "We want to make sure that this is the priority of the entire community," he said.

Moneda added that the planning group might have other groups expressing support. "It could be a joint letter with the school district," he said.

Public agencies are subject to the Brown Act whose intent is to ensure that decisions are made in a public forum, so a joint letter from the planning group and the school district might be in violation of the Brown Act. "The planning group might have to do it separately," Delaney said.

"The Fallbrook Land Conservancy would be happy to sign on that letter as well," said Fallbrook Land Conservancy Board Chair Susan Liebes.

County Service Area No. 81 might also provide a letter of support. "We'd be willing to do an off-road type of trail," Albanna said. "We need a project, we need a dollar amount, and we're willing to support it once all that's there."

Terrain issues would also need to be resolved before the pathway or trail could be constructed. "We really need to figure out what we are dealing with," said DPW deputy director Bill Morgan.

The design and construction would need to account for varying elevations. "There are some pretty big challenges," Morgan said.

Drops in elevation would need to be mitigated to allow pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian access. Safety standards must also be implemented. "The project gets rather expensive," Morgan said.

The expense will be compared not only against projects for other communities but also against other DPW expenses. "Our priority is really to maintain the existing infrastructure that we have," Morgan said.

"There are a lot of pieces in the works," Morgan said. "It's a big process, but I think this is a good place to start."

"I think we've made a start," Delaney said.

"Fallbrook is a great community. We work together," Delaney said. "I think we'll find a solution."