PDS holds public forum on proposed Sandia Creek Drive gate

The county's Department of Planning and Development Services held a public workshop Jan. 7 on the proposed gate on Sandia Creek Drive.

"The purpose of today's meeting is to provide an opportunity for the public to make comments and ask questions," said PDS project manager Nick Koutoufidis.

PDS will continue to receive any additional public comment through Jan. 18, and that night the Fallbrook Community Planning Group will address the gate and potentially make a decision. The public input will be incorporated into PDS staff documents, and PDS director Mark Wardlaw will make a decision on an Administrative Permit for the gate.

"The final decision has not been made. This is still a permit that is in process with the county," said PDS deputy director Mark Slovick.

An individual or group who disagrees with Wardlaw's decision has the right to appeal that decision to the county's Planning Commission. "Once the decision is rendered by Planning and Development Services that isn't the final decision necessarily," Slovick said.

The Fallbrook Community Planning Group heard public comment on the proposed gate Dec. 21 before a 10-4 vote, with one vacant seat, continued the item until the Jan. 18 meeting. Planning group members were hoping that gate proponents could resolve issues with neighbors and others who have concerns.

Residents of Sandia Creek Drive and Sandia Creek Terrace have requested the gate to limit access to the private road portion of Sandia Creek Drive to residents and invited guests. The road maintenance agreement for the private section of the road was approved in 1989, and 56 property owners pay for the maintenance of the road. Because the proposed gate does not have the unanimous consent of the property owners, an Administrative Permit is required for its installation.

The private portion of Sandia Creek Drive is approximately 2.2 miles. The gate would be installed just north of Rock Mountain Drive and is intended to deter through traffic, although an exception for other DeLuz residents for whom the private portion of the road is a legitimate route rather than a shortcut was discussed during the Jan. 7 workshop.

The private portion of Sandia Creek Drive extends to the county line. The Riverside County portion of the road is administered by the DeLuz Community Services District and is a public road, so no gate would be allowed north of the county line.

The property owners voted on a two-gate project which received support from approximately 80% percent of the landowners; one gate would have been at the southern end of the private road while the other gate would have been at the county line. The county's Department of Public Works deemed the two-gate proposal not feasible due to issues involving road width and California Environmental Quality Act compliance. "The county could not support this due to safety and operational issues on the county public road," Koutoufidis said.

The current plan includes three turnarounds in addition to the gate. One would be just north of the gate, one would be just south of the gate, and one would be near the beginning of the private portion of Sandia Creek Drive. The gate and turnarounds would be complemented by signage notifying motorists that the private section is closed to through traffic. The signage would meet federal standards for night visibility, which would limit the risk of a motorist who is lost in DeLuz driving all the way to the gate before needing to turn around.

The single-site gate system would have two swing gates. Solar panels would allow for battery backup in case electrical power is lost. The gate would be no more than 12 feet high.

If the primary source of power is lost, the gate is supposed to open automatically and remain open until full power is restored. The North County Fire Protection District would have a key to unlock the gate manually, and the gate would also respond to emergency vehicle strobe signals.

The gate may also be opened by a remote radio signal; the nearest NCFPD fire station is 4.2 miles away by air and the radio signal has a range of five miles. Remote operation by the regional dispatch center in Rancho Santa Fe would also be an option. The radio control system would be tested before the gate becomes operational.

An Administrative Permit is a discretionary permit and requires CEQA findings. The proposed CEQA finding is a Negative Declaration. In addition to analyzing the state-mandated vehicle miles traveled impact PDS and DPW also analyzed level of service impacts.

A traffic study was conducted in 2020 which indicated an average daily traffic volume of approximately 2,200 vehicles including 1,700 through traffic motorists. PDS and DPW estimate that the gate would divert approximately 1,600 average daily trips to East Mission Road and another 300 trips to State Route 76. The vehicle miles traveled study indicated that the gate would reduce the distance by approximately 11% per motorist.

"There would not be a significant impact for this plan, and no mitigation would be required," Koutoufidis said.

Some of the speakers Jan. 7, as well as during the previous month's planning group meeting, expressed concern about the gate being near specific properties or the lack of information provided. The concerns also included the ability of other DeLuz residents to use Sandia Creek Drive as a legitimate route to Temecula rather than a shortcut and the ability of goods and service providers to deliver to the neighborhood.

Members of the Sandia Creek Road Committee and other proponents of the gate have indicated that access codes would be provided to the United States Postal Service, Fallbrook Propane Gas Company, and others who deliver to the homes on the private portion of the road. Neighbors elsewhere in DeLuz may request an access code; such access would likely be granted to actual neighbors although some of the Jan. 7 speakers requested that granting access be automatic for other DeLuz residents.

"The families on Rock Mountain are neighbors. We are not going to deny anyone an opportunity," said road committee member Alma Carpenter.

"Our concern is really the traffic coming here into the community that's unsafe," Carpenter said. "These are people who are coming through here that don't belong here."

Carpenter noted that the through traffic is causing deterioration to the road. "We need to put a stop to it. We can't as a community sustain even the maintenance of this road," she said.

Megan Gamble and her husband are 45-year residents of the area. "We fully support gate measures to control the traffic on this road," she said.

"There really hasn't been a long-term plan on how the gate will be financed," said John Tomik.

"We to this day have very little information," said Andrew Dale, who has lived in the 40200 block of Sandia Creek Drive since 1989.

The gate and one of the turnarounds is by Dale's property. "At this proposed location, the gate will not prevent the public," he said.

Dale believes that use of some of his property would be necessary for the gate and the turnaround. He noted that the road maintenance agreement covers only the road itself. "It is our opinion that a separate agreement would be needed for any gate to be constructed," he said.

The motorists turning around at the gate would create noise issues for Dale and his family and would also make his property more likely to be the site of an incident involving traffic which does not turn around safely. "We do not accept the liability that a gate on our land brings," he said.

"What they don't like is the lack of transparency," said attorney Deborah Zoller, who is representing the Gallagher family.

"We ask that you go back to the starting block," said Craig Sherman.

"We need it for our safety. We also need it for the safety of the general public around us," said Abby Elston, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years. "I'm an extremely strong supporter of this, and we need it soon."

Rock Mountain Preserve, which is managed by the Fallbrook Land Conservancy, abuts Sandia Creek Road. "We have seen multiple accidents, fatality accidents, on FLC property," said FLC executive director Karla Standridge.

Henri Gerwig has lived on Sandia Creek Drive since the 1980s. "It's all about private property rights," he said. "We privately pay for everything, and we think it's time we control the traffic."

Gerwig noted that the property owners may be liable if a motorist is injured on the private section.

Some speakers during the Jan. 7 meeting proposed that the county take over the private section of Sandia Creek Drive. County policy would require that road to be brought up to county standards before the county could accept that portion as a public road.