STATE WILDLIFE BOARD SAYS NO TO SWAP
Developer sought ecological reserve parcel in S. County
A controversial and unprecedented land deal that would have allowed a housing development on 219 acres of ecologically prized land in San Diego County was defeated Tuesday.
The California Wildlife Conservation Board voted 5-1, with its chairman Chuck Bonham abstaining, to deny a proposed land exchange between the state and developer group GDCI Proctor Valley, L.P.
The swap — which would have netted the Department of Fish and Wildlife about 339 acres of nearby undeveloped land and put an additional 191 acres under a conservation easement — was opposed by more than 50 conservation groups and land trusts throughout the state.
A procession of independent biologists, former wildlife department off icials, lawyers, private citizens and environmentalists blasted the proposal at Tuesday’s hearing as illegal, arguing that it would undermine the state’s credibility when it comes to protecting sensitive habitat and species.
The state’s land that GDCI sought to acquire was purchased nearly two decades ago to expand the Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve, in Proctor Valley, east of Chula Vista. It’s almost completely encircled by property owned by the developers.
GDCI and San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox argued at the public hearing that without the land swap, a more sprawling and therefore environmentally destructive version of the housing development would move forward.
However, that project is being challenged by environmental groups on grounds
related to climate change and wildfire. Similar lawsuits have, at least temporarily, halted a number of other developments in the county.
Cox, whose term ends in a few weeks after 25 years on the board, voted for both versions of the envisioned community, which consists of roughly 1,200 homes, commercial storefronts, an elementary school and a new fire station.
Also in support of the development were San Diego Reps. Scott Peters and Juan Vargas, as well as state Sen. Ben Hueso, local firefighter and sheriff unions, San Diego and Chula Vista chambers of commerce and other members of the development community.
In the end, the Wildlife Conservation Board sided with the assessment of conservation groups.
Board member Fran Pavley said on Tuesday that approving the deal could encourage developers in the future to use “heavy handed strategy” and “personal connections” to bypass environmental laws on protected lands.
“I’m concerned about the unintended consequences of approving this agreement,” she said at the meeting. “I want Californians to trust WCB action in the future.”
Bonham, who also serves as the head of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, personally orchestrated the deal with San Diego County officials and GDCI, a limited partnership that includes real estate giant Genstar and the San Diego-based Jackson Pendo Development Co.
At the meeting, Bonham explained his motivation for backing the proposed land swap, saying it was an attempt to end a long-running dispute between the wildlife department, GDCI and the county.
For years, department staff told the county and GDCI that the initial, more sprawling version of the project had problems. Specifically, they said it would develop land long protected under a county-approved conservation plan — a separate 185 acres owned by the developers.
The developer and the county fought with the department over the issue, threatening litigation.
The swap was an effort to prevent the initial project from going forward, Bonham said at the hearing. “In the absence of the exchange, the developer will build the larger, more dispersed, more impactful project,” he said.
However, that’s far from certain. Not only is the project being contested in court, the politics at the Board of Supervisors are about to dramatically shift, partly evidenced by the fact that incoming supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer sent a letter to the Wildlife Conservation Board opposing the deal. Three new board members will be sworn in at the beginning of January, giving Democrats control of the inf luential agency.