Twin Oaks Sponsor Group Votes NO to Highlands Development

The Twin Oaks Valley Community Sponsor Group are appointed residents of unincorporated San Diego County who provide advice to County Staff, the Planning and Environmental Review Board, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. Last night, 1/21/2015, the Twin Oaks Valley Community Sponsor Group voted a unanimous NO to the proposed San Marcos Highlands development. There were several reasons mentioned as to why the proposed Highlands development is unacceptable in it’s current form, but the main issue discussed was it’s overly high density and non-conformance to San Diego County General Plan and planning principles.

The most logical and agreed upon suggestion as to how to make the development acceptable was to redesign the development so that it abides by the San Diego County General Plan and planning principles, which means reducing the density of the County portion of the project to 1 house per 10 acres.

Looking at the very top image (or click here to enlarge), you can see the stark contrast between high density homes in San Marcos to the top right, and rural unincorporated San Diego County to the bottom left. The arrow is pointing to the highest density portion of the project, which falls within unincorporated San Diego County – currently zoned for 1 house per 10 acres. The second image below (click to enlarge) is an actual photo of the area, with a rough outline of where the high density cluster of homes would be developed.

What does the NO vote from the Twin Oaks Valley Community Sponsor Group mean for the Highlands development? Not much, but for Highlands opponents, this is one small victory in the upcoming series of battles ahead.

Later this year, the project is expected to make its way to the San Marcos Planning Commission for a vote. Similar to the Twin Oaks Sponsor group, the outcome of that vote is only treated as a recommendation, although with much more weight. The next step after the Planning Commission hearing is San Marcos City Council. If San Marcos City Council votes NO, the project is dead. If City Council votes YES, the project makes its way to it’s way to LAFCO. LAFCO is an agency that oversees jurisdictional boundary changes. In the case of the Highlands project, the only way that it can succeed is if San Marcos annexes land from San Diego County. If LAFCO votes NO to the annexation request, the project dies. Large turnouts from members of the community at these final TBD hearings is essential to stop this development.