Borrego Sun - Since 1949

By J. David Garmon MD

President, Tubb Canyon Desert Conservancy

After more than a decade of hearings, studies, reports, and meetings, the fate of Rudyville will be determined this year, 2018, at two hearings in San Diego. The first hearing will be before the County Planning Commission and the second will be before the County Board of Supervisors.

“There is a 90% probability the County Planning Commission’s hearing on Rudyville will be on Friday, June 22, 2018,” says staff from the Department of Planning and Development Services (DPDS).

The date will not be confirmed until two weeks before the hearing. Because of the travel burden this hearing in San Diego places on those Borregans who wish to attend, DPDS staff began notifying interested parties in Borrego in the second week of May of the “very likely” date of the hearing.

The Planning Commission hearing will be at the County Complex located at 5520 Overland Avenue in San Diego. At this hearing the Planning Commission will formally receive the Environmental Impact Report that was prepared by the DPDS over the last seven years, and the Commission will hear public comment on Rudyville, as well as comment regarding the 41 other Property Specific Requests located throughout San Diego County.

DPDS staff is requesting Rudyville be the first item on the agenda, at 9 a.m., in acknowledgement that those members of the public who have travelled the farthest should not also have to sit through the entire hearing.

Borregans have for more than a decade articulated the myriad reasons why Rudyville’s request to increase its zoning density must be denied.

Now that we are at the end of this long process, it is crucial to have a crowd of 20 – 30 community members reiterate for the Planning Commission why Rudyville must be stopped. The Planning Commission’s recommendation on Rudyville will be forwarded to the County Board of Supervisors who will make the final decision sometime later in the summer.

The date for the Supervisors’ hearing has not been set, but could be as early as July or as late as September. Because this hearing is occurring in the middle of the summer when many Borregans are in other parts of the country and cannot travel back to San Diego, all members of the community who care about this issue and can travel to San Diego are urged to do so.

Additionally, anyone planning to attend the Planning Commission hearing is urged to contact the Tubb Canyon Desert Conservancy (TCDC) via email at contact.tcdc@tubbcanyondesertconservancy.org or phone at (800) 204-3656.

TCDC will maintain a roster of those who plan to attend the hearing, and will be disseminating additional information as it becomes available.