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Home My WebLink About1990-04-16; Parks & Recreation Commission; 490-11; Mt Israel ParkPARK S RECREATION COMMISSION - AGENDA BILL ARtf ^q^m MTG 4-lk-10V; *7DEPT. rn^ TITLE: MT. ISRAEL PARK (ACTION) DFPT. HD. CITY ATTY CITY MGR. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Review update of proposed development plans for Mt. Israel Park by Olivenhain Municipal Water District. If the Commission concurs, appoint a Commission representative to act as liaison should the opportunity to discuss future development occur. - ITEM EXPLANATION: Commissioner Castner requested this item be discussed by the Commission during the April 16, 1990 meeting. To date, several articles relating to this proposed park have appeared in local newspapers and have been attached for your review. Staff was asked several months ago to respond to a request from Lefty Anear to Mayor Lewis regarding Mt. Israel Park (Exhibit No. 2). For purposes of discussing this issue, a representative from Olivenhain Municipal Water District will be making a presentation to the Commission and can respond more appropriately to any questions regarding the development of the park site. EXHIBITS: 1. Blade Citizen news article dated March 18, 1990 2. Blade Citizen news article dated March 20, 1990 3. Staff memo January 19, 1990 048 SUHPhote/ Tom Rlg«s Oavi McCollom of th« OUvenhaln Municipal Water District stands on tr» *dg« of th«ied park on ML Israel. Water district park could be opened next year By Michael J. William* Staff Writer A favorite scenic route of local Sunday drivers is the bucolic back road to Escondido along Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove roads. Between the sprawling subdivi- sions of the coastal cities and Escondido lies an idyllic world of pastoral landscapes framed by rocky escarpments. In the near future, much of the land surrounding the area's domi- nating feature, Ht Israel, will be eaten up by development. But thanks to a water reservoir and dam project planned bj< to*. Olivenhain Municipal Water Dis- trict, Ht Israel may be preserved as a nature lover's paradise. ,_ ., "Before long, this area wilrSepretty much an open space island 750 acres of nature to be preserved in the middle of an area pretty much developed," said water dis- trict Assistant Manager David McCollom. As a buffer to a future reser- voir planned by the district about750 acres of district property and land leased tern the Bureau of Land Management will be main- tained as a nature park with hik- ing, mountain biking and horse trails, as well as primitive picnic grounds. "This will be nice because it will preserve in perpetuity some very, unique land in it* natural state," McCollom said." The plan was solidified Thurs- day wi$ the water, District board's, decision U award a $408,000 con-tract to the Redlands-based con- tractor, Belfree Construction, to install the trails and picnic areas. In the second phase of the project, an access road from Harmony Grove Road and a small parking lot will be installed, but there will be no vehicle access beyond the parking lot McCollom said the park could be opened to the public as early as next spring, although the entire project won't be completed until 1993. Del Mar naturalist Barbara Moore, co-author of the hiking guide "Walking San Diego," com- mended the concept "I'm glad they're going to go ahead with if Moore said. "It's a very rugged area. Mt. Israel is really quite rugged." Once the reservoir and dam are installed later in the decade, morethan 500 acres of natural, open space will remain for recreation, McCollom said. "It's still a substantial area for people to enjoy, and it will be pre- served in its natural condition," McCollom said. Moore said the setting should be comparable to East County's Dixon Lake, which includes 527 acres. "They've done a nice job mak- ing that pleasant'' Moore said. The district's reservoir, which is designed to store drinking water on an emergency basis, will sit in a basin fed by Escondido Creek in a bowl-shaped area sur- rounded by mountain ridges. > See Park, Page B-3 Park >Frpm Pagt B-1 General Manager Bill Hollingsworth and his staff envi- sion that the reservoir, which McCollom said will have a capacity of 24X100 acre feat or approximate- ly 7.8 billion gallons, will serve as an emergency regional storagebasin. District officials said they hope to work with the County Water Authority to make the water avail-able to other water districts. "I think it's wonderful that wewill have an open reservoir withmore than one use," said Encinitas Councilwoman Marjorie Gaines, who lives in the Olivenhain district"It will allow us to store more water, and it's nice that the district is making it a recreational area. "The downside is that they'll have to fill up the canyon with water." According to McCollom, the reservoir project has not encoun- tered the environmental con- straints of other projects because of its isolated nature and the absence of endangered species. He said the district is currently seek- ing mitigation sites to replant vege- tation lost as a result of the reser- voir. The entire park and reservoir site is now surrounded by private property. Although Olivenhainboard member Ann Peay of Encini- tas said there was initial resistance from some neighboring property owners, she said the community now seemed content with the dis- trict's current proposal, which is scaled down from earlier plans. She said the facilities are the minimum required by the Bureau of Land Management which is leas-ing the land to the district on the basis that is maintained for recre- ation. "I think the people in that area are satisfied," Peay said. "The reservoir is an absolute must. We're so dependent on imported water, we need the storage McCollom said the steep topog- raphy of the site isolates it from surrounding areas. That he said, isthe site's most appealing feature. "It's very isolated," McCollom said. "It's like a secret valley that's away from everything. Going out there gives you the feeling you're on a little secret adventure. In short it is an untouched oasis and will always be cut off (from) free- ways and subdivision, which arenearby." 049 EXHIBIT 1 ! - <1*£«»-1 3-*>'fe .A\\ must share in cost of operating Mt. Israel Park 050 An article in Sunday's Blade-Citizen states the Olivenhain WaterDistrict's Mt. Israel Park could be opened next year. Seven-hundred-and-fifty acres of rustic land will be preserved. The district is going to build a water reservoir andrecreation area on the site. About500 of the 750 acres is leased from the Bureau of Land Management. The bureau requires this land be maintained for recreationalpurposes.Originally, the district had an ambitious plan to develop this in a manner similar to Dixon Lake, a water reservoir and recreation area owned and operated by thecity of Escondido. What are some of the recreational facilities offered at Dixon Lake? There are about 45camping sites, including eight deluxe sites with full trailer hook-ups. Thirty-seven campsites have tables, stoves and lockers. There are five restrooms, some withshowers, fire rings, eight chemical toilets around the shore of the lake for fishermen and hikers. Thereare also rental boats. There is a fullrange of user fees. The current scaled-down plan for the Mt. Israel recreational facility includes the installation of trails and picnic areas, followed by the construction of an access road from Harmony Road and a verysmall parking lot just off Harmony Road. There will be no accessbeyond the parking lot In other words, if you are a good hiker you can get in and use thepark. You can also ride a horse intothe park, If you are very young, old or handicapped, getting up to therecreational facilities will bedifficult Water District AssistantManager David McCollum said thesteep topography of the site isolates it from surrounding areas.' That, he said, is the site's mostappealing feature. He also stated 'the teservotr project has notencountered the environmental - constraints of other projects because of its Isolated nature andthe absence of endangered species. Just what is the real reason forscaling down the project? Theoriginal concept was to maximizethe use of the land. According toAnn Peavy, an Encinitas residentand Olivenhain Water District board member, there was someinitial resistance from someneighboring property owners. What was their concern? Basically, theydidnt want a large volume of traffic going through the Harmony Grove area to get to the facility. Anotherconcern was potential noise. Areeither of these arguments valid? I have been to Dlzon Lake several times. There If more traffic going inand out of Eternal Hills Cemetery. ' What about potential noise? "It's very isolated," McCollum said. "It's like a secret valley that's away from everything."Previously, when I talked toOtivenhain Water District staff about this project, it becamereadily apparent the staff wasn't at lall enthusiastic about being in the recreation business. Their forte is Girard Anear The recreational facilities could be operated as a joint endeavor, similar to the Encina water treatment plant. There are five political entities using and sharing the cost of running this regional plant. in water service. A valid concern was the cost of operating andmaintaining the recreational facilities. It is not insurmountable. I proposed then, and I'll propose itagain, the recreational facilitiescould be operated as a joint endeavor, similar to the Encina water treatment plant. There arefive political entities using andsharing the cost of running this regional plantA short time ago, Councilman John Mamaux of Carlsbad decried the tack of local camping facilities.Encinitas is critically short of recreational facilities. There are no camping or freshwater fishing facilities that I khbw1 of In Encinitas, Vista or San Marcos. Fresh-water fishing is available ir. the Buena Vista Lagoon between Oceanside and Carlsbad. Mt Israelrecreational facilities would alsobenefit the county (non-city) residents In the area. This facility will be paid for by the water users of South La Costain Carlsbad and the Olivenhainarea of Encinitas. User fees wouldprovide probably about 80 percent of the cost of maintaining the recreational facilities. The remaining costs would easily beequitably adjusted on a per-capitabasis of the cities that wpuld bemembers of the joint powers agreementThere must be some leaden onthe Olivenhain water board, our city councils and parks and recreation commissions with vision and imagination to recognize thisopportunity and not just let it die. Opportunities like this are not available very often.This is a rare occasion for the taxpayer to get a "big bang" for his "buck"! EXHIBIT 2 January 19, 1990 TO: ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER FROM: Parks and Recreation Director CITIZEN LETTER DATED - DECEMBER 21, 1989 - LEFTY ANEAR Attached for your review is our Department response of a letter to the Mayor that was written by Lefty Anear regarding the Olivenhain Municipal Water District park proposal. DAVID BRADSTREET DB:bs Attachment: Memo dated - January 18, 1990 c: Assistant City Manager 051 EXHIBIT 3 Frtm tht OHIc» of THE CITY MANAGER RECEIVED jj! Date_L 1990 To 1-1 X"^ ~ I I Note and Return LJ Please Handle for Me I I Give Recommendation LJ Investigate and Report D Please See Me LJ For Your Approval 6 I I For Your Information I I Respond Directly/Send Me Copy LJ Prepare Reply for City Manager's Signature repare Reply thru City Manager for Submission to Council D Complete 052 /££*<. JL*/^: f / ^**W» 7#'^dO~.J/ &Z; ~^&'^4 053 January 18, 1990 TO: PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR FROM: Senior Management Analyst CITIZEN LETTER/OLIVENHAIN MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT PARK SITE On December 12, 1989, the Mayor received a letter from "Lefty" Anear regarding the development of a future park site by the Olivenhain Municipal Water District. The proposed site is referred to as Mount Israel Park and is located within San Diego County, east of Elfin Forest between Harmony Grove Road and Del Dios Highway. The attached news article provides a background of the park development plans. In essence, the article describes initial plans outlining a rather elaborate regional park development concept on 730 acres which included many active recreational opportunities centering around the construction of a 230 acre reservoir and dam. Public review of this proposed park by neighboring communities appears to have considerably scaled down the scope of development to a more passive concept of recreational use. The principle factor in the change in development philosophy stems from surrounding community concerns over traffic and noise impacts from a proposed paved access road to the site. As a result of those concerns, the current development proposal has restricted public access to the site to pedestrian and equestrian modes. In a Carlsbad Journal newspaper column entitled "Maximize Use of Property," Mr. Anear strongly opposes the change in plans for this regional park concept and commented that similar parks throughout the County have been successful in meeting the recreational demand of residents with little or no negative impacts to the surrounding communities. Because of the benefit to potential recreation users of the originally planned facility from local communities and beyond, Mr. Anear objects that, "a handful of very vocal people living in the surrounding area told the County Board of Supervisors they didn't want a lot of people using "their" park and pursuaded the Board to reverse their staff's recommendations." In addition, he states that, "what we now need is the leadership of someone who has the vision and foresight to look to the future and pull our communities together to make this park a reality in its original or near original proposal." Based upon Mr. Anear's reference to Supervisor John MacDonald in the text of the article, and his plea for help from other community leaders with similar vision and foresight, I suspect he is seeking support of his objections from the Carlsbad City Council in memorandum to the Supervisor's office. If Council desires to support the original park development concept of a more active recreational nature, with direction from the Manager's office, our department could prepare the appropriate documents for Council consideration. KEITH BEVERLY, Attachment dm c: Assistant City Manager, Frank Mannen 054 2?«Wi;*^ft^|»RiKt™F •'•- H^t$%:'$§&^iOllvenhairr j^iihlglpal fVj "'* *~ '"' DAV1OATLBY / LatAnftleiTlmet rtt/abput 230 acres*In' a Vrshap$ct bo|( canyon to bemused for a reservoir. New ParliMapBi Inaccessible—by Design •„,;•••,.•• '••;.:>..*.*.+.*."--WiV-teWM*..*^.* *•.<<•': •••*'•• :.'... ••'.•• W marth> By NANCY RAY:: w - • ' ' ' .TIMES STAFF WRITER ' v'High in the rugged hills that across the midsectlon of San Diego Coun-4£ ty's coastal terrain is a very\exclusive?] .mountain named Israel.( ' ' ' •••"^Ww ' Someday, the county-willing, it and J surrounding peaks will be hom.e to Ranchoy- ' Cielo, an enclave of residents who will, live $ high in the sky and,'gaze down on the rest-*'. "of the world. ; ,->•-• • • ' •' M'/iy.*^.^;1. •••••-*• Much sooner than that, however, It will-" be home to a new park, one that is open to * -.everyone but available to very few.": *'.&. v.4 ' ;-r And, in about five years, a reservoir. ^ •l>$- f'i 'David McCollom, assistant managerfor^ •.'the Olivenhain Municipal Water District, ?' rsaid the agency did not plari to have ;*||i ^restricted-access park but that's what.the>^ ^neighbors wanted.What the neighbbrt'didp. -. i^not want was a lot of traffic and noise from*' K'voutaiders creating the kind of environment^: *Ltal pollution they were leaving the blg^city^ \escape. ..•••:-'i *.i:v^. •' '. .•: ;•*»•»"''^-••'S:,*^ " >*'•thedstrlct did not r*V year.!toj^v , ; - i.: -. \'. . , ;: . , v ^ <V>menU:T|M.BLsald recreational develo-- DAVEGATLEY / Loe Angeles Tunet plan to have a restricted-access park. •Z than $600,000 will be spent the fir*V year.!tov• -create Mt Israel ParkA- ^ ^^'.^ <^^V>^.i?j|B^e district Ins 1979^ •^acres. situated in a V-shaped box canyon a^^i;VToineet that requirement, initial plans to / th? 900-foot leve^, for a reservoir and 4am^ik; -.'develop Mt Israel Park included a paved uj^Tp protect the < watershed \arourtd itheyfe access road to the mountain heights fromreservoir, officials leased about 600 *cre» \, Del Dios Highway on the southwestern . ,recreational develop-- ,dido residents in, the area protested. And.•-In their roughly 700- acre park, which will eventually include the reservoir. Oli- venhain officials had planned in the early '80s to develop hiking And horse _ tvnijs _as PQ B8- TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1989 /SD PROPOSED PARK 4fe^ ^' •-.' '^ -rly '*: r- if®^^^'.'s^'"!1 ii> ' ;.H x ' •' .' • • / *> * .>-.: - J erattsmedfnniBi|^'"*Y - ; \JthebucoUb'settlng.Thosecommu- r}. well as bvernlght^camplng sites,>< i; niUee-squeeted between the bus-': {with-electricity, water, and per-*; tling cities of Escondldo and San * *. Hap> showers and a laundry room, iy Marcos, hemmed in on the south by ' They had ehvisiopedjarge picnic.^ ihe booming San Diego suburbs ofai^TforfainUy.vOr'coinmunity.^Rancho Bernardo, Penasquitos and. ' ..»k-_j_.. -* ,m »A^lflo itMinla • • T N«-»*< rs»v W«t_rfA not wcleomeI ( U|> H|t * W HPfl»™i ^j^ff;. f ,. 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