Community

, ,

Measure W: Don’t be Fooled – VOTE NO ON W

, ,

Whenever something is labeled a “no brainer” it should set alarm bells off in your head.  The prospect of a 240-room hotel complex at Maderas Golf Club off of Espola Road is ringing like a 5-alarm fire drill.  But the developer of this proposed project, Sunroad Enterprises, is tone deaf. They failed to garner input from the community before slipping the ballot measure request onto City Council’s agenda just under the deadline for it to appear on the November ballot. 

No vetting by the community or council. No plan presented. (Drawings were later rendered in haste to tempt residents with eye candy.) Very few residents even knew the proposal was being brought before council.

The desperate flood of Yes on W postcards residents have received leading up to the election are disingenuous and transparently misleading. Emblazoned with buzzwords like “guarantee“…”good neighbor” …“quality of life” …”funding for parks, libraries and paramedics” … these campaign promises are empty and patronizing to Poway residents. 

Magical thinking
Some may like the idea of new tax revenue brought into the City on someone else’s shoulders (via a Transient Occupancy Tax paid by hotel guests). But where is this magical $1.5 million the developer keeps touting coming from? What is the formula? Is it based on near-complete occupancy of a 240-room resort?  It should be noted that the sprawling Rancho Bernardo Inn is 287 rooms. Neither Sunroad nor the community has any say in how tax revenue, which would go into the general fund, would be spent. 

No guarantees
If Measure W passes, the die is cast. The land would be approved for a hotel development up to 240-rooms for the current and future owner of the property. Critical decisions on location, square footage, height and more would be in the hands of city staff with approval by three members of a future city council.  

Skirting an updated Environmental Impact Report?
Council approved putting Measure W on the ballot based on a 26-year-old Environmental Impact Report. Key factors such as density, traffic, water, and fire safety have changed significantly since the 1980 report. The developer will do whatever it can to limit the extent of any new EIR that would be required by the city.

Questionable history
Sunroad is a developer with storied and questionable business practices, including having to remove the top two floors of an overbuilt office building near Montgomery Field and a pay-to-play scheme with the City of San Diego. 

GVCA has your best interests
The GVCA has been a watchdog for the quality of life in Poway since 1960. We keep an eye on issues such as water rates, inappropriate variances, fiscal responsibility, as well as support of local youth activities and events. 

Vote NO on W

We know Poway residents are smarter than the developer gives us credit for. Demand honesty, more information and transparency at the ballot by voting NO on W.

Be sure to read our arguments against Measure W in your voter guide.

, ,

Vote No: Measure W Maderas Hotel

, ,

When the idea of allowing a 240-room hotel development at Maderas Golf Club (Measure “W” on the November ballot) first surfaced in the public arena this summer, it elicited a variety of reactions from residents: curiosity, excitement, skepticism, opposition. Before taking a position on this potential land use change and major development, the GVCA board did its homework.

Upon learning that a land use request and ballot measure would go before a vote of City Council on July 19th, the GVCA had a mere two weeks to research the facts. In that time, we:

  • Obtained public records from the City Clerk’s office related to the land use request, including the Original Specific Plan, the Amended Specific Plan, and a recent traffic study
  • Conducted an email poll to gauge support or opposition of the proposal
  • Met with a representative from Sunroad Enterprises, the property owner and developer
  • Contacted City Council members

PROCEED WITH CAUTION

What we learned (and didn’t learn) left us with more questions than answers. Because the GVCA had serious concerns about the size of the development (akin to the 287-room Rancho Bernardo Inn), the potential impact (traffic, fire safety, water usage, noise, visual), and the hasty process by which the measure was brought to Council, with little to no information or input from the community, we cautioned Council against approving the applicant’s request. 

WHERE WAS THE VETTING?

With the exception of Councilman Dave Grosch, City Council approved the proposal without questioning the 26-year-old Environmental Impact Report, the appropriateness of a 240-room resort, the validity of a promised $1.5 mil in hotel tax revenue, or preliminary support from the community, 

A development of this magnitude and potential impact, demands proper vetting by the City Staff and City Council on behalf of the residents of Poway before reaching the ballot, not a rubber stamp of a vague and open-ended ballot measure which simply states:

Do you approve Specific Plan Amendment 16- 002 as adopted by the Poway City Council to amend the Old Coach Golf Estates Specific Plan, to allow development of a hotel with up to 240 rooms on the existing Maderas Golf Course site located at 17750 Old Coach Road?

Voters need a clearer understanding of what it is they are voting on and the impact their decision could have. It should be noted that a hotel was not approved in the Original Specific Plan due to community concerns. 

KEY DECISIONS OUT OF VOTERS HANDS

Without additional parameters on the land use (i.e. height limit, square footage, etc.) spelled out on the ballot, these key decisions will be left up to approval by a future City Council if the measure passes. The promise of community workshops cannot ease serious concerns about the recent disconnect in communication between Staff, Council and the community on major projects and developments.

LETS GET IT RIGHT

The GVCA is fully supportive of a thriving economic environment in Poway. We are active members of the Poway Chamber of Commerce and its Board of Directors, and proud supporters of Poway OnStage performances at the Poway Performing Arts Center. In order for a major hotel development in Poway to be a win-win for everyone involved, we need to get it right BEFORE it reaches the ballot. Measures such as this require more information, honesty and transparency. Voters should demand it by voting NO on W.

NOonW
,

Informational Meeting about StoneRidge Country Club

,

INFORMATION MEETING
June 5th at 4:00 pm
StoneRidge Country Club

As you may have heard recently, the owner of StoneRidge Country Club has determined that retaining a membership-based course and its clubhouse amenities are no longer viable operations as currently structured. To explore its options for the site, the property owner has hired local consultants to conduct one-on-one ascertainment research among Poway residents living directly adjacent to the StoneRidge golf course, as well as representatives of adjacent homeowners associations, the GVCA, and those who have purchased golf club, tennis club or social memberships.

In light of this activity, members of the StoneRidge Men’s Golf Club have organized a committee to explore ways to keep the property as a golf course/club. You are invited to attend an informational meeting led by this group to learn more about their efforts. The meeting will be held on Sunday, June 5th, 4:00 p.m., at StoneRidge Country Club.

For more information, email: SaveStoneRidge@outlook.com 

,

Looking for PUSD School Board Candidates

,

Two seats of the five seats on the Poway Unifed School District Board of Education are up for general election in November. One seat is currently held by incumbent Kimberly Beatty and the second is held by long-time board member Andy Patapow who is not seeking re-election.

As an award-winning school district, PUSD needs strong, stable leadership on its board of directors to help sustain its excellence in education which also protects home values in the area. Currently, there are no members on the board who live in the City of Poway.

If you are interested in running for one of the open seats, a group called The Coalition for Effective School Board Leadership is seeking candidates to endorse. The group consists of 20 parents, teachers, local business owners, and community leaders, including former Poway High School Principal, Scott Fisher.

For more information, visit:

www.coalition4effectiveschoolboard.com

The candidate filing deadline for this election is August 12, 2016. 

,

What's Happening at StoneRidge?

,

As you may have recently read in the San Diego Union Tribune and Pomerado News, the owner of StoneRidge Country Club has been exploring alternative uses for the property and hired a PR company to survey the community.  Over the last several months, the GVCA has meet with City of Poway officials, the owner of StoneRidge and their consultants to stay abreast of the issue. 

Shown below is the City of Poway's FAQ sheet on what is allowed there now and what it takes to change the zoning. Per the City of Poway "voter approval is required for any General Plan amendment, zone change, subdivision map, or other discretionary land use decision affecting any area zoned Rural Residential or Open Space, which would increase the residential density or change the zoning designation to allow commercial or manufacturing uses." 

The GVCA will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed. Please like us on Facebook to receive our informative news feed.

Thank you,

Steven Stone
President

An interview with one of GVCA’s first presidents Clay Perkins

Tell us about your background
I grew up in Austin, Texas, and received my Master’s degree in Physics in 1958 from the University of Texas Austin. I then moved to San Diego and married that same year. We had two children while living in Green Valley and now have three grandchildren. I am 80 years old.

How did you come to settle down in Poway?
In the early 1960s Poway was wide open and connected to San Diego only by a two-lane road (really). A great place for the money, where we could buy a lot and design our own house. Our biggest personal event in Green Valley was a tragedy: the great brush  re of 1967. Our home and about twenty other Poway houses were burned to the ground and many others damaged in a  re that started ten miles away in Ramona. We lived there another two years while building a new home in San Diego. We moved for business reasons, not because we wanted to leave beautiful Green Valley.

How and why did you become involved with the GVCA?
A budding interest in civic affairs, coupled with some local problems: under-grounding utilities, white striping the roads, lack of neighborly cohesiveness, for example. Back then, there were three developments, each not really wanting to cooperate with the others. They were (in decreasing size) the original Green Valley, Valle Verde to the west, and the much smaller Del Norte to the southwest. We had an association officially named “The Green Valley / Valle Verde Civic Association.” When I appeared before County Board of Supervisors, I always got a laugh with that name. One Supervisor once said that we had the longest name of any organization appearing before them.

What were the GVCA’s greatest accomplishments during your tenure?
It sounds minor, but the most important was changing our name. I started a quiet campaign pointing out the awkwardness of our redundant name, and how it made us look unprofessional. I met with the Valle Verde residents in particular and sympathized with their love of the beautiful Spanish name. This was a really big issue; we had the biggest meeting ever. I had organized speakers on both sides, but carefully hid my own feelings. And I had found a 19th Century map showing Green Valley creek originating in our valley; that helped a lot. The result was a majority vote among the Valle Verde folks for the name Green Valley, and thus few hard feelings. After I was thrown into the pool, I discovered that most people thought that I had opposed the change!

I was president for two or three years during which we formed a public utility district to sell bonds to fund the under grounding; and we white striped the roads, and we white striped the roads. No, that is not a typo. The county refused to stripe the roads because of our light traf c, so we paid the county to do so. That took some pushing. Then just weeks later they slurry-sealed the roads, covering up the lines. Boy, was I mad. After a lot of yelling and finger pointing, the county repainted the lines without charge. That we painted them, and then we painted them again, became a standing joke.

What awards have you won?
Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Texas. Election to honorary membership in the 509th Composite Group (the WWII atomic bombers). As such I attend annual reunions with the men who ended WWII. Although now deceased, the last three crew members of the Enola Gay were personal friends of mine. Also I was given a plaque of appreciation from the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor (the WWII POW organization for the Paci c Theater). My wife Dorothy and I won the 2014 Los Alamos [NM] History Award.

What you would like to see happen in the future of our community?
Well, selfishly I would like to see it stay wide open, so I can gaze at and hike on other peo- ple’s land. Oh, wait that was 54 years ago; I’m too late. Heck, I don’t know anything about Poway today. Well, when I came to see my grandsons play football and lacrosse at Poway High, I greatly admired how the trees had grown. But I can hope that the future of Poway will bring happiness, prosperity, and cooperation.

I am delighted that GVCA has grown to what looks at a glance to be 20 times bigger than it was back then – and that you have not changed the name.

Honoring a remarkable man and leader

Earlier this summer, Poway lost one of its founding fathers and prominent 11-year president of GVCA, Bruce Tarzy, M. D.

Bruce was a tireless leader as one of the creators of Poway’s city charter and became one of the rst elected members of the rst City Council in 1980 where he served two terms with great distinction, including two years as Poway Mayor. Bruce’s nearly 40 years of civic leadership at enumerable city council meetings and committees dedicated to making and keeping Poway our beautiful city can only be appreciated by living here. Bruce was an ardent promoter of parks, roads, and community facilities while always seeking to enhance and preserve the quality of life we all share. He worked to

develop the Poway Performing Arts Center; Hilleary, Valle Verde, and Old Poway Parks; the Poway Community Pool; the Scripps Poway Parkway and Business Park; and access to the city via Twin Peaks Road and Ted Williams Parkway, to name only a few accomplishments. His watchful eye and guiding hand is visible on so many of the projects associated with our city. Bruce is survived by his loving wife Beth and son Ryan.

Thank you, Bruce. We all miss you – your smile, your leadership and your friendship. And for any Poway resident that did not know Bruce, you are living Bruce’s legacy. 

GVCA takes an active role in Poway Chamber of Commerce

We are pleased to announce that the GVCA has joined the Poway Chamber
of Commerce. GVCA board member Anita Edmondson is currently serving as an ex of cio member of the organization’s board of directors representing our association.

Over the last several years, the GVCA has partnered with the Poway Chamber to host candidates forums and we look forward to expanding our relationship with the organi- zation and serving as a voice in the business community.

The mission of the Poway Chamber of Commerce is “to strengthen prosperity for members and the business community by providing leadership, education and advocacy.” GVCA will take an active role in helping the chamber, its board of direc- tors, and members ful ll that mission.

Upcoming chamber activities include “Business Expo 2015” on October 29th and a golf outing in the spring of 2016.

For more information on the chamber, visit www.poway.com. 

GVCA Donates $1,000 to Poway High Grad Nite

March 7, 2013 – The Green Valley Civic Association (GVCA) has donated $1,000 to Poway High School for this year’s Grad Nite. “As part of our ongoing efforts to support local youth activities, the GVCA is please to have supported Grad Nite for over 20 years,” said Steven Stone, GVCA President.  The event has taken place since 1989 and offers a fun social event for seniors in a safe, alcohol- and drug-free venue.