Guajome Alliance for Responsible Development (GuARD)

Construction has begun on a 456 acre property on Gopher Canyon Road across from the Vista Valley golf course, called Bonsall Oaks.  In the first phase of development, there will be 87 homes built in two clusters on small to medium size lots (5,400 to 10,800 square feet).  The surrounding land will remain as open space.  Additional clusters of homes will eventually bring the total number of homes to 254.

The overdevelopment of this area with so many homes will lead to excessive traffic on Gopher Canyon Road.  Also, fire safety is a major concern.

The Bonsall Sponsor Group has been monitoring and advising about this project.  The Sponsor Group meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Bonsall Community Center, 31505 Old River Road, Bonsall.  Please attend and express your concerns.

To see a map of the first phase of the project, click here: Tentative Map
To learn more about the project, see Bonsall Sponsor Group minutes:  

Bonsall Sponsor Group Minutes 4-4-23
Bonsall Sponsor Group Minutes 3-7-23

  Notes from the 3-7-23 Sponsor Group meeting:  Bonsall Oaks TM-5649 on Gopher Canyon Road Update 4/04/23

This is the approved revision from the last Bonsall Sponsor Group Meeting.  David Pallinger Project Development Manager submitted re-design of Bonsall Oaks consisting of 165 units and Morris Ranch 89 units Properties into one development of 254 lot units on approx. 456 acres. The unit breakdown is the following 230 acres of open space,7 custom built 1 acre lots, approx. 5 to 10 % are quarter acre lots of the total units and remainder lot sizes are 4,500-10,000 square feet and a possible a S.D. County Trail.  The developer would construct a trail for horse/bikes only if San Diego County will maintain the trails and liability regarding it, otherwise there will be no public access.  The 2020 San Diego County General Plan was 1 acre per 1 single family dwelling, but this project revises that plan to mainly cluster units as close as 10 ft. apart.  One acre equals 43,560 sq. ft.  There is only one entrance and exit from the project onto Gopher Canyon Road.  The developer will widen Gopher Canyon Rd. to 4 lanes in front of the length of the development only, then it will return to one lane on each side of the road. Several side streets off Gopher Canyon will have left turning lanes that merge back into one lane on Gopher Canyon Road.  Safety regarding the closest Fire Department is a concern.  If you live in the area and have any issues or questions with this project contact David Pallinger [email protected] 760 285-8805.  Any horse owners that want a trail through this project or are concerned regarding exiting off their property, especially during a fire needs to contact S.D County Planning; Project Manager for Bonsall Oaks is Michael Johnson at [email protected] 619 952-2873.  Call to let the S.D. County your opinion, because this is your community.  Want to Join GuARD or be an active member?  Contact  President Joy at [email protected] .

Another upcoming Bonsall Housing Project is Ocean Breeze Ranch (old Vessel Ranch):

401 proposed lots on 12 parcels located on1,393.3 acres.  Entrance is on West Lilac Road with lot sizes 10,000 sq. ft or less with 20 to 10 ft between each lot. This is called cluster homes for compact living.

THE VISTA CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THIS EGREGIOUS DEVELOPMENT ON NOVEMBER 15th

Three City Council members who always amend the General Plan and always vote for dense development did it again.  These council members went out of their way to rezone agricultural land to make way for a subdivision that does not belong in the semi-rural part of Vista, adjacent to open space.  A very sad day for Vista.

46 Homes on the 9-acre Choice Nursery land!

The City of Vista is planning 46 homes on the Choice Nursery land at North Santa Fe and Camino Largo (near Guajome Adobe Park).  This land is now zoned for 8 homes—one home per acre.  The City will allow 46 homes—more than 5 homes per acre!

This is an outrageous increase in density.  The City needs to preserve semi-rural and agricultural land, not put sprawl development on it.

The Vista Planning Commission voted to recommend denial of the development, because it is completely out of character with the surrounding rural lands.  Unfortunately, a majority of the City Council (including John Franklin, candidate for Mayor in the upcoming November election) has expressed support for the project, and they do NOT have to follow the recommendations of their Planning Commission.

The final vote of the Council was scheduled in August but has been postponed.  Stay tuned, we’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, tell the City Council NO.  Do NOT allow any project that increases density and destroys our semi-rural neighborhood.  Any project on this land will add to traffic and greenhouse gasses, and lead to loss of open space, loss of agriculture, loss of neighborhood character, and all the ills of sprawl.  

Email [email protected] with your written comments, or call (760) 639-6100.

Vista City Council Abandons Its Land Use Policies, Destroys Semi-Rural Land

The Vista City Council has completely abandoned any interest in following its General Plan policies in the semi-rural lands adjoining rural County lands.  The Council continues to support much higher density developments, that are not compatible with the semi-rural environment, even though Vista citizens oppose this.

The Council recently approved a 25-home development on Vista Grande Drive, former County land that was zoned for one-acre residential lots when it was annexed into the City.  This almost doubled the density on that land.  But here’s what’s coming next . . .

The next project to be approved (scheduled for November) will be a 9-acre parcel on Camino Largo, off of North Santa Fe.  This land is currently zoned for 8 homes on one-acre lots, but the Council is prepared to approve a whopping 46 homes!  This property is currently a nursery, and it is next to a 4-acre horse ranch, a handful of homes on one-acre parcels, the Guajome Adobe County park, and an open space creek bed providing a green area separating it from Vista’s higher density residential areas to the south.

And yet the environmental review prepared by the City completely ignores the semi-rural nature of the property and its surrounding lands.

This sets a precedent that cannot be undone.  The City intends to continue annexing properties, and like dominoes, one after the other, they will continue to approve higher densities without regard to the integrity of the neighborhood or the wishes of their own citizens.  How will this end?

In February 2022, the Vista City Council amended the General Plan to rezone a 17-acre property on Vista Grande Drive (off of Warmlands Avenue).  The original zoning of 1 acre lots was changed to ½ acre lots, allowing for 25 homes instead of 14 homes.  This is a terrible precedent that will lead to the loss of more rural land, because all future land owners will request (and receive) the higher density zoning.  And this land is adjacent to the Strawberry Hill Farm, putting it very much at risk!

This is a suburban subdivision, not a semi-rural housing pattern.

San Diego County’s Climate Action Plan is, so to speak, bearing fruit.  The County is taking steps to preserve agricultural land, based on a recent CAP monitoring report, which verified that “keeping agricultural land in production helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating the increased traffic, heating, and air conditioning that comes with development.”  

Utilizing the Purchase of Agricultural Easement (PACE) program, the County pays agricultural landowners to place a permanent easement on their properties, so that it can be used for farming or ranching only–no future development.  The County has acquired more than 2,000 acres, and new rules will be expanding eligibility to all agricultural land in unincorporated areas.  County Supervisors recently voted to pay $690,000 to save roughly 300 acres–143 acres in Fallbrook and 155 acres near El Cajon–from future development.  

Those of us who value our rural and semi-rural areas, have always maintained that the significant value of agricultural land has always been ignored.  Instead, the dollar signs in the eyes of developers looking for profit, and government officials looking for more tax revenue, have always taken priority.  Thank you, Climate Action Plan activists, for beginning to make a change in the values we live by.

For more information, check out this article from the County News Center (9-11-19).

An all-way STOP at the intersection of Osborne Street and Hutchison Street was installed on July 11, 2019.  At last!

This dangerous intersection has been the focus of GuARD’s efforts for many years, and with the additional help of several neighbors and the Bonsall Sponsor Group, this life-saving all-way stop is now a reality.

Due to GuARD’s years-long efforts, many Osborne Street improvements were made including lowering the speed limit, “shaving” the hill to improve line of sight at the intersection, limiting heavy truck traffic, adding signage for safety, and improving paving, curbs, and striping. 

The Oceanside City Council voted unanimously on March 27th to remove the Melrose extension from the circulation element. Guajome Park and surrounding rural properties have been saved.

Kudos to Jane and Yvonne, and all the good folks from Save Guajome Park who worked so hard to make this happen.

And kudos to Councilman Christoper Rodriguez, who listened to his constituents and convinced his fellow council members to reject that road.