New Language in General Plan Could Subordinate Community Plans

The bylaws and policies by which the Valle de Oro Planning Group has operated for more than 30 years could be threatened, according to President Jack Phillips, because of a directive given at a Board of Supervisors meeting last month discussing San Diego County's General Plan Update (GPU).

According to Phillips, Supervisor Rob Roberts directed staff to insert language into the county General Plan that would subordinate the 26 individual community plans that have encompassed a part of the plan for decades.

"It’s like taking over half of the General Plan—the 26 community plans—and saying this is subordinate to the other half of it," said Phillips. "The community plans were designed as integral pieces of the overall General Plan. So what Roberts asked them to do was to subordinate the community plans. Do I know what that means? I can’t imagine."

Phillips said he fears that different communities could eventually lose the authority by which—through their specific community plans—they set policy and control how development will proceed in those communities. He wrote an white paper as a call to action in an effort to increase community awareness (see attached PDF).

"He had no rationale, he just made the statement that there needs to be a very strong overriding statement in the General Plan," said Phillips. "And to me, that means that he doesn’t like the individual communities having any say into what their communities will look like in the future. In a nutshell, that’s what he’s saying, and of course, he has no constituency in the unincorporated county."

Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who does preside over the communities in the Valle de Oro planning group, said at the meeting that it is important for [Supervisors] to understand how uniqueness exists within different community plans, why they exists and that they’re not inconsistent with the General Plan.

"Each individual community has its unique and distinct characteristics, and in planning, what is important, in my opinion, is to retain those characteristics that have made these communities special, but at the same time allow for the growth in these communities," Jacob said.

Roberts argues that the subordinate language is not trying to limit the individuality of the different communities.

"The General Plan is the overarching document and establishes the major principles and framework under which the community plans are created," he wrote in an e-mail to Mount Helix Patch. "It does not prohibit the uniqueness of each community from being established, but does ensure that all are aligned under the major goals and policies of the General Plan."

Still, Phillips is skeptical of the reasoning for the change, and said that [Roberts] is making assumptions that the county is the same all over.

 "That is ridiculous if you live in the county," he said. "Of course, all his constituency is in central San Diego and maybe he never gets out, I don’t know. I mean if he thinks Fallbrook is the same as Lakeside [laughing], it’s just ridiculous."

Another issue that has frustrated Phillips is the fact that the new language was inserted into the General Plan after public comment had already ended.

"[Roberts] put this whole new issue out there, after 13 years of working on this," Phillips said. "He just directed staff to come up with a clear statement that would subordinate the community plans. For me, that’s reason enough that they should re-open public testimony so this can be debated and the public can have a say."

The County Board of Supervisor will meet Wednesday, March 16, to further discuss the GPU. The board would have to approve the insertion of the subordinate language before it become an official part of the General Plan.

"This is no different from a city with multiple neighborhoods creating their own community plans under the General Plan," said Robert. "These plans should be similar to bylaws where the General Plan is clearly the primary document and there should not be conflicts between the two."