No Sound Wall for La Mesa Meadows, but Project Is Years from Fruition

Sixty trees will replace a sound wall as part of the planned 37-home La Mesa Meadows housing project west of state Route 125 in southeast La Mesa, the City Council unanimously decided Tuesday night.

But the developer, Reynolds Communities of El Cajon, said during and outside the 3-hour meeting that it could be two years before the planned residential development approved in 2006 gets built—if it ever does.

The 5-0 council vote to delete the sound-wall requirement came after a public hearing that began June 28.  At that meeting, backers of the sound wall appealed a Planning Commission decision to let the developers erase a 1,000-foot-long freeway noise barrier.

A petition signed by 93 residents of the Garfield neighborhood wanted the 11-foot sound wall to stay, but two sparsely attended meetings between the developer and residents—July 11 and July 18—led to a compromise.

A combination of five dozen Canary Island pines, Aleppo pines, Brisbane box evergreens and other trees was offered as a sound block near the freeway and on the other side of the project, and Garfield activists also were satisfied with new information about the acoustical studies that led to the developer’s request to drop what they called a $1 million, project-killing sound wall, which was part of their original commitment.

“Thanks for extending an olive branch to the neighbors,” Mayor Art Madrid told the developers, brothers Mike and Neal Reynolds.

But Mike Reynolds, the company president, confirmed that he had told residents that the property might be sold to another developer.

“We don’t know when it will be built,” Reynolds said outside council chambers. Still, he declared the project would eventually get built by someone—with all the current conditions in place—when economic conditions allow.

Bank financing is difficult now, he said, so finding the money to start the work is in doubt.  And given the nine to 12 months it takes to get a variety of permits from the city, it might take two years to see work started on the housing tract.

Highland Avenue resident Sig Diener told the council: “I don’t think Reynolds is going to build this project—with or without the wall. That area will probably remain empty for a while.”

Councilwoman Ruth Sterling said: “It’s important to have that property built up. A lot of people want to move to La Mesa.” 

She also conceded: “The city could use the property tax [revenue].”

The current property—depicted as one of only two parcels left for building a housing tract in landlocked La Mesa—“sits there and is a magnet for undesirables,” Sterling said. “This is a great project.”

Mike Reynolds, defending his company’s integrity, said: “We’re proud of what we do. We keep our word. We do meet with people. We do look for resolutions to … work with the community to get projects approved.”