Supervisors Delay General Plan Update Again

The Board of Supervisors decided Wednesday to take one more month to consider a major update to San Diego County's general plan.

The board has been receiving public comment since October on a comprehensive update to its 1978 general plan. The update envisions shifting development westward, closer to existing infrastructure, sparking intense opposition from hundreds of residents to various details within the plan that affect them. However, few have objected to the plan in its entirety.

The process to modernize the zoning guidelines began 12 years ago.

Board Chairman Bill Horn said the continuing saga of the update was becoming "the longest-running TV show,'' and that it was starting to feel "more like Days of Our Lives.''

Land-use staffers considered 231 requests by the public to alter the proposed plan, and presented an analysis of 27 of them to the supervisors. They said density levels were determined by fire risk, impacts to groundwater and legal concerns.

Horn said the supervisors would need time to review the new information, and would likely have follow-up questions.

Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who represents Poway, agreed.

"No doubt we'll have a lot more questions and discussions in the future,'' she said.

A majority of the opponents asked for reconsideration of population density guidelines, but staff in the county Department of Planning and Land Use expressed concern that changes could require revisions in the environmental impact report. Department Director Eric Gibson said that scenario could result in a delay of anywhere from three months to four years in finalizing the general plan.

The next meeting on the general plan update is set for March 16.

City News Service contributed to this report.