[Technical note: the following text contains a few instances of "strikeout text." Given the limitations of the web, these instances are marked by surrounding the struck text with "-/" and "/-" (e.g., -/strikeout/-). - ed.]

Rural Heritage & Watershed Initiative

To the Honorable Registrar of Voters of the County of San Diego: We, the undersigned, registered and qualified voters of the County of San Diego hereby propose an initiative measure to amend the County of San Diego General Plan. We petition you to submit this measure to the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Diego for adoption without change, or for submission of the measure to the voters of the County of San Diego at a general or special election. The measure provides as follows:

Rural Heritage & Watershed Initiative

The people of the County of San Diego hereby ordain as follows:

Section 1. Purpose and Findings.

A. Purpose. The purpose of this initiative is to protect San Diego County's rural heritage, including its watershed, agricultural, wilderness, and scenic resources. The initiative amends the County's General Plan to restrict urban development in sensitive areas within the rural backcountry of the County. Specifically, the initiative protects valuable backcountry resources from fragmentation and inconsistent land uses, by limiting the creation of new parcels that are too small to allow effective utilization or preservation of important resources.
B. San Diego County's Rural Heritage. The backcountry of San Diego County enjoys a rich history emphasizing ranching, agriculture, and a rural way of life rooted in our mountains, foothills, valleys, and deserts. The wilderness of oak woodlands, pine-covered slopes, alpine meadows, and sweeping savannah is an integral part of that heritage. Yet this heritage -- and this way of life -- are presently vulnerable to harm as a result of uncontrolled urban encroachment. In fact, such urban encroachment, or "leapfrog" development, is proceeding with abandon and remains unimpeded throughout the County's backcountry.
C.

Threat of Sprawling Development. The current pattern of piecemeal planning in the County's backcountry poses an immediate and long-term threat to the County's future. Sprawling urban development, with its associated increases in traffic congestion, air pollution, and other impacts, will lead to the following serious consequences:

  • Impairment of water resources
  • Division of or damage to scenic wilderness lands, including lands with important habitat value
  • Undercutting the viability of agriculture
  • Unnecessary and costly extension of public services and facilities to remote areas
  • Conflicts between urban land uses and rural land uses such as ranching

Existing General Plan policies allowing for parcels as small as 2 acres in sensitive backcountry areas are inadequate to protect against the harmful effects of urban sprawl set forth above.

D. Protecting Watershed Lands. As the San Diego Association of Governments has recognized in its Regional Growth Management Strategy, maintaining the ion's water quality and protecting and enhancing ground water supplies are critical to our quality of life. Unchecked development in the County's rural backcountry undermines both of these goals, causing potentially serious water problems, including pollution, depletion, and sedimentation of available water resources.
E. Promoting San Diego County's Tourist Economy. Unchecked urban development will not only result in the loss of irreplaceable natural resources, but also impair the County's tourist industry, whose long-term health is vital to our regional economy. People from around the world are drawn to our mountains, deserts, and rural wilderness, just as they flock to our beach communities. Rather than enhancing tourism, current piecemeal planning for the region threatens to damage the scenic open space resources so critical to the prolonged vitality of the tourism industry in San Diego. The ultimate costs of this short-sighted approach are staggering.
F.  Accommodating Population Growth. It is undisputed that San Diego County's population will continue to grow steadily, with the resulting demand for residential construction. This initiative allows the County to continue to meet its housing needs for all economic segments of the population, by directing residential development away from remote backcountry lands and into areas where services and infrastructure are more efficiently available. Favoring city-centered development, the initiative does not preclude the Board of Supervisors from increasing densities in appropriate urban and suburban areas without a vote of the people.
G. Protecting Endangered Species. The County is working with state and federal regulatory agencies to develop special programs, such as the Multiple Species Conservation Program ("MSCP"), to protect endangered species. This initiative is designed to complement these special programs by providing further protections for mportant habitat areas while at the same time allowing development to proceed in a manner that does not threaten the County's sensitive backcountry resources.
H. Effect of Initiative. This initiative would amend the San Diego County General Plan to establish a Rural Resource special area overlay ("Overlay") protecting backcountry lands with essential watershed, agricultural, wilderness, and scenic values. The Overlay would limit the creation of new parcels that are too small to support effective management and protection of the resources found on those backcountry lands. The Overlay would be applied to lands that are currently designated in the County's General Plan as either "Multiple Rural Use (18)," "Intensive Agriculture (19)," or 'Agricultural Preserve (20)" and which are also designated as being in the Environmentally Constrained Area or Rural Development Area regional categories or within the Estate Development Area regional category in the Ramona, Pendelton-DeLuz, Fallbrook, Rainbow, or Pala-Pauma Community Plan plan areas. Exhibit A to this initiative is a map showing the general location of lands that would be included within the Overlay; the specific location of lands subject to the Overlay can be determined by reference to existing maps in the San Diego County General Plan.
   
Section 2.. General Plan Amendment.
   
A Fundamental County Goals and Policies. The Overall Goal of the Regional Land Use Element, Section 1, Part 11, of the San Diego County General Plan adopted January 3, 1979 as amended through December 1, 1997 is reaffirmed, readopted, and amended as set forth below. Text to be inserted into the General Plan is indicated in bold italic type while text to be stricken is presented in -/strikethrough/- type; text in standard type currently appears in the General Plan and is reaffirmed and readopted by this initiative.
 
 
IT IS THE GOAL OF THE REGIONAL LAND USE ELEMENT THAT;
   
1.1 THE AGRICULTURAL, WILDERNESS, WATERSHED, AND SCENIC VALUES OF THE COUNTY'S RURAL AREAS BE PROTECTED FROM DAMAGING RURAL AND SUBURBAN SPRAWL B Y PROMOTING RESOURCE-BASED LAND USE PATTERNS AND BY MAINTAINING PARCELS OF A SUFFICIENT SIZE TO ENSURE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND EFFECTIVE CONSERVATION OF THE COUNTY'S NATURAL RESOURCES.
   
1.2-/1/- URBAN GROWTH BE DIRECTED TO AREAS WITHIN OR ADJACENT TO EXISTING URBAN AREAS, AND THAT THE RURAL SETTING AND LIFESTYLE OF THE REMAINING AREAS OF THE COUNTY BE RETAINED.
   
1.3-/2/- GROWTH BE PHASED WITH FACILITIES.
   
1.4-/5/- GROWTH BE MANAGED IN ORDER TO PROVIDE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND BALANCED COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE UNINCORPORATED AREA.
   
1.5-/4/- URBAN PORTIONS OF THE UNINCORPORATED AREA BE ENCOURAGED TO EITHER ANNEX TO AN ADJACENT CITY OR INCORPORATE AND THAT URBAN LEVELS OF SERVICE BE PROVIDED IN AN EFFICIENT MANNER AND BE FINANCED USING EQUITABLE FINANCING MECHANISMS.
B.

Rural Resource Overlay Designation. The Regional Land Use Element, Section I, Part II, of the San Diego County General Plan adopted January 3, 1979 as amended through December 1. 1997 is amended to insert the following text on page 11-30 in Section 2.7, "SPECIAL AREA OVERLAYS", immediately preceding the discussion of the "Coastal (C)" special area overlay:

Rural Resource (RR)

This overlay applies to lands with particular agricultural, wilderness, watershed, or scenic values as described below. The purpose of the overlay is to protect those resource values by maintaining parcels of a sufficient size to ensure sustainable agriculture and effective conservation of the County's natural resources. The following standards apply to lands within the Rural Resource overlay:

     
1. Location. The overlay applies to the following lands:
  a. All lands that as of December 1, 1997 (1) were within the Rural Development Area or Environmentally Constrained Area Regional Categories and (2) had a land use designation of Multiple Rural Use (18), Intensive Agriculture (19), or Agricultural Preserve (20); and
  b. All lands that as of December 1, 1997 (1) were within the Ramona, Pendelton-DeLuz, Fallbrook, Rainbow, or Pala-Pauma Subregional and Community Plan Areas, and (2) were within the Estate Development Area regional land use category, and (3) had a land use designation of Multiple Rural Use (1 8), Intensive Agriculture (19), or Agricultural Preserve (20).
  Where it deems it in the public interest, the Board of Supervisors may apply the overlay in other areas as well.
2.

Creation of New Parcels. Within the Rural Resource overlay, the following minimum parcel sizes shall apply to the creation of new parcels unless the Board of Supervisors determines, in accordance with the standards set forth in paragraph 3, below, that a minimum parcel size less than that specified below and permitted by the underlying land use designation and other County policies is consistent with the purposes of the Rural Resource Overlay to protect agricultural, wilderness, watershed, or scenic values:

Regional Land Use Category as of December 1. 1997 Min. Parcel Size
   
Within Rural Development Areas and Estate Development Areas 40 acres
   
Within Environmentally Constrained Areas 80 acres

3. Exceptions to Rural Resource Overlay Minimum Parcel Size Requirements. The County may allow creation of parcels smaller than those specified in paragraph 2, above, consistent with the minimum size authorized by the underlying land use designation and other County policies such as the San Diego County Groundwater Ordinance, ii, based on substantial evidence in the record, the Board of Supervisors makes the determinations specified in subparagraphs a. through f., below, for each parcel to be created. The County shall comply with the California Environmental Quality Act in making these determinations. Prior to making any such determination, the Board of Supervisors shall hold at least one noticed public hearing for the purpose of receiving testimony and evidence from the applicant and the public on the proposed determinations. The hearing shall (1) be held within the boundaries of the Community Plan Area in which the parcel would be created, (2) be held on a business day, and (3) commence no earlier than 6:00 p.m.
     
  a. At least 80% of the land of the proposed parcel does not exceed 25% slope; and
  b. Creation of the parcel will not have direct, indirect, or cumulative adverse significant impacts to the region's agricultural viability, habitat, scenic resources, or watershed value; and
  c. Creation of the parcel will not adversely affect the stability of land use patterns in the area (i.e., the parcel will not introduce or facilitate a use that is incompatible with adjoining or nearby uses or that would tend to promote creation of additional parcels in the Rural Resource overlay smaller than the sizes specified in paragraph 2, above); and
  d. The proposed parcel will have access to an existing publicly maintained road without the necessity of significant grading; and
  e. Land uses on the proposed parcel will be limited to those uses permitted on the parcel as of December 1, 1997; and
  f.

The parcel satisfies the criteria set forth in either subparagraph (1), (2), or (3) below:

(1) The parcel to be created will be used for agricultural uses and will be viable for long-term agricultural production as demonstrated by:
  i. Evidence that the parcel is planted, and has been planted for at least five years, in one or more commercial crops that remain viable on the size of the parcel to be created; and
     
  ii. Evidence that the parcel is served by a continuing and sufficient supply of irrigation water; and
     
  iii. An agricultural conservation easement dedicating not less than 90% of the parcel to permanent agricultural use.
     
(2) The parcel to be created will be used for uses other than agriculture in a manner that is consistent with the resource values of the land and will not contribute to "leapfrog" development, or urban, suburban, or rural sprawl, as demonstrated by:
     
  i. Evidence that the agencies and districts responsible for providing fire protection, police protection, public works, water, and other public services have adequate existing capacity to provide the proposed development with adequate public services with no reduction in existing levels of service; and
     
  ii. Evidence that the parcel is served by a continuing and sufficient supply of water to allow operation of the proposed use; and
     
  iii. Incorporation or annexation to a city is not appropriate or possible within the next five years, based on factors including, but not limited to, nearby cities' designated sphere of influence boundaries, city general plan limits and projections, and comprehensive annexation plans; and
     
  iv. The approval will not constitute part of, or encourage, a piece-meal conversion of a regional agricultural, watershed, scenic, or wilderness resource such as the Cleveland National Forest area to urban, suburban, or other uses that are inconsistent with maintaining those resources; and
     
  v. The land included within the parcel to be created has not been used for irrigated agriculture in the past 2 years and is unusable for irrigated agriculture due to its topography, drainage, flooding, adverse soil conditions, or other physical reasons.
     
(3) The parcel to be created would be created pursuant to an incidental take permit or management authorization issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("USFWS") and/or the California Department of Fish and Game ("CDFG") and, as a condition of its creation, would contribute to the preservation of undeveloped land in furtherance of a conservation plan approved by USFWS and/or CDFG.

     
4. Exception for Environmental Subdivisions. The Rural Resource overlay minimum parcel sizes shall not apply to environmental subdivisions that (a) are created in conformance with Government Code section 66418.2 as that section existed on December 1, 1997 and (2) are established on the condition that no new non-agricultural improvements may be developed on the parcel.
     
5. Amendments to the Rural Resources Overlay. Until December 31, 2028, the standards governing the purpose, location, minimum parcel size, exceptions, and amendments to the Rural Resource overlay and goals 1.1 through 1.5 of the Regional Land Use Element may be amended only by a vote of the people or pursuant to the procedures set forth in subparagraphs a. through c., below:
     
  a.

The Board of Supervisors may amend the location of the Rural Resource overlay to comply with state law regarding the provision of housing for all economic segments of the community. Such amendment may be adopted only if the Board of Supervisors makes each of the following findings based on substantial evidence in the record:

(1) There is no suitable land available (including lands with non-residential designations) outside the Rural Resource overlay to accommodate the proposed development; and
   
(2) The land that would be removed from the Rural Resource overlay is immediately adjacent to existing comparably developed areas or, if no suitable land is available that satisfies this criterion, the land is the suitable land closest to existing comparably developed areas; and
   
(3) The applicant for the removal of the Rural Resource overlay has provided evidence that the agencies and districts responsible for providing fire protection, police protection, public works, water, and other public services have adequate capacity to provide the proposed development with adequate public services with no reduction in existing levels of service; and
   
(4) The development that would be authorized in connection with removal of the Rural Resource overlay is necessary to comply with state law requirements for provision of low and very low income housing; and
   
(5) The land withdrawn from the Rural Resource overlay does not exceed 40 acres for any one landowner in any calendar year. One landowner may not withdraw lands from the overlay more often than once every year. Landowners with any unity of interest are considered one landowner for purposes of this limitation.
   

  b. The Board of Supervisors may amend the location of the Rural Resource overlay if, upon request of an affected landowner, and after considering all relevant facts and applicable legislative and judicial authority, the Board finds that, based on substantial evidence in the record, denial of an overlay amendment would constitute an unconstitutional taking of the landowner's property for which compensation would be required or would deprive the landowner of a vested right. Such an amendment may be granted only to the minimum extent necessary to avoid said unconstitutional taking or deprivation of vested right.
     
  c. The General Plan may be reorganized, and individual provisions may be renumbered or reordered in the course of ongoing updates of the General Plan in accordance with the requirements of state law.
     
  d. Prior to amending the location of the Rural Resource overlay pursuant to subparagraphs a. or b., above, the Board of Supervisors shall hold at least one noticed public hearing for the purpose of receiving testimony and evidence from the applicant and the public on the proposed amendment and any findings proposed in connection with such amendment. This hearing shall be in addition to any other public hearings regularly required for a General Plan amendment. The hearing shall (1) be held within the boundaries of the Community Plan Area in which the overlay boundary would be revised, (2) be held on a business day, and (3) commence no earlier than 6:00 p.m.
     
6. Wherever the Rural Resource overlay standards require demonstration of a sufficient water supply, such demonstration shall, to the fullest extent consistent with state and federal law, show that the amount of water required to serve the land use or uses that would be authorized by the proposed action will not, in conjunction with all other existing and approved land uses, cause any of the following: (a) the total water consumption from an affected groundwater basin to exceed the amount that can be safely withdrawn from the basin in the long term without causing damage to the groundwater basin's capacity to store water; (b) depletion of existing wells, surface water, or subsurface water in a manner that would have a significant adverse effect on wildlife or established habitat configurations; or (c) other undesirable effects such as accelerated migration of underground pollutants.
     
7. The County and its departments, boards, commissions, officers and employees, shall not grant any general plan amendment, rezoning, specific plan, tentative or final subdivision map, conditional use permit, major use permit, or any other discretionary entitlement, which is inconsistent with the standards of the Rural Resource overlay. Nothing in the Rural Resource overlay shall be construed to prohibit the County from providing density bonuses authorized by the General Plan in effect on December 1, 1997 or from complying with State laws requiring density bonuses and/or other incentives for projects including housing for seniors or for low or very low income households.

   
C.

Conforming Amendments.]In light of the General Plan amendments set forth above, the County of San Diego General Plan adopted January 3,1979 as amended through December 1, 1997 is hereby further amended as set forth below in order to promote internal consistency among the various elements of the General Plan. Text to be inserted into the General Plan is indicated in bold italic type while text to be stricken is presented in strikethrough type; text in standard type currently appears in the General Plan and remains unchanged by this initiative. The language adopted in the following amendments may be further amended as appropriate without a vote of the people in the course of future updates and revisions to the General Plan.

1. The first paragraph of Policy 1.3 of the Regional Land Use Element, Section I, Part II, of the San Diego County General Plan adopted January 3, 1979 as amended through December 1, 1997 describing the Estate Development Area (EDA) Regional Category, is amended as follows:
     
    The Estate Development Area combines agricultural and low density residential uses (parcel sizes of two to twenty acres will generally apply; larger minimum parcel sizes may be required to protect significant resource values). Included in the category are those areas outside the Urban Limit Line but within the boundaries of the County Water Authority.
     
2. The first paragraph of Policy 1.4 of the Regional Land Use Element, Section I, Part II, of the San Diego County General Plan adopted January 3, 1979 as amended through December 1, 1997 describing the Rural Development Area (RDA) Regional Category, is amended as follows:
     
    The Rural Development Area includes much of the privately owned properties outside of the County Water Authority. This area is primarily made up of agricultural or unimproved lands and remote pockets of residential development. Parcel sizes will generally be dictated by the availability of groundwater and other environmental and resource constraints in addition to any applicable minimum parcel sizes specified by this General Plan.
     
3. The first paragraph of Policy 1.6 of the Regional Land Use Element, Section I, Part II, of the San Diego County General Plan adopted January 3, 1979 as amended through December 1, 1997 describing the Environmentally Constrained Areas (ECA) Regional Category, is amended as follows:
     
    Environmentally Constrained Areas include floodplains, lagoons, areas with construction quality sand deposits, rock quarries, agricultural preserves areas containing rare and endangered plant and animal species, and all private land-holdings as defined in subsection (b) of designation (23) as amended by the Forest Conservation Initiative (FCI) within the Cleveland National Forest outside Country Towns. Development in these areas, while guided by the County General Plan, should be preceded by thorough environmental review and implementation of appropriate measures to mitigate adverse impacts. Parcel sizes will generally be dictated by environmental and resource constraints in addition to any applicable minimum parcel sizes specified by this General Plan.
     
4. The second sub-paragraph of Policy 2 of the Regional Land Use Element, Section I, Part II, of the San Diego County General Plan adopted January 3, 1979 as amended through December 1, 1997 describing the purpose of land use designations and use regulations in the San Diego County General Plan, is amended as follows:
     
    These land use designations shall include the maximum density (and in certain cases, a minimum density) allowed in that designation and shall also include density figures applicable under the "density bonus option" of the Inclusionary Housing Policy. As explained in Policy 2.7, the permitted use and or permitted density (including parcel size) authorized by these land use designations may be modified by one or more Special Area overlays in order to protect the unique characteristics of the lands to which the overlays apply.
     
5. The first paragraph of Policy 2.7 of the Regional Land Use Element, Section I, Part II, of the San Diego County General Plan adopted January 3, 1979 as amended through December 1, 1997 describing special area overlays, is amended as follows:
     
    Where some unique physical, legal or resource situation exists, a Special Area Overlay shall be used on the appropriate land use map. This overlay designation shall: (1) indicate that the underlying designation is modified in some limiting way as to permitted use and/or to permitted density; (2) define conditions in addition to those normally used in order to attain the underlying use and density. Depending on their characteristics, some lands within the County may be subject to multiple overlays.
     
6. Policy 3.4 of the Regional Land Use Element, Section 1, Part II, of the San Diego County General Plan adopted January 3, 1979 as amended through December 1, 1997 regarding the relationship of existing private development plans and specific plans is amended as follows:
     
   

Existing private development plans, specific plans and applications to expand the boundaries of existing private development plans and specific plans may conflict with the categories of the Regional Land Use Element. In these cases, for the purpose of consistency with the Regional Land Use Element, a private development plan or specific plan or expansion thereof will be deemed consistent with the General Plan if one of the following findings is made:

1.

The project will not adversely affect or promote premature growth to adjacent properties; and

The project has sufficient facility capacity to accommodate both the present and future population if built out to capacity; and

A substantial private investment in public facilities has been made on the basis of past approvals of development phases, and the proposed development does not exceed the maximum density as granted on the original private development plan/specific plan or the proposed development does not exceed the maximum density as shown on the community/subregional plan maps which resulted from previous approvals of private development/specific plans; or

2. The density and character of development is substantially in conformance with the Regional Land Use Element goals.

The foregoing findings shall not be made for any project within the Rural Resource overlay unless (1)failure to make the findings would violate a vested right held by the project sponsor pursuant to state or local law, or (2) the project is consistent with the policies and standards of the Rural Resource overlay.

     

Section 3. Implementation
   
A. Effective Date. Upon the effective date of this initiative, the provisions of Section 2 of the initiative are hereby inserted into the County of San Diego General Plan as an amendment thereof, except that if the four amendments of the mandatory elements of the general plan permitted by state law for any given calendar year have already been utilized in the calendar year in which the initiative becomes effective, this general plan amendment shall be the first amendment inserted in the County's General Plan on January 1 of the next year. At such time as this general plan amendment is inserted in the County of San Diego General Plan, any provisions of the County of San Diego Zoning Ordinance, as reflected in the ordinance itself or the County of San Diego Zoning Map, inconsistent with this general plan amendment shall not be enforced.
   
B. Interim Amendments. The County of San Diego General Plan in effect at the time the Notice of Intention to circulate this initiative measure was submitted to the County of San Diego Registrar of Voters (December 1, 1997, "submittal date"), and that General Plan as amended by this initiative measure, comprise an integrated, internally consistent and compatible statement of policies for the County. In order to ensure that the County of San Diego General Plan remains an integrated, internally consistent and compatible statement of policies for the County as required by state law and to ensure that the actions of the voters in enacting this initiative are given effect, any provision of the General Plan that is adopted between the submittal date and the date that the General Plan is amended by this measure shall, to the extent that such interim-enacted provision is inconsistent with the General Plan provisions adopted by section 2 of this initiative measure, be amended as soon as possible and in the manner and time required by State law to ensure consistency between the provisions adopted by this initiative and other elements of the County's General Plan.
   
C. Other County Ordinances and Policies. The County of San Diego is hereby authorized and directed to amend the General Plan, sub-regional plans, community plans, zoning ordinance, and other ordinances and policies affected by this initiative as soon as possible and in the manner and time required by any applicable state law to ensure consistency between the policies adopted in section 2 of this initiative and other elements of the County's General Plan, sub-regional and community plans, zoning ordinance, and other County ordinances and policies.
   

Section 4. Exemptions for Certain Projccts.

This initiative shall not apply to any development project that has obtained as of the effective date of the initiative a vested right pursuant to state or local law.

Section 5. Severability and Interpretation.

This measure shall be interpreted so as to be consistent with all federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. If any section, sub-section, sentence, clause, phrase, part, or portion of this measure is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this measure. The voters hereby declare that this measure, and each section, sub-section, sentence, clause, phrase, part, or portion thereof would have been adopted or passed even if one or more sections, sub-sections, sentences, clauses, phrases, parts, or portions are declared invalid or unconstitutional. If any provision of this measure is held invalid as applied to any person or circumstance, such invalidity shall not affect any application of this measure that can be given effect without the invalid application. This initiative shall be broadly construed in order to achieve the purposes stated in this initiative. It is the intent of the voters that the provisions of this measure shall be interpreted by the County in a manner that facilitates the protection of backcountry resources within the Rural Resource overlay.

Section 6. Amendment or Repeal.

Except as otherwise provided herein, this initiative may be amended or repealed only by the voters of the County of San Diego at a County election.

Section 7. Competing Measures.

In the event there are competing measures on the same ballot with this measure that purport to address the same subject matter of this measure, the following rules shall apply: If more than one such measure passes, then both measures shall go into effect except to the extent that particular provisions of one initiative are in direct, irreconcilable conflict with particular provisions of another initiative. In that event, as to those conflicting provisions only, the provisions of the initiative which received the most votes shall prevail.]

Exhibit List

Exhibit A -- County of San Diego General Plan Land Use Map Illustrating the Rural Resource overlay.