Starting next summer, more cows may be foraging in an area of Cleveland National Forest where grazing has been sporadic and unpermitted since the 2003 Cedar Fire. The proposed Sill Hill grazing allotment near the Cha’chaany …
February 11, 2025
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Stories by Sheila Pell
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Cow days re-surface in Cleveland National Forest
Alpine park – too much for checkerspot butterfly and spadefoot toad?
A draft habitat conservation plan has been released for what will be Alpine's first county park — unless a lawsuit filed against the county last month stops it in its tracks. The $43-million-dollar project includes …
February 4, 2025
Will San Diegans trim their trees right?
There's something missing in San Diego's fire prevention arsenal, say advocates of a little-known practice called silviculture. It's a fuel reduction method that draws on techniques to thin and manage forests, such as trimming the sides …
January 28, 2025
San Marcos older set says no to less aged trailer tenants
The San Marcos city council last week agreed to extend a moratorium to prevent converting senior mobile home parks to all ages.First passed on Dec. 2, the urgency ordinance was set to expire, and residents …
January 21, 2025
Will Del Mar move the train to I-5 – for 4 billion?
Del Mar, the city that will be most affected by the relocation of the train tracks away from its eroding bluffs, is steeling itself for the release of a new study of possible routes.To date, …
January 14, 2025
Fight over bike safety re-ignites in Encinitas
As the new year begins, so do the car-bike collisions. Encinitas, the city that in 2023 declared a local emergency over bike safety after multiple serious and fatal crashes, was first.On January 1 just before …
January 7, 2025
Pancho Villa Farmers Market ends 20-year run
A favorite stop for handmade tortillas in North Park is closing its doors next month."The tortillas are the gold you seek," reads one review of Pancho Villa Farmers Market. Online forums overflow with praise for …
December 31, 2024
Oceanside toughens up Harbor Beach
Oceanside beaches will all have the same fire ring hours starting next year. A curfew unanimously approved by the Oceanside City Council last week includes Harbor Beach for the first time.The ordinance is "one of …
December 24, 2024
East San Diego County has only one bike lane
In North San Diego County, s lot of bike and pedestrian safety features are in the works. The same can't be said for the East County, where there is only one protected bike lane, according …
December 17, 2024
National City to junk permissive land-use code
Short term rentals are illegal in National City, but at any given time the city estimates there are at least 125-200 in operation.Without an ordinance to regulate them, officials have been fielding complaints about parking …
December 10, 2024
San Diego seawalls depend on Half Moon Bay case
A lawsuit that had beachfront property owners feeling hopeful about relying on seawalls to protect their homes is leaning the other way — upholding limits on coastal armor.The fight between homeowners and the California Coastal …
December 3, 2024
Remote work = cleaner air for San Diego
A doubling of the remote workforce in San Diego, Chula Vista and El Cajon in recent years led to cleaner air and less traffic congestion, says a report.The three cities saw some of the greatest …
November 26, 2024
Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments
It takes more than a developer's proposal to turn deserted offices into homes. Even in Escondido, where a surge in empty office buildings has led the city to regulate them with fees. Between the empty offices …
November 19, 2024
Imperial Beach renters scramble
The notices to vacate keep coming for tenants of Hawaiian Gardens and Sussex Gardens, neighboring apartment groups on Imperial Beach Boulevard.Over 100 low-income, elderly and disabled tenants are facing eviction, and many showed up at …
November 12, 2024
Will Carlsbad re-open door to drive-thru eateries?
Carlsbad's long standing ban on new drive-thru restaurants is back on the table as the city continues to receive requests to build them.According to the Carlsbad Community Development Department, the number of commercial property owners …
November 5, 2024
The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings
A glut of empty shopping centers, storefronts, office buildings, and warehouses in downtown Escondido shows no sign of stopping.Along Grand Avenue, businesses have been leaving at a rate of over 500 percent in the last …
October 29, 2024
Encinitas giving up on sidewalk benches
Another round of bench sweeps in Encinitas marks the latest effort to make public space unwelcoming to the homeless. Or, as businesses see it, welcoming to others.In response to complaints about trash and "loitering," the …
October 22, 2024
El Cajon eases up on bars to bring nightlife to downtown
It's been decades since El Cajon banished new bars from its downtown — now it wants to bring them back. Faced with a night life that's been nodding off for years, the city is eyeing a …
October 15, 2024
Vista imagines car-free downtown
To draw more visitors to downtown Vista, city council members are considering closing certain streets to cars so that bikes, feet and skateboards can take over the asphalt.A proposed pilot program, planned around events like …
October 8, 2024
USD more than doubles student housing in Linda Vista
The University of San Diego is preparing to increase the number of beds for full time students from 1,262 to 3,101.Planning commissioners last week praised the private university for being "proactive" on housing, and voted …
October 1, 2024
Encinitas to scan entire city for historic buildings
As San Diego considers relaxing rules around historic properties to make it easier to build more housing, Encinitas is exploring the creation of citywide historic districts.The idea, introduced last week by councilmember Joy Lyndes and …
September 24, 2024
How El Cajon can stanch the flood of 911 calls
El Cajon officials say the city is being swamped by 911 calls that aren't real emergencies. That is, no one leaves in an ambulance or requires medical aid.The calls are random, some medical, some not, …
September 17, 2024
Costs to update The Wave in Vista come under scrutiny
The Wave, San Diego County's first municipal water park, opened in Vista in 1994. Over the years, the costs to maintain it have ballooned. An assessment finds it will take somewhere between $6,100,000 and $16,800,000 …
September 10, 2024
Ocean Beach historic cottage district thwarts apartment project
Ocean Beach hasn't built much multifamily housing in recent years, and now an apartment planned at the southwest corner of Point Loma Ave. and Ebers Street is on hold.The San Diego Planning Commission last week …
September 3, 2024
El Cajon to get 132 cheaper condos on East Main Street
The El Cajon City Council has approved 132 new condos on a lot on East Main Street that could hold 209 units.Lennar's townhomes are expected to fill a need for moderate-income workforce housing, which company …
August 20, 2024
Carlsbad asked to clamp down on backyard chickens
There are over 9,000 parcels in Carlsbad's single-family residential zone where up to 25 backyard chickens can be kept. Surprisingly, it's neighbors in one of the city's few agriculturally-zoned neighborhoods who are calling for limits. "Chicken …
August 13, 2024
Escondido drafts rules for RV camping
It may get harder to live for free in Escondido. In June, the city council passed a ban on public camping; this week they'll consider tougher parking rules for recreational vehicles.The proposed ordinance would impose …
August 6, 2024
El Cajon threads needle to fight panhandling
An El Cajon City Council discussion of panhandling signs last week turned into a debate about messaging and addiction."I'm close to the line of shaming somebody who happens to be struggling with something," said councilmember …
July 30, 2024
San Diego mega homeless shelter at Kettner and Vine bumps along
In the next few years the city will lose 1,602 shelter beds, as redevelopment plans elbow out the old central library women's shelter, 16th and Newton, and others.One big solution? A proposed 65,000 square foot …
July 23, 2024
Encinitas goes beyond plastic straw ban
For every ten pieces of trash collected in 2023, eight were plastic, according to a report for this year's countywide volunteer beach and park cleanups sponsored by the San Diego chapters of Surfrider and Coastkeeper.To …
July 16, 2024
Homeless tiny homes shifted to Lemon Grove
The county's tiny home rollout is rolling. Opponents of a proposal to set up 150 sleeping cabins for the homeless in Spring Valley have helped get the location shifted four miles west to Lemon Grove.Although …
July 9, 2024
Palmer Lakes project advances – west of Santee and north of Mission Trails
A proposal to put 50-70 homes adjacent to the Weston subdivision in Santee faces several obstacles, but it's gotten by the first.The Planning Commission voted 6-0 last week in favor of the initial step of …
July 2, 2024
Four heritage Torrey pines added on Melba in Encinitas
Four more trees in Encinitas will join the Melba Heritage Grove approved last year, and the developer of an adjacent housing project is uneasy about the expanding protected forest."Let's not let this complicate something that's …
June 25, 2024
Angst in Del Mar over underground train tunnels
To reroute trains off the eroding Del Mar bluffs, officials are trying to figure out where to put the underground tunnels that will run 300 feet deep in some parts of the city.While the 1.7 …
June 18, 2024
Safe in Encinitas – coast live oaks, Engelmann oaks, Fremont cottonwoods, western sycamores, and Torrey pines
Encinitas has been grappling for years with a proposed addition to its 2017 tree ordinance: mature trees. The city already has a category for heritage trees, reserved for trees that are among the oldest and largest …
June 11, 2024
Del Mar forges levees to lessen flood damage
A series of living levees — earthen embankments — along the San Dieguito River could help protect affordable housing at the fairgrounds and homes in Del Mar's North Beach.As part of its sea rise planning, …
June 4, 2024
San Diego Audubon knocks city's density maps
Hundreds of threatened animal species live in neighborhoods where the city wants to build more housing and trails for humans.Where will the non-humans go?Blueprint SD, an update to San Diego's general plan, is supposed to …
May 28, 2024
Encinitas bent on curbing home gas appliances
Encinitas is leaning electric — again. The city has introduced a modified version of an ordinance it passed in 2021 (and later suspended) that required new buildings to be all electric.This time the focus is …
May 22, 2024
Encinitas to install 17 new license-plate readers
Signals, Lights, Cams. Encinitas will keep tabs on even more drivers under a proposal to install 17 new automated license-plate readers at locations from Manchester Avenue to Leucadia Boulevard.These are in addition to seven cameras …
May 14, 2024
Squeeze is on for San Diego reservoirs
It's a blip in the budget, but lake users say a $59,000 proposed funding cut could have a big impact on fishing and other recreation at the city's nine reservoirs. The lakes are part of the …
May 7, 2024
Escondido preps emergency fix on San Elijo Lagoon outfall
Escondido officials are scrambling to avert a catastrophic failure of a section of the city’s 14-mile land outfall pipeline near the San Elijo Lagoon, a protected marine reserve.The city was alerted on April 16 that …
April 30, 2024