Let Honey Springs Stay Rural a Few More Years

For five years now, the would-be developers of Honey Springs have battled environmentalists and area residents over the fate of 2,200 acres six miles southeast of Jamul.

The confrontations have taken place before the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, the state Legislature, the Metropolitan Water District and three levels of courts. Remarkably, neither side seems weary of the fight.

Back in 1980, when Presenting Inc. announced plans to build 862 luxury homes at Honey Springs, nearly everyone in Jamul opposed it. Residents of the East County community were not impressed with Presenting’s plans to use energy-saving technology such as solar power, water recycling and earth-insulated houses in a setting the company argued would be sensitive to the existing environment. That year, the supervisors voted unanimously to reject a proposed zoning change Presenting needed to build that many houses.

But, in 1982, Presenting was back before the board with a scaled-down plan calling for 389 homes. This time the developers were successful, and their plan was approved. They also succeeded in having the Metropolitan Water District annex the development and agree to allow water to be pumped 11 miles from Lower Otay Reservoir; they staved off a legal challenge to the supervisors’ decision in Superior Court, and they won approval in Sacramento of legislation that appeared to be designed to undermine future legal challenges.

In 1984, however, a state Court of Appeal ruled that the Board of Supervisors had erred in finding that the development was rural in nature and would not clash with the surrounding area. If the development was to be built, the supervisors would have to examine it again and find that sparsely populated Jamul is an urban area. This they did on a 3-2 vote last month.

Opponents of the development, including the Sierra Club, have vowed to file a new lawsuit against the county. They should. And we hope they will prevail. It’s laughable to argue that Jamul, with 7,000 people spread out over more than 100 square miles, is an urban area.

Presenting has designed a good project. But the more important consideration is that rural areas need to be preserved so that San Diego County can maintain its diverse character. Presenting’s partners knew when they bought the land at Honey Springs that most of it was in an agricultural preserve. It is not being unfair to them to insist that they wait several more years before being allowed to develop it.