Encinitas

A 45-acre tract on the shores of the San Elijo Lagoon known as “The Strawberry Fields” will be purchased by the county and added to the reserve if an $8-million state grant is authorized.

San Diego County supervisors unanimously approved filing an application for funds from the California Environmental License Plate Grant Program to acquire the property.

Owners of the land, which lies north of the lagoon and east of Interstate 5, are seeking to rezone the property and build a 150-room hotel with a restaurant, swimming pools and tennis courts on the property now covered with strawberry fields and vegetable gardens.

Supervisor Susan Golding requested the grant application after learning that the property owners are seeking to rezoning of the property by the city of Encinitas.

Golding said the property acquisition “is a crucial step in improving the habitat” of the San Elijo Lagoon area for native plant and animal species. The Strawberry Fields property includes steep cliffs that contain one of the last few stands of coastal sage scrubland, she said, and is the habitat for more than 50 species of rare plants and animals, she said.

The 45-acre property abuts the San Elijo Lagoon, a coastal wetland encompassing more than 800 acres. The lagoon is jointly owned by the state Department of Fish and Game and the county Parks and Recreation Department.

The site is now zoned for low-density housing development but is before the Encinitas planning commission for rezoning to visitor-serving commercial uses.