Calavera residents seek city land purchase

By: BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Monday, August 2, 2004 9:43 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- Residents near an undeveloped, 66-acre parcel in eastern Carlsbad will ask the City Council today to consider purchasing and preserving the land.

"We are asking them to acquire the property as soon as possible," said Mona Kuljurgis, one of the organizers of the residents' lobbying group known as Save Village H.

The timing of the request is good because the city is about to start crafting spending plans for its habitat conservation fund, she added.

Located on the south side of Carlsbad Village Drive at Victoria Street, the property neighbors want preserved is called "Village H" because that is the name it was given on planning documents years ago. The lot, which is owned by McMillian Land Development, contains many eucalyptus trees, an informal walking trail and a dirt knoll that blocks street noises.

Representatives for McMillian could not be reached for comment Monday. In the past, they have said they plan to grade three acres of the 66-acre site and leave the remainder untouched.

The property is part of the massive, ongoing Calavera Hills project, which will include some 2,300 homes. None of those homes will go on the "Village H" site because that property has been designated as a community use area by the city. Permitted uses include a church, a day-care center or civic clubhouse.

Neighbors repeatedly have told the council and the developer that they think the best community use would be to leave the land alone.

No decision will be made today on the residents' purchase request, Mayor Bud Lewis said Monday. Carlsbad won't be preserving any land until its citywide habitat management plan wins approval from federal and state officials, he said. That document is in the final stages of review.

Last month, council members agreed to start creating a citizens' committee to debate land purchases once the plan is approved. The "Village H" site could be one of the purchases committee members debate, Lewis said.

Committee members will have to decide whether the property, which contains non-native eucalyptus trees, is worth preserving compared to other undeveloped land in the city, he added.

"There's only so much money available and we have to use it in the best interests of the community," he said.

Kuljurgis said it shouldn't matter whether the trees are native to California. Cover the area with concrete and there will be no habitat of any kind, she said.

Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.

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