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River park project to get boost from county
By: ERIN SCHULTZ - Staff Writer | ∞
NORTH COUNTY ---- A plan to build a park along the San Luis Rey River from East Vista Way to Interstate 15 will get a million-dollar cash infusion from the county today.
County Supervisor Bill Horn, who represents most of inland North County, plans to announce that he will set aside about $1.03 million of his district's discretionary money for plans for the park, he said Wednesday.
The park is planned in conjunction with the widening of Highway 76, the east-west highway that skims along the river valley. The park would stretch across eight miles of the 55-mile River Valley, which runs from Palomar Mountain west to Oceanside. Tentative plans for the park include up to 1,500 acres, including several hundred acres preserved for wildlife and some space for hiking, biking and picnic areas.
At least a portion of the park will be part of a plan to lessen the environmental effects of the highway widening. Planners have said the primary purpose of the park will be to preserve the land along the river for wildlife.
"We'll get a park, we'll get the road widened and they'll get far more preserved land," Horn said Wednesday in a telephone interview.
The money Horn has pledged is part of a $2 million pot of county funds set aside for each supervisor to spend on community projects of their choosing. Horn said it will be spent on master plans for the park and "all the paperwork that has to be done to make this all happen."
There have been a number of public meetings about the park, and the master plan for the park is scheduled to be completed by August. Environmental studies must also be done before park plans go to the board of supervisors for approval. The county is slowly acquiring land for the park, Horn said, including some acres donated by the Rincon Band of Mission Indians in Valley Center.
If approved, the park is projected to take about 10 years to complete.
Contact Erin Schultz at (760) 739-6644 or eschultz@nctimes.com.
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