Carlsbad to wait on starting program to buy land

By: BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Tuesday, August 9, 2005 11:24 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ----- Plans to buy open-space habitat in Carlsbad will have to wait at least another month.

Saying they wanted to take some time to discuss the issue at their regular workshop session in September, the City Council decided Tuesday to put off debate on the formation of a new city committee. The committee will be asked to decide what land Carlsbad ought to buy with money set aside under a 3-year-old ballot measure.

Known as Proposition C, the measure allows the city to spend more than $1 million on a number of items, including land and a swimming-pool complex. All the projects are expected to cost far more than $1 million ---- the swim complex alone is estimated to cost more than $15 million. The city hasn't yet established how much money will go for land, or what types of land will be eligible.

The issue has been in limbo while the city resolved a lawsuit over a proposed housing development. That lawsuit has recently been settled. Mayor Bud Lewis had asked for the committee item to be placed on Tuesday's agenda, but council members decided they weren't ready to discuss the issue yet.

Some people did have a few ideas on the topic at Tuesday's meeting. Diane Nygaard, with the regional environmental group Preserve Calavera, told the council to make certain that the committee's focus is on critically needed habitat for animals and plants.

"Keep that the focus ... so you can deliver what the residents want," she said, noting that committee surveys have stressed that preservation of natural areas is a top priority.

Her organization has made preservation of the Mount Calavera region in northeastern Carlsbad its priority. Known for its skull-shaped mountain and a man-made lake nearby, the region is home to some of the last undeveloped land in the city.

On Tuesday, Nygaard urged the council to move quickly with any land purchases, saying that property prices have rapidly escalated in the three years since Prop. C passed. In the past, people have suggested that the city ought to buy everything from rolling hillsides with native coastal sage plants to the eucalyptus grove known as "Village H."

After Tuesday's meeting, Nygaard said she wants any land purchases in Carlsbad to be linked to the city's existing habitat corridors. She added that she wouldn't be opposed to the idea of purchasing "Village H" near the eastern end of Carlsbad Village Drive. While the property contains non-native eucalyptus trees and is "highly degraded," it is a wildlife corridor area, she said.

"(However,) I don't know if I'd make that No. 1 on my list," she said.

Fellow Preserve Calavera member Karen Merrill said she wants the city to protect "whatever is left," given how much land has already been lost to housing developments in recent years.

The seven-member city committee will consist of two people picked by the mayor, one person picked by each of the four council members and someone selected by the Planning Commission. Technically, under the city's charter, the mayor could pick all the committee members, but years ago he began a policy of asking each council member to recommend someone, he has said.

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

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