Residents report polling on Rancho Guejito development

By: QUINN EASTMAN - Staff Writer | Saturday, June 2, 2007 11:04 PM PDT ∞

NORTH COUNTY ---- A polling company is probing North County residents' attitudes toward the proposed development of Rancho Guejito, a vast private ranch east of Escondido.

The Rodney Co., which owns the 21,400-acre property, has been gingerly exploring the development of homes, businesses and even a medical research campus, with officials from the city of Escondido and San Diego County. No detailed plans are available.

In interviews last week, residents from San Marcos, Encinitas and Ramona described being led through telephone surveys recently gauging their opinions of uses of the property.

"It seemed like they were trying to get me to say under what conditions I'd support development," said Fran Burian, who lives near Lake San Marcos.

Environmental advocates have called Rancho Guejito the "conservation jewel" of San Diego County. Part cattle ranch and part rugged forest, it stretches from the San Pasqual Valley north to the doorstep of the La Jolla Indian Reservation.

Burian said she was asked if she'd support development if the owners agreed to reserve affordable housing for teachers, pay for the extension of the Sprinter light rail line to the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, or build 20,000 homes in stages over several years.

She provided the North County Times with her caller's number in the 801 area code. The number matches one used by Western Wats, a Utah-based polling firm, according to the Web sites whocalled.us and 800notes.com.

Scott Maloni, a San Diego political consultant who is a spokesman for the Rodney Co., declined to say whether the company is working with Western Wats, but said, "We are engaged in a due diligence process and are continuing with a broad spectrum of research to determine the highest and best use for Rancho Guejito."

Maloni is vice president of Public Policy Strategies Inc. and worked for former San Diego Mayor Susan Golding as well as current Mayor Jerry Sanders' campaign.

A spokesman for Western Wats, Jeff Welch, said the firm performs similar surveys, but said company policy prohibits identifying specific clients.

The pollsters reportedly asked North County residents if they'd support building on various fractions of the property, ranging from 66 to 33 percent, if the rest was donated for public use.

The poll also included questions about Escondido Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler and county Supervisors Bill Horn, Pam Slater-Price and Dianne Jacob.

Participants said some questions seemed designed to probe their opinions of Horn, who has advocated Rancho Guejito's preservation, although he has generally been seen as a property rights advocate during his career.

"It sounded like they wanted to develop a plan for a future political campaign," said Leucadia resident Andy Mauro.

Some North County developers have used telephone surveys in cases where approval of their projects becomes contentious. For example, H.G. Fenton tested public opinion in San Marcos last year while tuning its proposal to build a business park near Cal State San Marcos.

Other planners of large communities, such as New Urban West, which recently obtained approval for its 750-home Harmony Grove Village project west of Escondido, are known for recruiting community members into focus groups and extensively consulting residents on their development plans.

But the Rodney Co. is still facing years of wildlife and infrastructure studies and negotiations with planning officials.

The Rodney Co. is part of a trust set up by Benjamin Coates, the Pennsylvania shipping magnate who bought the property in 1974 and died in 2004. The trust is controlled by his daughter, Theo, an artist in New York City.

The company approached Escondido officials late last year to propose annexation and inclusion in the city's General Plan, which the City Council wants to update over the next few years.

Escondido Deputy City Manager Charlie Grimm said in an e-mail that he anticipated that city officials won't be able to start work on the General Plan update for at least a year because of budget constraints.

The council will have to decide whether to add study of Rancho Guejito to the process, he said.

Annexation, which could pave the way for such municipal services as water and sewer, would have to be approved by the Local Agency Formation Commission. The commission has representation from San Diego County supervisors, cities and water districts.

Contact staff writer Quinn Eastman at (760) 740-5412 or qeastman@nctimes.com.

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