SAN MARCOS: County planning commission to consider teen shelter

Many Twin Oaks Valley residents remain wary of proposed project

By ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 29, 2008 3:08 PM PST ∞

SAN MARCOS ---- A large number of Twin Oaks Valley residents are expected to publicly restate their opposition this week to plans for a youth shelter in their rural neighborhood.

The proposed facility will be discussed Friday when the county Planning Commission is asked to approve an environmental study for the project.

The study is one of a dozen items on the agenda for a 9 a.m. commission meeting in the county Department of Land Use's hearing room at 5201 Ruffin Road in San Diego.

Twin Oaks Valley residents have repeatedly said that they think the rural valley is the wrong place for the shelter, which would house abused and neglected teens on 11 acres Casa de Amparo owns at 280 Buena Creek Road.

The additional traffic that the facility is expected to generate, the shelter's contribution to the valley's "urbanization" and potential safety concerns involving runaways and angry parents who might try to retrieve their children from the facility are the primary reasons residents have cited.

Casa de Amparo officials could not be reached for comment last week. They previously said they see the quiet and serene valley as a perfect place to house teens who need a sanctuary.

Ken Shuttleworth, who lives across the street from the proposed shelter site, said last week that he is among the members of at least four different groups planning to voice concern about the proposed facility at Friday's hearing.

"We're not against the project," Shuttleworth said. "Casa de Amparo, for all we know, seems to be a worthwhile thing. We just think (this) is an unusual and highly inappropriate location for it."

Central location a plus

A nonprofit agency, Casa de Amparo has operated a regional shelter in Oceanside that has taken in abused and neglected children from across North County since 1978. Agency officials say that the nonprofit has outgrown that facility, and began looking for a new home for the shelter several years ago.

Their initial proposal for a complex off La Moree Road in San Marcos unraveled after strong opposition from neighbors. The agency bought the 11-acre Buena Creek Road property in 2004.

The site is just outside the city of San Marcos but within its so-called sphere of influence, or an area that could be annexed to the city in the future. The Buena Creek Road property is zoned for agricultural use, but the designation allows residential care facilities to open if they obtain a special permit.

Casa de Amparo's name is Spanish for "House of Refuge." The proposed shelter would include seven main buildings and four residential cottages. The facility also would have a wading pool, four outdoor playgrounds and 100 parking spaces.

The agency hopes to house 60 teens in the shelter. A day-care center for up to 46 non-abused and non-neglected children would also operate at the site.

Casa de Amparo officials say the property is ideal because of its central-North County location and capacity to accommodate the shelter, day-care center, administrative offices and other support buildings.

Still open to debate

Their arguments have won over some Twin Oaks Valley residents. The proposal doesn't sit well, though, with those eager to preserve the valley's rural character.

The area is home to horse ranches, farms, nurseries and fruit groves, and within a few minutes of Highway 78 and Interstate 15. Along other areas in close proximity to the freeways, however, Twin Oaks Valley has so far escaped heavy development.

Many residents fear that the shelter plan, along with proposals for a school for the developmentally disabled and a 3,000-home subdivision off Deer Springs Road, could change that.

"We've got probably one of the most beautiful little valleys in San Diego County," said Shuttleworth's wife, Carol. "And everybody is just diving for us. And we're just trying to protect the valley."

The environmental study found that some concerns about the shelter ---- including its potential to bring additional traffic ---- were valid. But the study determined that those problems could be minimized or eliminated.

County planners therefore are recommending that the panel approve the environmental study.

Brian Baca, planning manager for the county's Department of Planning and Land Use, said the recommendation does not necessarily mean the shelter is a "go."

"Ultimately, it's up to the decision-makers ---- in this case, it is the planning commission ---- to decide whether the project should be approved," he said. "So anything is open for debate at the public hearing."

A 561-page report on the study is at www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/EIRs/081027/CDA.pdf.

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.