SOS Hills Joins the City of Temecula to Fight for Local Control to Annex Land Harboring Ecological Reserve and Wildlife Corridor

SOS Hills, a local grassroots environmental organization, has joined the City of Temecula, Calif. in its quest to petition the County of Riverside's Local Area Formation Committee (LAFCO) for the right to annex nearly 5,000 acres of pristine wilderness that is primarily the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, operated by San Diego State University, which houses the last remaining wildlife corridor in the region. Currently, a large gravel pit mine has been proposed on this land and the City is now moving toward annexation to maintain the area as open space and to preserve the fragile eco system within the Ecological Reserve. The hearing by the Commission that will rule on Temecula's hotly contested right to have local control regarding environmental and land use issues, is set for June 4, 2009 at the County administrative offices in Riverside.

Temecula, CA (PRWEB) June 1, 2009 -- The City of Temecula, Calif. has petitioned the County of Riverside's Local Area Formation Committee (LAFCO) for the right to annex nearly 5,000 acres of pristine wilderness that is primarily the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, operated by San Diego State University, which houses the last remaining wildlife corridor in the region. The City has kept a close watch on this land for many years, and earmarked it for future annexation in 1993. Currently, a large gravel pit mine has been proposed on this land and the City is now moving toward annexation to maintain the area as open space and to preserve the fragile eco system within the Ecological Reserve. SOS Hills, a Temecula-based grassroots environmental non-profit, has joined the City in this important annexation quest.

The hearing by the Commission that will rule on Temecula's hotly contested right to have local control regarding environmental and land use issues, is set for June 4, 2009 at the County administrative offices in Riverside.

Temecula supports annexation of the acreage, located in the southwestern hills abutting Temecula's city boundary to the San Diego County line. This property is the southern entrance to the entire Temecula Valley. The City hopes annexing this land will be a means of preserving the area's delicate ecological balance and of conserving the land as open space for both animals and future generations of area residents to enjoy. The City also sees this annexation as crucial for local control regarding any development at its boundaries.

"The City of Temecula is renowned for its beautiful vistas and outstanding air quality," said Maryann Edwards, Mayor of Temecula. "To preserve this quality of life, the City has periodically acquired land to maintain as open space. In fact, the land now in question was listed in the City's 1993 General Plan for future annexation into the city. Since this land has always been open space, we saw no rush. Now that land is being threatened by major development, the City immediately began annexation proceedings."

"In addition, the City realized that maintaining this land as open space will protect San Diego State's important scientific Field Station, one of the last pristine areas for experiments in air quality, seismic concerns, wildfire control and plant and animal studies. This area is also the last remaining wildlife corridor between the Santa Ana Mountains and the Palomar Mountains and is critical to maintaining the biodiversity of the animals and endangered species who live there. Annexing this land for open space will also help protect our air quality from further pollution and will contribute to the health and well being of our residents."

"Our residents and our City Council overwhelmingly support the annexation of this land, and I am extremely confident that LAFCO will see the many benefits in this case and will rule in favor of Temecula's right to have local control over the proposed annexation area," Edwards said.

Despite the upcoming LAFCO hearing set for June 4, late last week LAFCO issued a surprisingly unobjective early staff report urging the denial of the City of Temecula's bid for annexation. Despite the issuing of this early, questionable opinion before the hearing has even taken place, Edwards remains optimistic. "The government that governs best is the government closest to the people. This report gives us an indication of things that we might want to add into our presentation on June 4th," she said.

Kathleen Hamilton, President of SOS Hills, is undeterred in her group's quest for preserving the Ecological Reserve as open space. "LAFCO's preliminary report has a fatal flaw, and that is that by virtually recommending denial of the annexation proposal, they are overturning the basic concept of local control. This concept goes to the very heart of what cities are about and why they exist. In order to deny the City's annexation request, LAFCO would need to rule that local government is NOT the cornerstone of democracy as stated by the League of California Cities and the National League of Cities, both of which represent more than 17,000 cities across America. Temecula's annexation request is fundamentally about local control and I don't see how such precedent can be so blithely overturned."

In addition, Temecula's Mayor Pro Tem, Jeff Comerchero, said, "It is difficult to imagine that the concept of local control, which is embraced and recognized nationally, could be disregarded by the very agency charged with protecting it."

Matt Rahn, Ph.D, and director of SDSU's Field Stations which conducts environmental and educational programs on the land at risk, is a strong voice for annexation. "The primary goal of the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve is to protect not only its species, but also the interactions and processes that are critical to a healthy ecosystem. This includes protecting and managing the last inland-to-coastal habitat linkage in southern California, and the last fully protected, free-flowing river in southern California, both of which are located within the area proposed for annexation. This river provides most of the drinking water for Camp Pendleton Marines, spouses and children and we are concerned about possible pollution."

"The work being done at the Ecological Reserve is staggering in its scope," Rahn continued. "These research projects - occurring from microscopic to landscape scales - will show extreme effects due to the impacts from adjacent land uses, particularly if they are large-scale changes in the environment. Any measurable effect that influences the results of research would have long-term consequences on our ability to do research, and diminish the value of the Ecological Reserve as an outdoor research and education 'laboratory.' For this reason alone, intensive land-use practices are potentially devastating to the Ecological Reserve and its mission."

"Given the growing environmental concerns, the sustainability initiatives that are sweeping the State, the significant investment that has been made in this irreplaceable resource, and our responsibilities as land stewards, we believe that the City of Temecula has demonstrated a strong conservation ethic, and we applaud their efforts. San Diego State University strongly supports the proposed annexation. We understand and appreciate the complexity involved in approving annexation requests, however, the benefit to the Ecological Reserve and the region cannot be overstated. We are looking forward to creating a new partnership and management scenario for the Ecological Reserve, driven by the potential for annexation. We anticipate implementing new education and outreach programs, accessible to the local residents and students," Rahn said.

About SOS Hills

SOS Hills (www.sos-hills.org) is a 501-C-3 non profit environmental Ad Hoc Committee of De Luz 2000, a non profit public benefit corporation. SOS Hills was successful in the support of the Riverside Board of Supervisors to form a committee to create a Hillside Ordinance that would prohibit grading on hillsides that did not conform to the natural topography.

In early 2005 SOS Hills became aware of a proposal by Granite Construction Co. to build the Liberty Gravel Mine just off the 15 Freeway at the Riverside/San Diego County border. Since the preservation group considers this project to have a detrimental impact on the entire valley, they have been active in opposing the project in that location. In order to have local control over land within their sphere of influence, the City of Temecula is now proposing to annex nearly 5000 acres of County land. This area includes the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve operated by San Diego State University as well as the land proposed for the Liberty Mine. SOS Hills strongly supports Temecula and the Annexation procedure. For more information, please visit www.sos-hills.org.

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