Several of you have asked what the “heart of the issue” is for the Esperanza Hills project. In short, it is access. Because of the size of the development, the Esperanza Hills developer is required to have two accesses. One access empties onto the Via Del Agua / Stonehaven Loop and is admittedly dangerous. It has two hairpin turns on steep grades and sends evacuees into the likely source of the flame front in a wildfire. It cannot be realigned because of two major water pipelines. The other access is called Option 2B and it empties onto San Antonio.
Here is where the city has its leverage because Option 2B proposes to use land within the City’s jurisdiction. Option 2B is land owned by the City as public parkland and that designation is noted in at least four different adopted city documents.
The City will need to turn over public parkland enjoyed by many and permanently allow its private use as a road by a developer. The City already does not have the recommended amount of parkland under state and local laws. We are simply asking that the City follow state and local laws for land within its jurisdiction. Doing otherwise would be a gift of public funds. This means when the City changes the zoning and amends the General Plan to change this land from Open Space to Roadway… it requires a Measure B vote.
Please send us any other questions you think need to be answered or when something needs to be explained further. We know we are “in the weeds” on this day in and day out, so sometimes we forget to share how we got to a specific position.
