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In 1998, the voters adopted Proposition S, which changed the Escondido general plan to require that amendments to certain portions of the general plan can only occur after a majority vote of the people at an election.

Proposition S specifically provides that general plan amendments or specific plans cannot be adopted without a vote of the people if the changes increase residential density, change the general plan's residential land use categories, or change certain residential designations (rural, estate, suburban, and urban) to a commercial or industrial designation.

In addition, Proposition S re-adopted specific policies from the current general plan. These policies are those which regulate land use patterns and character, residential development, and residential preservation and development. The measure re-adopts specific policies regarding planned development zoning, specific planning areas, clustering of residential development and the population objectives. Proposition S required that changes to these policies in the future cannot be made except by a vote of the people at an election.

This particular Measure asks whether the land use category of the Escondido General Plan should be amended for 20 acres east of Iris Lane, west of Broadway, south of Village Road, addressed as 1996, 2124 Iris Lane from the current designation of Suburban (up to 3.3 units per acre) to Urban I (5.5 units per acre) to increase the number of single family units allowed from 66 to 100 (as shown on Exhibit 2).

Q: Could the existing General Plan designation now be inappropriate?
A: Yes. The general plan is over ten years old. The purpose of this amendment process is to allow changes.

Q: Does this amendment represent leap frog development?
A: No. This property is surrounded by higher density development than this amendment request and conforms to the Smart Growth policies of SANDAG, the regional planning agency.

Q: Would the reduction in lot sizes from 10,000 sq. ft. to 8,800 sq. ft. have a negative effect on quality of life issues?
A: No. The EIR indicated all issues were not significant or could be mitigated.

Q: Will the increase in units cause more traffic?
A: Yes. The traffic flow though, will be greatly improved by the widening and improvements to North Broadway, North Iris Ln., and Village Road.

Q: If this amendment is approved, would it still pay its fair share of local fees and improvements?
A: Yes. Far more than average since the property is surrounded on three sides by major roadways. School and drainage fees are increased also.

Q: Would a portion of Reidy Creek be improved?
A: Yes. Possibly reducing the risk of another young life being lost.

Thank you for your consideration of this amendment. The decision is yours.

ROBERT J. BAMBER, Applicant

MICHAEL M. BAMBER, Applicant

The 1990 General Plan is not an old newspaper to be recycled weekly. It is a document designed to state the long-range public policy guiding the use of lands in Escondido. It is an evaluation and vision of the future for 20 years and beyond. The General Plan reflects thousands of hours spent by hundreds of city residents to put on paper their view of what Escondido should be through the year 2010.

When we try to justify adding 34 more homes saying they will generate additional city and school fees, we are justifying increased density based on profit and profit alone. Should one person's desire for increased profit be the baseline for deciding the General Plan must be changed?

Smart Growth includes listening to the desires of residents who must live next door to projects, good or bad, and deal with their impacts every day. This property is now zoned for 66 homes.

Attempting to build more than that on this flood plain would detrimentally impact our neighborhood.

VOTE NO ON MEASURE 'J'!

JENNIFER M. ABBOTT

THOMAS N. BEARD, Small Business Owner

RICHARD A. MERCURIO, President, Escondido Citizens' Ecology Committee

JOHN S. POMEROY, Retired U. S. Geol. Survey

We don't need more congestion on our streets! We don't need more overcrowding in our schools! We don't need more drain on our already beleaguered electric grid and domestic water supply!

WE JUST DON'T NEED MORE DENSITY THAN IS CURRENTLY ALLOWED. Escondido still has room for growth within our current general plan. We welcome developers to build within those established guidelines.

THOMAS N. BEARD, Geologist/ Hydrologist

JENNIFER M. ABBOTT, Small Business Owner