In the San Diego, almost 6,000 acres of city-owned open space remain vulnerable because they are not officially dedicated, protected open space. These include large tracts in Mission Trails Regional Park, Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve, and Otay Valley Regional Park. Changing from open space to another use only requires action by the San Diego City Council.
Under State Senator Christine Kehoe's Senate Bill 373, the nearly 6,000 acres of city-owned open space, will become "dedicated." Such status means that a public vote would be required for those areas to be used for anything other than open space or park land.
SB 373 saves the City of San Diego an estimated $1.5 million in processing costs, and requires the city council to adopt a list of specific parcels to be protected, before 2008.
Her bill passed the State Assembly on September 6th. The Senate must now approve Assembly changes made to SB 373, before the bill heads to the governor for action.
"My legislation allows the City of San Diego to live up to its commitment to protect our urban canyons and other open space," said Kehoe.
