County Votes New Housing Moratorium in Fallbrook

Bowing to protest from Fallbrook residents concerned that growth threatens to spoil the town’s rural ambiance, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors agreed Wednesday to adopt a moratorium on urban development in the North County community.

The board’s unanimous vote represents a timely victory for Supervisor Paul Eckert, who has been wrestling with the issue as he seeks reelection in June.

Eckert, who faces six challengers in the 5th District race, had been under fire from Fallbrook residents for supporting a board decision in September that allowed clusters of homes on a one-acre lot.

Under the moratorium, a house can be built only on a parcel of one acre or more. In addition, new homes cannot be connected to a sewer system, a move that supporters of the moratorium contend will help limit future growth. The ban will not apply to Fallbrook’s downtown area, nor will it block sewer hookups for existing developments.

Because the moratorium was approved as an urgency action, it will expire after 45 days unless the board holds a public hearing and adopts a permanent measure. The supervisors agreed Wednesday to hold such a hearing in Fallbrook before the end of June.

County officials said the moratorium will probably affect only one project currently planned for the community, a 144-acre subdivision on Olive Hill Road that was to include 87 single-family houses. Developers of the project planned to build a sewer system, which would not be allowed under the moratorium.

Leaders of Friends of Rural Lifestyle, a group of Fallbrook residents who have banded together to fight growth in the community, said they were pleased that the moratorium was approved but cautioned that it would only be a temporary balm.

“The proof in the pudding will be in what happens next,” said Jack Wireman, co-chairman of the organization. “This just means we’ll be putting the gun back in the holster for now.”

Wireman said his group, which is suing the county over the growth issue, would put its lawsuit on hold while the moratorium is in effect.

Friends of Rural Lifestyle, which claims the support of 4,500 Fallbrook residents, is pushing for changes in county land-use plans to raise the minimum size for lots from one acre per house to two acres. Wireman and other members of the group argue that the bucolic appeal of Fallbrook should be protected by requiring that houses are constructed on larger parcels.

On Monday, however, the organization suffered a setback as the Fallbrook Planning Group, an advisory board to the county on land-use matters, voted before a crowd of more than 500 residents to recommend that houses be allowed on lots of one acre or larger. The Board of Supervisors is expected to take up that issue in November.

Eckert portrayed the board’s action Wednesday as an attempt to put a hold on planning matters until an overall review of the growth issues affecting Fallbrook can take place.

“We’re kind of saying stop everything, hold right here, we want to review everything,” Eckert said.

Last week, Eckert attempted to push the moratorium through but his board colleagues balked, saying they were unconvinced that Fallbrook residents favor a ban. The matter was put off for a week.

About 30 residents journeyed down from Fallbrook for Wednesday’s meeting at the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, and more than a dozen spoke in favor of the moratorium.

“Many of us in Fallbrook are deeply concerned about what is happening in our community,” said Herb Young, a Fallbrook resident. “We need to put some sort of bridle on this growth . . . It’s destroying our quality of life.”

Wireman, meanwhile, hinted that Eckert should take note of the residents’ concerns, suggesting that his stance on the moratorium could have implications in the supervisor’s race.

“At this particular time of year, these 4,500 people have some other added points to them,” Wireman said, referring to the thousands of Fallbrook residents whose signatures Friends of Rural Lifestyle has collected on anti-growth petitions in recent months.

After the meeting, Eckert said he felt his efforts to push through the moratorium had proved his worth as a supervisor.

“If I had pooh-poohed it, the issue could have presented a problem,” he said. “Instead, it proves once again that I am the guy who can get things done . . . I’m counting on it helping me.”

Some Fallbrook residents, however, still question Eckert’s performance on the growth issue.

Milt Black, a member of Friends of Rural Lifestyle and a Fallbrook homeowner since 1974, said many angry residents will not be swayed simply by Eckert’s support of the moratorium.

“He’s trying to placate these people and get on their better side,” Black said. “Maybe it will work. But my feeling is the medicine will have to be stronger than that.”