| REGION: Rancho Guejito in hot water with state regulators The owners of Rancho Guejito are in hot water with more than just San Diego County regulators. Wilson said he was eager to know the lengths to which the corporation will be required to restore the canyon, noting there are varying degrees to which land can be restored. has discussed building up to 10,000 homes on the land. On March 22, the water board sent Rancho Guejito Corp. No penalties were imposed, said Darren Bradford of the water board. The ranch sits adjacent to the Cleveland National Forest and east of Valley Center. The recent penalties isn't the last. According to the water board, the road work resulted in the discharge of waste and debris into five tributaries to Guejito Creek. The land includes old adobe homes, American Indian artifacts, running streams and high mountain territory. Rupp said last week the company was cooperating with all authorities. In a Feb. Rancho Guejito Corp. Randy Rodriguez, a department environmental scientist, said no fines were imposed. The county's order requires the corporation to submit plans to obtain a restoration permit, but it does not spell out how far the work must go. The road, which gives the ranch access to Highway 78, was termed by observers as "a missing link" to unlocking development. "The restoration order is the entire issue. "(Does it mean) soil must be compacted? Revegetation? Restoration of any wetlands?". The letter said the matter was referred to the San Diego County district attorney's office for further action. Such violations could complicate the company's long-term ambitions to build a city of homes on the pristine land, which stretches across 23,000 acres between Highways 78 and 76. Fines, even the $150,000 penalty issued by the county, are "entirely inconsequential" to the corporation given its deep pockets, said Kit Wilson, a real estate agent who said he has surveyed land near Rancho Guejito and has questioned the company's recent actions. |
Friday, 6 April 2012
REGION: Rancho Guejito in hot water with state regulators
