By Miriam Raftery
March 29, 2025 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Councilmember Laura Lothian will host a town hall community discussion on a battery storage facility proposed on El Paso St. The town hall will take place Wednesday, April 9 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Brew Coffee Spot, 6101 Lake Murray Blvd.
Heartland Fire Chief Brent Koch, Heartland Acting Fire Marshall Rebecca Winscott, and La Msa Director of Community Development Lynette Santos will also participate in the discussion.
Battery storage facilities are key to expanding renewable energy production such as wind and solar energy, enabling power to be utilized even when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow.
But lithium ion battery storage facilites have also sparked fires, most notably a fire at a large battery storage site in Otay Mesa, where some nearby businesses had to evacuate for two weeks.
La Mesa City Manager Greg Humora has said that the proposed La Mesa site would be smaller and compartmentalized, with other safeguards to reduce fire risk, as ECM reported.
But the La Mesa site is directly adjacent to homes, with shopping and businesses also close by, raising concerns from residents and property owners over potential negative impacts.
The town hall is an opportunity for area residents to ask questions and learn more.
By Karen Pearlman
March 27, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) -- Public water utility entity Helix Water District isn’t just about water – it’s also about energy, power and air.
On Tuesday, the district with roots dating back to 1885 got on board with the future, breaking ground at its El Cajon operations center as part of the district’s transition to a zero-emission vehicle fleet through electrification.
The $11 million electrification project will install nearly 90 high-speed vehicle chargers at the district’s operations center.
Helix Water District is transitioning 86 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and installing nearly six megawatts of charging infrastructure aligns with San Diego Gas & Electric’s mission to support public agencies and fleet operators in meeting California’s Advanced Clean Fleets regulation and local climate action plan goals.
The estimated completion date is April 2026 – and the project is thought to be the first of its kind in California, Helix officials say.
Helix is collaborating with San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, SDG&E, a Disadvantaged Community EV Charger Rebate program and other crucial strategic allies for funding and expertise during the process of installing the electrical capacity and charging infrastructure needed for the transition.
The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District is the local government agency charged with improving the air quality in San Diego County to protect public health.
The district is electrifying its vehicle fleet to meet the state of California’s advanced clean fleet requirements. The district says it will be able to complete this project almost entirely without impacting water rates.
In 2024, the State of California’s advanced clean fleet regulation required that 50% of all new medium and heavy-duty vehicles purchased by public agencies be zero emission vehicles. That number increases to 100% in 2027.
With the regulation, public agencies will need to deploy charging infrastructure that will power their new fleets for both daily and emergency operations use.
The charging stations will not only serve the district’s fleet but will also be available to surrounding agencies to utilize during emergencies and as they work through challenges and costs to electrify their own fleets.
“As a local public agency, we must comply with state regulations and this project needs to move forward now to take advantage of financial incentives,” said Helix Water District Board Member Mark Gracyk.
“We’re not doing this reluctantly. (Helix has) already reduced our energy use by 15 percent and our carbon footprint by 40 percent. This project will be a model for other agencies working to electrify their fleets and help the cities we serve meet their climate action plan goals.”
The Helix operations center in El Cajon houses the majority of the district’s fleet, which transports crews responsible for the maintenance of 742 miles of pipeline, valves, hydrants and meters for its nearly 280,000 customers.
The project has been funded in part with nearly $9 million through grants and rebates, and supports neighboring public agencies as they work toward the electrification of their own vehicle fleets.
Helix received a $5.2 million grant from the SDCACPD, a $2.2 million grant from SDG&E’s “Power Your Drive for Fleets” program and an additional $1.5 million through the Disadvantaged Community Electric Vehicle Charger Rebate Program. The district will fund the remaining $2 million.
By Miriam Raftery
March 25, 2025 (Rancho San Diego) – Today, the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) for the Water Conservation will meet to weigh opens for long-term funding and stability of the Garden at Cuyamaca College.
At its Feb. 25 meeting, the board discussed future funding options after the City of San Diego’s representative Nicole Beaulieu DeSantis announced intent for San Diego to withdraw from the JPA in light of the city’s budget crisis. Helix and Otay water district representatives voiced optimism that their agencies will likely be able to fill the funding gap left by San Diego’s departure and avert having other agencies leave the JPA.
Lauren Magnusen, Director of the garden, provided good news on improvements in Garden revenues outside of the water agencies’ contributions. Large donations have come in from the Sam Ciccati Foundation and major donor Maggie Burnett.
“The numbers are a lot better than in the past,” she told the board. “We have more admissions and more events.” The Garden has 77 new members and drew over 2,500 visitors in the prior two months, she said. Events are returning, including Tomatomania in early March and the Spring Garden and Butterfly Festival May 3.
But Magnusen added, “If we want more revenue, it’s in education. For education, we need educators.”
The board eliminated the Ms. Smartyplants education programs when it took over operations of the garden from the financially troubled nonprofit Friends of the Water Conservation Garden, which has since declared bankruptcy.
Helix Water District director Brian Olney said that despite the improved revenues, without contributions of the JPA’s member agencies, “The garden would be $180,000 in the hole right now.”
A draft letter has been sent to each member water agency for review; results are expected to be discussed at today’s meeting. It proposes that short term, Helix and Otay Water Districts will share in covering the revenues lost from San Diego pulling out.
Helix representative Dan McMillan said Helix is “fully committed to an upward budget. We will cover half if the city pulls out.”
Otay representative Jose Lopez said he believes Otay is committed, adding, “We’ll give it the best shot we’ve got.”
Sweetwater representative Steve Castenada asked for a non-escalator clause to be sure no agency would be “on the hook” for higher contributions if any agencies pull out in the future. With that, he said, “We could probably get approval for more than two years.”
If increased funding doesn’t come through, the JPA would consider turning over operations of the Garden to the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.
Chancellor Lynn Neault said, “We’re fully committed to the Garden,” but cautioned that they would need at least 18 months, and preferably two years notice to take it over, since it takes time to create college-oriented educational programs.
The Chancellor praised the work of the Garden’s volunteers, who provided 1,245 volunteer hours in the prior month alone. “God bless the volunteers,” Neault said. “That’s the work of 30 people. They’re the backbone of operations—it’s astounding.:
The JPA aims to make a determination as early as April on a plan for continued funding and future operations of the Garden after the current agencies’ agreement ends June 30.
Program to promote sustainable transportation
Source: City of La Mesa
Image by raju shrestha on Pixabay
March 24, 2025 (La Mesa) - The City of La Mesa is introducing a pilot E-Bike (Electric Bike) Incentive Program, designed to encourage biking as a primary mode of transportation for those who live and work in La Mesa. As transportation remains the largest contributor to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the city, reducing car trips will help create cleaner air and a healthier community.
Funded through a grant from San Diego Community Power, the City has partnered with two local bike shops to offer point-of-sale discount vouchers to make purchasing an approved e-bike more affordable. By reducing upfront costs, the City aims to provide residents and employees with a healthy, convenient, and sustainable alternative to driving — making it easier to commute, run errands, and explore La Mesa. Applications open on March 26, 2025, at 12 p.m. and close on April 14, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. The City is offering two tiers of vouchers:
- $1,200 for Income-Qualified applicants
- $800 for Standard applicants
To be eligible, applicants must be 18 years or older and either live in La Mesa or work for a business within the City. Approved applicants will be required to complete a mandatory virtual e-bike safety class before receiving their voucher.
Applications can be submitted online or in person at City Hall. Due to limited funding, vouchers will be awarded through a scoring and random selection process, prioritizing the first 150 applicants. Higher scores will be given to those who plan to use their e-bike frequently for commuting or errands within La Mesa.
To support safe riding, the City is partnering with the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition to offer a series of free bike safety and educational events throughout 2025. The first session, “All About E-Bikes,” will take place on March 27, 2025 at 6 p.m., a virtual course covering e-bike types, safety tips, details on the incentive program, and more.
To register for the class, visit San Diego County Bicycle Coalition's website.
For more information on the E-Bike Incentive Program, eligibility requirements, and educational opportunities, click here.
County’s Planning Group to hear controversial proposal on April 18
Story and photos by Karen Pearlman
Photo,left: Valle de Oro Community Planning Group members during packed hearing on Cottonwood Sand Mine
March 20, 2025 (Rancho San Diego) – More than 100 residents who would be most affected by the proposed Cottonwood Sand Mine gathered in force Tuesday, March 18 at the Rancho San Diego Library to let the Valle de Oro Community Planning Group know they don’t want it in their neighborhood.
After listening to more than two dozen people share their concerns, the community planning group voted 11-0 to recommend opposing the project that would see 214 acres of the former 280-acre Cottonwood Golf Course along Willow Glen Drive in Rancho San Diego turned into a digging site for sand mining for at least 10 years.
The group also voted 10-1, with one abstention, to not agree with a design exception review to waive the undergrounding overhead utilities along Willow Glen Road.
Next step: County Planning Commission hearing April 18
Oday Yousif, chairman of the Valle de Oro planning group, said he would be submitting a formal recommendation on behalf of the organization and those it serves, to not approve the sand mine Major Use Permit application to the San Diego County Planning Department by the March 23 due date before the item is heard at the April 18 meeting.
That recommendation, along with a recommendation from the county’s Planning Department Services, will be presented to the county’s five-member Planning Commission. The County Planning Commission will then decide on whether to approve or not approve the sand mine operation permit application.
The County Planning Commission meets monthly to consider land use projects affecting unincorporated areas of the county. Its next me
eting is March 21, but the meeting for the sand mine item has been set for 9 a.m., Friday, April 18 at the County Operations Center Hearing Room on Overland Drive.
Photo, right: Valle do Oro Community Planning Group Chair Oday Yousif, left, looks on as County Land Use Planner Chris Jacobs gives presesntation.
Residents share concerns during crowded meeting
Residents at the meeting expressed concerns ranging from environmental, health and safety issues related to the silica dust being kicked up during the process, as well as traffic impacts, especially for emergency safety needs. Among those there to listen was applicant representative Brice Bossler and County Land Use Planner Chris Jacobs.
San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District Director Theresa McKenna said that in 2022, then-Fire Chief Criss Brainard provided comments the county on the district’s concerns about the project related to emergency response time delays.
“Increased heavy truck traffic and slowing during construction all have the potential of increasing emergency response times,” McKenna said. “In our letter to the County, the Fire District requested health and safety concerns be mitigated for the benefit of the community, since even short delays can mean the difference between life and death.”
Detractors say that the project is inconsistent with both the County General Plan and Community Specific Plan. The Rancho Specific Plan identifies the golf course serving as a buffer area and providing a larger setback to sensitive habitat areas.
They also say that a final Environmental Impact Report has not been shown, so they are working off information culled from the Draft EIR, first circulated in 2021.
The site is in the middle of the Rancho San Diego region, and shares borders with homes, and is near schools and businesses.
Dr. Bob Foster (photo, left), a retired physician, said he is “extremely concerned about the negative health effects of this sand mine idea.”
“I’m adamantly opposed to it,” Foster said. “I think it's a horrendous plan that this is come up with and I want to be clear that we’ve got to do everything we can to stop this from ever becoming a reality. It’s a danger to those kids who have to walk to school every day across the clouds of smoke and sand that are going to be expelled from the sand mine operation. It’s just appalling to me that this plan has actually gotten to this level.”
The site also runs along the Sweetwater River watershed --a nearly 230-square mile region that goes from the Cuyamaca Mountains out to San Diego Bay. Groundwater from its lower basin is also linked to the watershed. The site is upstream from a federal wildlife preserve.
Sweetwater Authority, which oversees the water in the region, has expressed concern in the past about the project’s impact on water levels and quality.
Josan Feathers (photo, right), a registered Civil Engineer and member of the Valle de Oro Cottonwood Subcommittee, posed 
some rhetorical questions to those in attendance.
“Would you trust an applicant or engineers who missed the need for an additional 3.5 million tons of backfill? Would you trust the same applicant to excavate 79 acres downstream of the 30-year-old Steele Canyon Bridge (in Jamul) and about 100 acres upstream up to 40 feet below the ground surface?”
Feathers said that the development proposes to backfill the river “with excavated materials they can’t sell.”
“This project can potentially taint and pollute the drinking water that flows into the Sweetwater Reservoir which serves almost 200,000 South Bay residences, potentially endangering and impacting them, as well as the wildlife in the area,” she said.
The developer’s view
The developer of the land at the golf course, New West Investment, has said previously that the project is needed to supply sand for local building and infrastructure projects, and its presence will mean avoiding the cost of importing sand.
Areas included within the project boundary that are not disturbed by mining would be subject to habitat improvement through removal of invasive species in the river channel (if necessary) or would be left in their current condition including the existing Sweetwater River channel. (See map of project site, left)
The project would also make certain improvements to Willow Glen Drive prior to beginning mining operations.
New West Investment and Los Angeles-based investor Michael Schlesinger purchased Cottonwood in 2015, four years after the golf course filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Representatives for the project were asked to weigh in the following day, and provided only a brief statement.
“The Cottonwood Proposal would ultimately transform a defunct golf course property into 200 acres of permanent, preserved open space for the community to enjoy,” the statement reads.
“In the near-term, it would provide critically needed sand supplies for housing and infrastructure projects through a phased approach that reduces community concerns around views. Creating a local sand supply at Cottonwood is a win for the San Diego region because it would reduce the increased costs and environmental damage caused by trucking sand in from outside the region and Mexico.”
Schlesinger has been planning to mine the site of the former Cottonwood Golf Course since 2018. He bought the property in 2015.
He had also purchased the Escondido Country Club in 2012, then shut down the golf course and worked to build nearly 400 homes on the site. Involved in several legal battles related to that, the homes were eventually built and are now known as the master planned Canopy Grove.
What happens if it’s approved?
While the new EIR has not been released, as originally filed, the proposal explains the plan to mine 4.7 million cubic yards with nearly 3.8 million cubic yards (or 5.7 million tons) of washed concrete sand (construction aggregate) produced over 10 years. It will be done in phases with reclamation planned after each phase for a total of 12 years of activity.
The extraction process would occur in three phases over the span of 10 years and the cleanup, equipment removal and final reclamation would occur in the fourth phase over two years.
Sand excavation and processing would occur between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with trucking operations for material sales and backfill import from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Stop Cottonwood group mobilizes opposition
Elizabeth Urquhart, who has spearheaded the Stop Cottonwood Sand Mine efforts, spoke passionately at the meeting and presented evidence she said “shows the continued sand mine Major Use Permit application is unsuitable for approval” based on myriad factors, “including impacts on the surrounding environment neighborhood character and public facilities.”
The stopcottonwoodsandmine.com site has been active since the beginning of the issue, and through its work, a large number of Rancho San Diego’s nearly 21,000 residents have signed petitions and have packed public meetings through the years to oppose the project.
After the meeting, Rancho San Diego resident Anne-Marie Jacques said residents “feel like the developers don’t give a crap that this project just doesn’t make sense in this community, and they’re hoping we just give up.”
“Communities like RSD don’t need a sand mine because it wouldn’t add anything of substance or value to us,” she said. “They’re only looking out for their bank accounts not the people who live, work and go to school in the area.”