Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace
- Susan Heavilin
- Aug 31, 2024
- 3 min read
This is Quarry Self Storage in Spring Valley. Could the RV storage proposed for Bonita turn into this?
Do you need a storage unit for all your "stuff"? Reminds me of the old George Carlin routine about "stuff". Most of us keep it in sheds, garages, under the bed, in the attic . . . we manage. And if we are in dire straits, there are over thirty storage unit facilities in a five-mile radius from Bonita-Sunnyside.
Have you heard the details about the Self-Storage Facility being proposed?
Will cover five (5) acres of the property
Will house 1,023 individual storage units
Developers are applying for a Multiple Use Permit (MUP)
Currently designated VR-2 (Village Residential) and zoned RR (Rural Residential)
The area of disturbance is approximately 8.79 acres.
Includes a graded parking lot (not paved?)
Includes a RV (recreational vehicle) parking lot
Includes a storage facility
First on my mind is what happens to all the oil and chemicals leaking out of those parked RVs? I've owned a couple of RVs in my lifetime and know that many of them leak. There are riverbeds running through that area that could carry the leakage down the little creeks when it rains and all the way to the Pacific Ocean. What about these chemicals getting into the groundwater? Many people in this area of Sunnyside use well water for drinking and agriculture. I think that an EIR (Environmental Impact Report) would be more in line when considering placing a RV Storage Area in a rural, undeveloped area.
The left and right photos show the parcel at 5780 Quarry Road. It's my understanding that they are connecting three parcels for one big parcel. The middle photo is one of the homes across the street. So much for going home for peace and quiet.
So why does the County want to approve a Self-Storage Facility in Bonita any way? It won't be used by most Bonita residents so why would we want to build something that brings people from other areas to add to our traffic? Nearby Sunnyside Stables is one of the last remaining horse boarding facilities in Bonita. Equestrians will have trouble crossing Sweetwater Road to access the trails on the opposite side. I like to ride my horse on the trail from the golf course, over the Sunnyside Stables bridge and along Sweetwater Road. One thousand more cars added to the formula and trying to turn onto Sweetwater Road is a train wreck waiting to happen in my opinion. Just like San Miguel Road has become unsafe for animals and people/children because of the toll avoidance traffic of the 125 from Eastlake and the increase in speed, Sweetwater Road would most likely suffer the same fate if a Self-Storage Facility is allowed to be built.
Intersection of Quarry and Sweetwater. Arial map shows locations of Bonita Golf Course, Sunnyside Stables, Sweetwater Dam and the Spring Valley Swap Meet is just on the other side of the 125.
This project does not mesh with the surrounding rural residential area. Most of us are against it. I attended a Sweetwater Community Planning Group meeting a while back. Every single board member was against this project, except one. Tony Tieber was arguing that the apartment dwellers needed a place to store their stuff. How many apartment renters use a self-storage unit and if so, could they not drive five miles or less to use one?
The time to speak up is NOW.
Comments on this proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration must be received by September 6, 2024 at 4pm.
Call Bianca Lorenzana at 619.510.2146 and tell her NO!
Write Bianca Lorenzana at Bianca.Lorenzana@sdcounty.ca.gov and tell her NO! Be sure to include the following:
PROJECT CASE NUMBERS:
PDS2021-MUP-21-009
PDS2022-CC-22-0102
PDS2021-ER-21-18-003 and
PROJECT NAME: Secure Space Self-Storage Bonita
Please . . . get out of your chair and do it right now. You could write an email in five minutes or less. It doesn't have to be elaborate. Just a "NO! I don't want it!" will help get the message across. And for extra emphasis, you could mail that same letter to:
Supervisor Nora Vargas
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO
1600 Pacific Highway
San Diego, CA 92101 and
Planning Commissioner Ginger Hitzke
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO
5510 Overland Avenue, Suite 110
San Diego, CA 92123
Think of the consequences if you don't.
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