County to Spend $156K Replacing Barnett Preserve Land Lost to Road Widening

Originally posted 9:59 a.m. Thursday.

San Diego County will spend more than $156,000 replacing land at the Barnett Ranch Preserve in Ramona that will become a public highway as part of the San Vicente Road widening project.

The project, officially known as the San Vicente Road Improvement Project, calls for widening a 2.25-mile stretch of the road between Warnock Drive and Wildcat Canyon Road to increase safety for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians. There have been dozens of crashes on the stretch in recent years, including at least two that were fatal.

The widening will affect 6.6 acres of the Barnett Ranch Preserve, more than 700 acres of county owned property purchased in 2001. By law, the county must buy additional land to replace the portion of the preserve that will become a public highway as part of the project.

On Wednesday, the county Board of Supervisors OK'd spending $154,360 plus $2,000 in title and escrow fees for a 9.38-acre parcel next to the preserve owned by Bonnie Britton and Patricia Lynn Kendall. County officials also will need to amend a land use agreement with the Wildlife Conservation Board, which provided a grant for the preserve's purchase.

The preserve is at 1500 Deviney Lane and San Vicente Road. It includes four miles of multi-use trails, and lies within the county's Multiple Species Conservation Program area for preserving natural wildlife and habitat. Southern willow scrub, freshwater seep, Diegan coastal sage scrub and other vegetation can be found there.