Health Clinic Construction May Begin in January, and Highland Valley Evacuation Route To Go Ahead

Construction is due to begin on the Palomar Pomerado Health Clinic in Ramona in January, once permits are approved.

Revised plans for the clinic garnered unanimous approval from (RCPG) at its Oct. 6 meeting. Dr. David Tam, an administrator with the hospitals and in charge of overall construction, said once all the permits are obtained and approvals granted, he expects to see construction begin in January and take 12 to 18 months to complete.

The changes include downsizing the clinic from 36,650 square feet to 7,600 square feet, eliminating the second story, and switching the entrance driveway from Main Street to 13^th Street.

Tam said the reason for the reduced size was due to the economy and the failure to secure financial partners.

“We will be paying for it ourselves,” he said.

The clinic will be located on Main Street between and the . The entrance driveway will be on 13^th Street, across from the library driveway. The parking lot is expected to accommodate all vehicles coming to the clinic and no off-street parking is anticipated, according to representatives at the meeting.

The facility will not include emergency services and there will not be ambulance traffic at the clinic with the exception if a patient should need to be transported to Pomerado Hospital in Poway.

The clinic will provide primary and urgent care, special radiology services and a mobile mammography unit. (Update Friday: The clinic will be staffed by Arch Health Partners, the PPH medical group partner, according to Leonel Sanchez, a PPH spokesman.)

The new plans are expected to be presented to the Design Review Board on Oct. 28.

A special workshop meeting will be held Oct. 20 to identify areas that flood during rainstorms. Members of the planning group and the public will meet with county employees to comprise a list.

RCPG Chairman Jim Piva reported on the status of the proposed emergency evacuation route that will go through a sprayfield in Highland Valley. Piva said the Ramona Municipal Water District Board of Directors approved the proposed route, opening the way for the county and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to proceed with plans for emergency evacuation procedures.

“All the major hurdles have been overcome,” Piva said. “The evacuation route will be established soon.”

Piva also announced work continues on reopening the Cedar Creek Falls hiking trail. No date has been set, but there is a possibility that when it does reopen, hikers will be required to obtain permits before using the trail.

In other business, the planning group approved a waiver for Scenic Special Area regulation for a hay barn to be constructed at a horse farm on Old Julian Highway.

Chris Anderson, who represents the planning group on the Design Review Board, said there is an opening on the board. There also are openings on some of the RCPG subcommittees. The only requirement is to be a resident of Ramona.

An ad hoc committee from the planning group will meet with CalTrans to look into further plans for making changes to the intersection at Highway 67, Dye Road and Highland Valley Road. A date for the meeting has not yet been set. Dennis Sprong was added to the ad hoc committee, along with Kristi Mansolf, Carl Hickman, Frank Copley and Piva.