2 Ballot Measures Will Decide Future Of Development In San Diego

SAN DIEGO — Voters will get to decide the future of housing development in San Diego County during the March 2020 Presidential Primary Election.

Two measures that could make or break future development projects are on the March 3 ballot. Measure A and Measure B both take aim at General Plan amendments that allow denser projects than permitted under the county's General Plan.

Measure A, also called the "Safeguard Our San Diego Countryside Initiative," would require voter approval for General Plan amendments that increase residential density — the number of dwelling units in an area — in semi-rural and rural areas.

Measure B is about a specific project called the "Newland Sierra Project," a master planned community in North County. County supervisors granted an amendment to the General Plan for the project in 2018.

The existing General Plan allows as many as 99 homes and up to 2 million square feet of commercial and office space on the site. The approved project, however, includes a planned community to be built north of Escondido that features 2,135 homes, a school site, 81,000 square feet of retail, 36 acres of parks and 1,209 acres of open space.

Both measures need a simple majority — 50 percent plus 1 of those voting — to be approved.

Read more about the ballot measures on the county's Registrar of Voters website.