The Proposed Design for the Region

Change

The underlying concept of the regional design proposal involves three basic strategies: protection, connection, and concentration. The regional design is based on the assumption that conservation should precede development. Therefore, after examining the regional pattern of conflicts between conservation and development, a conservation strategy was designed to protect and connect the critical conservation priority areas, especially those threatened with development. Next, urbanization was focused on a new regional development core and into discrete and identifiable communities.

The first priority of the conservation strategy (Figure 22) is to protect biodiversity. Proposed conservation corridors connect the Santa Rosa Plateau, Cleveland National Forest, and Camp Pendleton and complete connections along the Santa Margarita River and across Interstate I-15 to Mount Palomar. Also proposed for conservation are Vail Lake and its connection to Cleveland National Forest and the area east of the new reservoir that connects the Multi-Species Reserve to the San Bernardino National Forest.

The conservation strategy also establishes a flood control network that is crucial to abate flooding and increase aquifer recharge, particularly in the Santa Margarita and San Luis Rey River Basins. The network maintains some connectivity for species movement and protects fragile riparian habitats. It also provides a strong recreational network and may include such uses as parks, campuses, and golf courses. In addition, the strategy identifies a network of regional scenic highways and cycling and hiking trails for conservation and visual management.

Throughout the region, density zoning and special overlay districts address conservation priorities such as minimizing loss of agricultural areas and critical potential habitat. The region as a whole would be further protected by guidelines for proposed development, which are organized in levels that directly relate the four levels of conservation priority. These guidelines are described later in this report.

The next step was to conduct a second two-stage simulation of urbanization, this time guided by the proposed regional design. This simulation considered the same population and land use demands as were used in the trend simulation.

The proposed design advocates a considerable investment in conservation in the initial phase (1990+ to 2010) in light of the analysis of development-conservation conflicts and the 1995 studio’s finding that conservation measures will be effective only if implemented before 2010. Therefore, the design actions proposed for the first stage include acquisition of the areas of primary conservation and establishment of much of the flood control network. The proposed actions also include some proposed additions to transportation and sewer infrastructure which, together with some zoning changes, are intended to cause a more concentrated future urban pattern. (Figure 23)

The land cover changes between 1990+ (Figure 16) and 2010 (Figure 24) result from the allocation of the urbanization model after input of the initial stage design actions. Additional actions are proposed within the same overall strategies from 2010 to 2030, resulting in the 2030 urban pattern (Figure 25). The results of the design include a more connected landscape, more concentrated development, and a new regional City Center in the Temecula Valley.

In comparison, the trend development shows an overall lower density of development, no additional open space or conservation areas, and a typical sprawl pattern. Left unchecked, the trend development can evolve into a pattern similar to parts of suburban Los Angeles. The proposed regional design differs from the trend in several ways: (1) conservation corridors precede development; (2) development is clustered and, where appropriate, within existing developed areas; (3) agricultural lands are preserved; and (4) a new regional City Center is created.