RE: "Bonsall Sponsor Group opposes Lilac Hills Ranch" [Letter, Village News, 5/8/2015]

Community Planning/Sponsor Groups can be a valuable asset – providing community guidance and insights for planning and development. But when a few political insiders control these groups, forcing their narrow views on the entire community, then the credibility of the planning group process is compromised. That is exactly what has happened to the Bonsall Community Sponsor Group.

When Lilac Hills Ranch was presented to the Bonsall Community Sponsor Group last month, over 100 community members attended the meeting. Nearly everyone expressed enthusiastic support for the well-planned project. But the group’s members chose to dismiss our pleas for Lilac Hills Ranch, even though the project would enhance our great community and school district in many ways.

Worst of all were the quotes from the group’s members in the Village News, which showed a bias against change of any kind and a lack of understanding for this great new addition to Bonsall just east of I-15 at West Lilac Road.

Vice chair Chuck Davis seemed to imply the project was not eco-friendly, nor would it contain amenities. His claims are seriously misleading and downright inaccurate. If the board had reviewed the project appropriately, they would have known Lilac Hills Ranch promotes the latest green components, contains miles of bike and pedestrian trails, and would be built around a town center that would blend modern retail and small shops with special amenities like an amphitheatre.

We need smart growth in the Bonsall area, and Lilac Hills Ranch is the perfect project for our community.

Janine Hogg