Planning group is being divided

I am writing today to express my concern over the invasion of division in our community representation. Like the rest of the nation, it appears to have become partisan which never occurred during my tenure of eight years as a planning group member.

There was a hint of it with the newly elected on the planning group of 2020. I passed it off due to lack of knowledge of the purpose of the planning group. There are 15 elected members in this group. Often seats are filled with no contest, only 15 running. That has always been OK; I’m just thankful they are willing to give their time, a lot, and understand that their role was to review proposals and recommend to the county. This is done based on representing the community members’ desires for their town, not to make or create rules or laws based on their ideology.

But times became contentious two years ago when the purpose of that position was challenged. As an unincorporated community, we are governed by the San Diego General Plan and the Fallbrook Community Plan. Their consideration of proposals that are made in all areas of Land Use, Circulation, Design Review, and Public Facilities allows some slight deviations via the Fallbrook Community Plan but cannot not supersede the SD General Plan.

Somehow, the past newly elected sought to go beyond the concepts in the two guidelines. Seemingly, they wanted to become more decision makers. It finally calmed down.

Here is what I see now. Instead of residents running individually espousing their thoughts on preserving the qualities that brought us here, there came a website with a slate to fill the seats up for renewal. This brought the necessity of the same by the old guard that has protected our status for so long.

It is worrisome. Has the national divisive move come to Fallbrook too? My vote for planning group members will be based on their individual outlook on protecting the values of living in this unincorporated community. It is not the role of our community planning group to establish an ideology. Incorporation is the only way to make that happen, and I am not for adding another tax to my budget.

Jackie Heyneman