The City of Escondido held two community meetings this past summer to discuss Safari Highlands Ranch, a proposed 1,100-acre master planned community involving 550 units in eastern Escondido, north of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and east of the Rancho San Pasqual community.
The meetings focused on gathering public input for the Environmental Impact Report that would assess the proposal, which requires annexation to the city prior to development.
Safari Highlands Ranch proposes single-family residences on lots ranging from approximately 8,000 square feet to over 200,000 square feet that will be clustered into seven neighborhoods. The proposal includes a “Village Core” with a new 2.6-acre, three bay fire station site, a five-acre public park, trails, a private recreation center, a small convenience retail store and community gathering areas.
A new primary access road would be built that would intersect at Rockwood Road between Old Ranch Road and Vistamonte Avenue.
Fourteen acres of recreational parks and trails and 784 acres of resource, wildlife corridors, open space and conservation easement areas are proposed, as well as an on- site satellite sewage treatment facility. Various improvements would be constructed outside of the proposed site including reconstruction and road improvements, the installation of traffic signals, restriping and widening of roads, and modifications to the Eagle Crest Golf Course.
The development would take place in seven phases, corresponding to the construction of the seven proposed neighborhoods. The City of Escondido has additional information about the proposal at: www.escondido.org/safari- highlands-ranch-specific-plan.aspx
“There is a lot of information regarding the project on the city’s web site. We will also conduct more community meetings in 2016,” said John Helmer, the contract planner hired by the City of Escondido to assist in processing the project.
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