Poway has 311.48 new acres of preserved open space following the city council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 20 in which council members unanimously approved rezoning and/or redesignating land on 32 parcels. This is in addition to 13,000 acres (roughly half of city’s 39.4 square miles) that is already preserved as open space under the city’s Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP).
Mayor Steve Vaus noted Poway has more open space, as a percentage of its total size, than any other city in San Diego County.
“It doesn’t happen by accident,” he said. “It reflects long term discipline, respect for our natural assets, and decisions like this one tonight that lock in preservation for generations to come.”
Included in the parcels are 25 private properties with recorded biological conservation easements (BCEs) and 7 parcels (205.12 acres) purchased by the City of Poway for permanent preservation. Notable properties include 165.86 acres of land on Van Dam Peak and 39.26 acres of land on Twin Peaks located within the hillside ridgeline area. This land lies within the HCP mitigation area and will remain as open space, in its natural condition, and in perpetuity. The action is part of the city's routine redesignation and rezoning properties with BCEs or purchased by the city and covers nearly five years of efforts.
Poway’s HCP was designed to preserve and protect biologically sensitive, threatened, and endangered plant and animal species and habitats. The city is committed to acquiring open space and condition private property development to set aside a portion of land for habitat conservation in order to keep the “country” in the “city in the country.”