EHL was quoted in the press on San Diego planning challenges and on the finalization of the donation of the Irvine Company’s North Ranch properties for conservation and public access. And a timely op-ed was published in the run-up to the adoption of a new General Plan in San Diego.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on a planning symposium at which EHL San Dieto Director Michael Beck was a speaker (“How will county handle 1.5 million more by 2050?” Sept. 14, 2010). Beck commented on the County’s new General Plan, stating that it was needed to build certainty into the development process rather than cater to requests for exceptions. "We don't have a fallback scenario," he said. "That would be chaos."

The event was also covered by The Daily Transcript (“Experts debate population growth in S.D. County,” Sept 14, 2010). Beck noted that a solid land use plan was needed given the finite infrastructure funds available. Without a new plan, “It’ll just be endless land-use battles. That’s the existing plan.”

In its September 2010 edition , the California Planning & Development Report covered the acceptance by the County of Orange of about 20,000 acres of donated habitat lands (“Irvine Company Preserves Chunk of Orange County”).  "When the donation was originally announced, everyone looked at ‘what’s the catch?'" recalled Dan Silver, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Endangered Habitats League. “No one ever found a catch. The only concern [with this transfer] was how the County . . . would manage it.” Silver also noted the important restoration opportunities.

On Sunday, October 17, 2010, just prior to an October 20 public hearing, the San Diego Union-Tribune published commentary by EHL Executive Director Dan Silver titled, “Planning San Diego County’s Future."

The op-ed made the case for a superior land use alternative that saves the scenic back country from estate lot subdivision, emphasizing that such development has to be subsidized by the taxpayer for police and fire protection, utilities, and roads. It concluded, “Simultaneously reconciling economic, fiscal, and environmental goals through adoption of the Draft Land Use Map will set a great example for the whole state. Let’s cement San Diego’s reputation for fiscal responsibility – and leave intact San Diego’s unique landscapes – by making the right choice.”

A commentary from EHL was also published in the Fallbrook Bonsall Village News on October 21, 2010 (“Endangered Habitats League speaks out”). We called for a plan which “embodies ‘smart growth’ principles that move development toward existing infrastructure and don’t put people in harm’s way in high fire hazard zones.”

The North County Times (“Growth looms in scenic Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove,” Oct. 31, 2010) reported on General Plan Update options for this community. “Their open space is ‘what's left’ of the county's rapidly disappearing coastal scrub habitat, home to the gnatcatcher and other threatened and endangered species, said Dan Silver, head of the Los Angeles-based Endangered Habitats League.”

Another North County Times article (“Ramona: Plans call for making town more than just a highway stop,” October 14, 2010) covered the implications of the Update for the scenic town of Ramona. Quoting Silver, the Times reported, “He said the update would help Ramona transform from a town that ‘is a mess from a planning perspective’ into one with a walkable town center and an outlying area that, instead of being ‘subdivided into a checkerboard,’ would continue as ranches and rural areas.”