por Jay Wilson

It has been a quiet month in Del Cerro. There has not been an update from The Peoples Church and their goal to build a church where the ColRich housing development was initially to be constructed.

The Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) lawsuit involving a proposed MAD in La Jolla and the city of San Diego is scheduled to be heard in court on June 8 — after the deadline for this article. This case must be settled before any action will be taken by the city of San Diego regarding new MADs. There should be more to report next month.

John Steffen, our Police Community Relations Officer, reported that over the past 30 days we have had four residential burglaries and one theft from a vehicle in our area.

Officer Steffen and Mark Rawlins, the chair of Del Cerro Action Council (DCAC), reminds everyone that we are going into the summer months and that we all need to keep our doors locked and our garage doors and windows closed. In addition, make certain that you keep all valuables out of plain view in your cars. If you are going to be gone for several days or more consider contacting the Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol. Call 858-495-7900 and ask to speak with Bob Mazeika to schedule RSVP home checks while you are away.

There is a new item that should concern all homeowners and that is the city’s new “granny flat/companion unit” regulations. With a 15-foot setback, you can now construct a granny flat/companion unit in your front yard, and the occupant of the new unit does not have to have any connection with the property owner. There is a more extensive article about this in this issue of the MTC. There is already one of these front yard units under construction in Allied Gardens.

The city of San Diego is working on a Parks Master Plan and they are soliciting input from residents. The results of this master plan will have an impact on all the parks in the city. I encourage you to visit the DCAC website. I have posted information about this massive project and how you can become involved by participating in one of the workshops this summer. The results of this project will guide the development of our parks for the next 20 to 30 years.

The Lake Murray July 4th Fireworks and MusicFest is about three weeks away. The committee has been working diligently for months to ensure that the event is another great success. As a member of the committee, I can tell you that we are still seeking donations to make our goal. Please visit the website at lakemurrayfireworks.org to make a donation today.

The next meeting of the DCAC will be July 26 at 7 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El. Visit the DCAC website at delcerroactioncouncil.org for more information.

Thank you for saving homes in Del Cerro

A tremendous thank you to all the agencies involved in fighting the 40-acre fire in the Del Cerro canyon between the homes on the ridge of Del Cerro and I-8 on June 3. The expertise and commitment demonstrated by all the firefighters was superb.

Wildland fire season is here and we have successfully lived through a close call in our community. This should be another wake-up call to all of us to prepare our property for a wildland fire. We have many canyons in the Navajo Community and the vegetation is dry and going to become considerably drier as the warm and dry weather season moves on. It is not just clearing dry brush to establish a safe zone around a home, but embers from fires can be blown several miles and start another fire.

— Jay Wilson is secretary for the Del Cerro Action Council. Reach him at [email protected].