In the middle of what the Census Bureau calls the eighth largest city in America sits a \u2018semi-rural oasis,\u2019 otherwise known as the Grossmont-Mt. Helix region. Despite surrounding urban development, this area has stayed primarily residential and unique.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just feel like we\u2019re living in Mayberry,\u201d said resident Susan Nichols. \u201cIt\u2019s like a little village with a very tight-knit community.\u201d<\/p>\n Nichols is the president of the Grossmont-Mt. Helix Improvement Association (GMIA), which is a significant reason why the region still has a neighborhood feel and the hilly topography. GMIA has been standing up for its residents since 1938, with the goal to \u201cpreserve and enhance\u201d the character of the area and community.<\/p>\n Nichols and her husband have lived in Mt. Helix for 30 years \u2014 and they\u2019re the newbies on their block. Some of their neighbors have lived on that same street for more than 50 years; longevity like that is not uncommon in this region.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen people move in, they tend to not move out,\u201d Nichols laughed.<\/p>\n Grossmont and Mt. Helix are unincorporated: that means there is no mayor and no city council. The region is served by the sheriff and comes under the authority of the county supervisor. At the time of GMIA\u2019s inception, the region was primarily undeveloped, the county\u2019s small staff was overworked, and there was no planning group (Valle De Oro Planning Group was formed in 1977).<\/p>\n \u201cThe area was ripe for being overrun with developers,\u201d Nichols said.<\/p>\n Into that gap stepped a few concerned citizens, and GMIA was born. It is an all-volunteer, nonprofit, public benefit organization. Now, it represents more than 7,000 residences with a population of up to 20,000 people. GMIA\u2019s imprints are throughout the region.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an octopus of things that we do for the community,\u201d Nichols explained.<\/p>\n GMIA helped organize a fire protection district in 1957. There are now three fire stations throughout the area, ran by the San Miguel Fire Department. GMIA brought sewer service to the region in 1973. Twice, they\u2019ve blocked annexation by Spring Valley.<\/p>\n In 1979, GMIA stepped in to help create zoning guidelines that require a minimum half acre lot per house \u2014 making it impossible to build developments where the houses are sandwiched in together.<\/p>\n Ever wonder why there is still a cross in the public space of Mt. Helix Park? That\u2019s GMIA again. In 1999, they were part of the effort to create the Mt. Helix Park Foundation, which is a separate entity responsible for the maintenance of that space. In essence, the area is a private park with public access.<\/p>\n GMIA also hosts several events throughout the year to encourage community gathering. There is a summer family festival, an Art & Garden Tour, fall Halloween harvest party, spring succulent swap, and a walk up Mt. Helix to greet the New Year.<\/p>\n On June 24, GIMA will host its Annual Dinner at Cuyamaca Water Conservation Garden. The dinner is open to members and neighbors, and includes Phil\u2019s BBQ and Ballast Point beer.<\/p>\n The highlight of the evening is a Q&A time with County Supervisor Dianne Jacob. She brings an aide to take notes, and always follows up with questions raised.<\/p>\n \u201cDianne grew up in Mt. Helix herself. She rode her horse on these streets,\u201d Nichols said. \u201cShe gets us.\u201d<\/p>\n For more information, to join, or to volunteer, visit gmia.net or email yourgmianeighbor@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014La escritora independiente Joyell Nevins puede ser contactada en joyellc@gmail.com<\/a>. Tambi\u00e9n puedes seguir su blog Small World, Big God en swbgblog.wordpress.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Por Joyell Nevins<\/p>","protected":false},"author":826,"featured_media":225237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11548","_seopress_titles_title":"Home improvement","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11548,11551,11550],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-225236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-la-mesa-courier","category-news","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/826"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Home](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/helix-walk1.jpg\")
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