Now and then - Carmel Valley in 2001 & 2002

• The Solana Beach School District aimed to buy 10-acres of Pardee-owned land next to the Carmel Valley Library for a third Carmel Valley school Solana Pacific.

• St. William of York parishioners in Carmel Valley raise funds to build a new church—the church, St. Therese of Carmel, would open in 2008. Canyon Hills Community Church also begins an expansion, it is now known as Grace Point.

2002
• Vista Sorrento Parkway opens as well as Carmel Knolls Park and the Torrey Highlands Dog Park.

• The tug-of-war continues on the vacant Townsgate Drive site as Pardee even proposes building a theater to enhance Carmel Valley’s town center. SBSD still wants 10 acres for a school and parents protested Pardee for blocking the sale of the land

In December, the district voted to condemn the land, giving them the right to seize the land from Pardee under eminent domain at fair market value. The district breaks ground on the new school in 2003.
A lawsuit isn’t settled until 2004, when Pardee got $41 million for the land—SBSD originally wanted to pay $24 million.

•City Council voted that 56 acres of Del Mar Mesa would become part of the Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP). The acquisition brings the total acreage preserved on the Mesa to 344 acres.

• More than 150 people attend heated Del Mar school district meetings on boundary changes to alleviate an overcrowded Ashley Falls School, ending a period of open boundaries in the district. Also in the Del Mar school district, early Wednesday dismissal begins.

• The San Dieguito Union High School District is concerned about an overcrowded Torrey Pines High, with 3,200 students expected in the fall.

• A new gate is placed at the entrance to the Carmel Mountain Preserve to prevent vehicles from wreaking havoc on 300 acres of protected open space.

• Torrey Hills Community Coalition fights the placement of biotech projects near their elementary school.