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TO: |
Board of Supervisors Sanitation District Board of Directors |
SUBJECT
Title
GENERAL SERVICES - ADOPT A RESOLUTION TO SUMMARILY VACATE PORTIONS OF QUARRY ROAD AND SWEETWATER ROAD, AND QUITCLAIM PORTIONS OF A SANITATION DISTRICT ACCESS ROAD EASEMENT, IN THE SWEETWATER COMMUNITY PLAN AREA, AND RELATED CEQA FINDINGS (DISTRICT: 1)
Body
OVERVIEW
The Real Estate Division of the Department of General Services is processing a request from 5780 Quarry Road, LLC (applicant), owner of Assessor’s Parcel Number 586-050-62, to summarily vacate interests dedicated to the County of San Diego (County) for portions of Quarry Road and Sweetwater Road public highway easement that encumber portions of their property. A summary vacation is a streamlined process by which an excess public road right-of-way (ROW), or a public service easement is abandoned. It may be requested by the County or the public if the easement interests are found to be excess to County needs and are not required for the purposes for which they were obtained.
The Secure Space Self-Storage Bonita Project (project) was approved by the Board of Supervisors on April 9, 2025 (4). The project is a commercial self-storage facility with approximately 1,023 self-storage units within a two-story building, 109 covered recreational vehicle (RV) parking spaces, a public trail, and a 1.97-acre open space easement on the northern portion of the site. The project also includes frontage improvements on Quarry Road and realignment of the intersection with Sweetwater Road.
Today’s action includes quitclaiming portions of an access road easement for sewer line maintenance dedicated to the San Diego County Sanitation District (District). Quitclaiming an easement is a process to give up all rights, title, and interest granted to the District for the easement. All the easement interests are located within the applicant’s property on the southeast corner of Sweetwater Road and Quarry Roads (Attachment A), and are in the unincorporated Sweetwater Community Plan Area. In many cases, the vacation and quitclaim can be a public benefit through improved use of the land made available by the vacation and quitclaim. The applicant has approved plans to build a Secure Space Self-Storage Bonita Project (Project).
The County Department of Public Works (DPW) has determined that the portions of Quarry Road and Sweetwater Road proposed for vacation are excess and no longer needed for present or future public use because the existing ROW’s exceed the minimum required half widths along the project frontages, and the remaining ROW’s will meet or exceed the minimum required half widths for those classifications of roads. The Project requires a realignment and improvements to Quarry Road including the construction of a 10.5’ wide pathway along the property frontage adjacent to the traveled way, the new ROW would be along the easterly edge of the pathway. Sweetwater Road also requires a 10.5’ wide pathway along the property frontage, the new ROW would be 3’ easterly of the pathway edge. A road vacation often benefits the public by enabling improved use of the land it formerly occupied. The vacation was requested by the property owner as conditioned by County Planning & Development Services (PDS) Department and will reduce encumbrances that will allow for better use of the subject property.
Portions of the access road easement for sewer line maintenance have been determined to be excess by the District because prior to quitclaiming portions of the original easement, a replacement access road easement will be dedicated to the District for their maintenance road access needs. Health and Safety Code section 4743 authorizes the District to dispose of property or interests in property that are no longer required or needed. Health and Safety Code section 4740 gives the District the authority to acquire interests in property that are convenient to the operation of District sewer facilities.
Today’s request is for the Board of Supervisors (Board) to adopt a resolution to summarily vacate the excess portions of Quarry Road and Sweetwater Road. If authorized by the Board, acting as the Board of Directors of the District, the Director of the Department of General Services, or an authorized designee, will execute and record a deed to quitclaim portions of the District’s interest in the access easement for sewer line maintenance (Attachment B).
RECOMMENDATION(S)
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
Acting as Board of Supervisors:
1. Find that the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the Secure Space Self-Storage Bonita Project SCH No. 20240480027 dated December 6, 2024, on file with the Clerk of the Board, has been completed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the State CEQA Guidelines and that the Board of Supervisors has reviewed and considered the information contained therein, on file with the Department of General Services, before approving the project; and
2. Find that there are no substantial changes in the project or in the circumstances under which the project will be undertaken that involve significant new environmental impacts which were not considered in the previously adopted MND dated December 6, 2024, and that there is no substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects, and that no “new information of substantial importance,” as that term is used in CEQA Guidelines Section 15162(a)(3), has become available since the MND was adopted.
3. Adopt a Resolution entitled: RESOLUTION TO SUMMARILY VACATE PORTIONS OF QUARRY ROAD AND SWEETWATER ROAD, IN THE SWEETWATER COMMUNITY PLAN AREA (VACATION NO. 2025-0013) (Attachment C).
4. Direct the Clerk of the Board to record the Resolution for Vacation No. 2025-0013 pursuant to State of California Streets and Highways Code Section 8336.
Acting as Board of Directors of the San Diego County Sanitation District:
1. Find that portions of the access road easement are no longer required for District purposes.
2. Approve and authorize the Director, Department of General Services, or authorized designee, to take all necessary action to accept a replacement access easement acceptable to the District and thereafter execute and record a quitclaim deed for the excess portions of access road easement as depicted in Attachment B.
EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The removal of encumbrances from private land that are no longer needed for street or highway purposes, and access road purposes, will provide an overall public benefit and improve the use of the land made available by the vacation and quitclaim. The property benefiting from these actions is in a Rural Residential zoned area and will allow the property owner better use of their property. The vacation and quitclaim of these easements will not preclude future development.
SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The proposed action to summarily vacate portions of Sweetwater and Quarry Roads and quitclaiming an access road easement for sewer maintenance contributes to the County of San Diego Sustainability Goal No. 1 to engage the community to partner and participate in decisions that impact their lives and communities, and Goal No. 2 to provide just and equitable access to develop their land. These goals have also been implemented by the Sanitation District. This action will impact the property owner directly by providing improved use of the property by unencumbering portions of their property.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for this request are included in the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Operational Plan in the Department of General Services. If approved, this request will result in estimated costs and revenue of $11,000 to process the proposed vacation and quitclaim. The funding source is a deposit from the applicant. There will be no change in net General Fund costs and no additional staff years.
BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT
N/A
(RELATES TO SANITATION DISTRICT ITEM SA01)
Details
ADVISORY BOARD STATEMENT
The Sweetwater Community Advisory Group convened on March 3, 2026, and approved the partial vacations of Sweetwater and Quarry Roads, and voted to approve (yes-11, no-3, abstain-0, vacant/absent-1) without conditions.
BACKGROUND
The owner of Assessor’s Parcel Number 586-050-62, 5780 Quarry Road, LLC (applicant), has requested to summarily vacate portions of Quarry Road and Sweetwater Road public highway easement that encumber portions of their property located on the southeast corner of Sweetwater Road and Quarry Roads in the unincorporated area of Sweetwater (Attachment A). The property is within the Sweetwater Community Plan Area. The applicant’s property consists of approximately 10.722 acres (excluding easement areas) per the Grant Deed for Merger of Parcels, Doc No. 2025-0128492, which consolidated the owner’s contiguous parcels into one legal lot (PDS2022-CC-22-0102).
The Owner is requesting this summary vacation to advance their build out of the property. On December 6, 2024, the Planning Commission approved the Major Use Permit (PDS2021-MUP-21-009) and Certificate of Compliance (PDS2022-CC-22-0102) to allow for a self-storage facility and covered recreational vehicle (RV) parking spaces on 4.99 acres of the project site. The Sweetwater Community Planning Group (CPG) submitted an appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision. On April 9, 2025 (4), the Board of Supervisors (Board) denied the appeal and upheld the Planning Commission’s decision to approve the project. The proposed self-storage facility consists of approximately 1,023 self-storage units within a two-story building with a basement totaling 132,425 square feet of floor space, an approximately 1,000-square foot office building, 109 covered RV parking spaces (totaling 56,448 square feet), and 21 standard passenger vehicle parking spaces for customers and employees. The Project also includes a 1.97-acre open space easement on the northern portion of the site and a new public pathway along the frontage of Quarry Road that connects to a new public trail that runs along the perimeter of the site.
The portions of roads to be vacated were dedicated to the County of San Diego (County) in the Public Highway easements granted to the County recorded in the Office of the County Recorder of San Diego County, on October 6, 1966 as Doc. No. 161677, September 26, 1977 as Doc. No. 77-393431, March 31, 1981 as Doc No. 81-064469, and November 18, 2009 as Doc No. 2009-0643351. The vacation area consists of approximately 0.336 acres in total (Attachment B). This action would summarily vacate the portions of Quarry Road and Sweetwater Road lying within the owner’s property, as described and depicted in Exhibits “A” and “B” of Attachment C, and no parcels would be land-locked by the proposed vacation. The County Department of Public Works (DPW) has determined that the portions of Quarry Road and Sweetwater Road public right-of-way (ROW) are excess and no longer needed for present or future public use because the remaining ROW width meets the roadway segment’s minimum required half-width ROW for the General Plan Mobility Element roadway classification. This segment of Quarry Road is classified as a 2.2E Light Collector with Class IV Bike Lanes, which has a requirement of 26-feet half width, and Sweetwater Road is classified as a 2.2C Light Collector with Class II bike lanes, which has a requirement of 37’ half width. A summary vacation of an existing public highway may be requested by the public if it is found to be excess ROW not required for street or highway purposes. In many cases a road vacation can be a public benefit through improved use of the land made available by the vacation.
This is a request to take the necessary actions in accordance with Streets and Highways Code Section 8334(a) to summarily vacate portions of the public highway easements. The Public Streets, Highways, and Service Easements Vacation Law, State of California Streets and Highways Code Section 8300, et seq. (Act) establishes procedures where a legislative body may initiate proceedings to vacate a public street, highway, or public service easement that is not required for public purposes. The summary vacation can be completed by Board approval and adoption of the Resolution attached as Attachment C.
Under the Act, the following findings must be made by the Board to approve the proposed summary vacations:
1. The portions of Quarry Road and Sweetwater Road to be summarily vacated are considered excess right-of-way of a street or highway not required for street or highway purposes because the portions exceed their required minimum half width ROW needed for their respective classifications of roadway. Therefore, the Board may find that the aforementioned ROW may be summarily vacated pursuant to California Streets and Highways Code section 8334.
2. Pursuant to State of California Streets and Highways Code Section 8334.5, the Board is required to ensure that the vacation will not affect in-place public utility facilities. At the requests of Pacific Bell Telephone Company, doing business as AT&T California, and San Diego Gas and Electric, easements, consistent with their respective franchise rights under California Public Utilities Code section 7901 and a franchise agreement between the County and SDG&E, will be reserved for their in-place public utility facilities, as described and depicted in Attachment C. Therefore, in place public utility facilities will not be affected by the proposed vacation.
3. Pursuant to State of California Streets and Highways Code Section 892 and Section 8314, consideration of the portions of Quarry Road and Sweetwater Road for non-motorized transportation use must be reviewed before the vacation can be approved. The County’s Department of Parks and Recreation has determined that the portions proposed for summary vacation are not needed for trail purposes because the approved Major Use Permit on the subject property conditioned the dedication of trail easement through a portion of the subject property and the construction of a pathway along Quarry Road to connect with the trail system.
4. Pursuant to State of California Streets and Highways Code Section 8313 and Government Code Section 65402, the Board shall consider the General Plan prior to vacating a right-of-way or public service easement. Staff from the County’s Department of Planning & Development Services has reviewed the proposed summary vacation and determined that it is in conformance with the San Diego County General Plan because it does not affect the Mobility Element Network buildout.
Additionally, the owner has requested a quitclaim of portions of an access road easement for sewer line maintenance purposes that encumbers portions of their property. The easement to be partially quitclaimed was acquired by the San Diego County Sanitation District (District) from the Spring Valley Sanitation District, in the document recorded in the Office of the County Recorder of San Diego County, on February 2, 2005, as Doc. No. 2005-0088785. This portion of easement to be quitclaimed consists of approximately 0.411 acres in total (Attachment B). Quitclaiming is a process to give up all rights, title, and interest in a particular property granted to the District. Quitclaiming portions of an access road easement for sewer line maintenance may be requested by the public if the rights are found to no longer be required for District purposes. DPW operates and administers the District and has determined that the portions of easement depicted in Attachment B are no longer required by the District.
Staff has determined that the following findings can be made to support the quitclaim request:
1. California Health and Safety Code section 4743 gives the District authority to “dispose of any property of the district or any interest therein whenever it is no longer required for the purposes of the district.” California Health and Safety Code section 4740 provides that the “district may acquire by gift, purchase, condemnation or otherwise, in the name of the district, and own, control, manage, and dispose of any interest in real property...necessary or convenient for the construction, maintenance, and operation of a sewerage system.” The proposed action is to quitclaim portions of the existing access road easement that will no longer be needed after a replacement easement approved by the District is recorded. The subject property is currently subject to an easement that describes three access road routes across the applicant’s property. The PDS approved design of the subject property establishes an access route acceptable to the District that can replace the possible routes reserved in the existing easement. Therefore, if this action is approved by the District, a new easement will be granted to the District consisting only of the route needed and will be recorded prior to the quitclaim. As a result, the original easement will no longer be required by the District and can be quitclaimed to the property owner in accordance with Health and Safety Code section 4743. Additionally, there are no in-place public facilities that would be affected by the proposed quitclaim.
2. In accordance with Streets and Highways Code section 892, the easement areas to be quitclaimed are not useful as a non-motorized transportation facility because the approved Major Use Permit on the subject property was conditioned on the dedication of a trail easement through a portion of the subject property and the construction of a pathway along Quarry Road to connect with the trail system so that the easement areas to be quitclaimed are not needed for this purpose.
3. In accordance with Government Code section 65402, the County’s Department of Planning & Development Services has reviewed the proposed action to obtain and a replacement access easement and quitclaim an existing easement and determined it is in conformity with the San Diego County General Plan.
All of the above proposed actions are in the public interest because there is a public convenience associated with the removal of encumbrances from private lands that are no longer needed for public street or highway easement purposes, or public service easement purposes. In this instance there would also be a public benefit through improved use of the land made available by the vacation and quitclaim and would not preclude future development.
ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT
On April 9, 2025 (4), the Board adopted the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the proposed Secure Space Self-Storage Bonita Project (SCH No. 20240480027) dated December 6, 2025 An Addendum to the MND that was completed in March 2026, on file with the Department of General Services, determined that-consistent with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15162-an Addendum to the Final Initial Study (IS)/MND was sufficient and appropriate, as the revised project would not result in significant new impacts or substantially increase the severity of impacts previously identified in the Final IS/MND. Additionally, applicable mitigation measures set forth in the Final IS/MND will still be applied to the Secure Space Self-Storage Bonita Project. The proposed vacation and partial quitclaim for this project are consistent with the project described and analyzed in the MND. There are no significant changes in the project or the circumstances under which the project will be undertaken that involve significant new environmental impacts which were not considered in the previously adopted MND. In addition, there would be no substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects. An Environmental Review Update Checklist, dated March 11, 2026, was prepared in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15162(b) as supporting analyses for the determination to rely on the previous MND without preparing additional environmental documentation. Also, no “new information of substantial importance,” as that term is used in CEQA Guidelines Section 15162(a)(3), has become available since the MND was adopted.
LINKAGE TO THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO STRATEGIC PLAN
The proposed action supports the Community Engagement Strategic Initiative in the County of San Diego’s 2026-2031 Strategic Plan by promoting opportunities for property owners to exercise their right to be civically engaged and find solutions to current and future challenges. The proposed action will summarily vacate portions of street or highway easements, and portions of an access road easement that are unnecessary for public purposes.
Respectfully submitted,
DAHVIA LYNCH
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
ATTACHMENT(S)
ATTACHMENT “A” - Location Map
ATTACHMENT “B” - Vacation & Quitclaim Exhibits
ATTACHMENT “C” - RESOLUTION TO SUMMARILY VACATE PORTIONS OF QUARRY ROAD AND SWEETWATER ROAD, IN THE SWEETWATER COMMUNITY PLAN AREA, including EXHIBITS “A” and “B”
ATTACHMENT “D” - Quitclaim Legal Description