FORUM: Merriam Mountains will be a 'stimulus package'
By: Carl Skaja and Chuck Rabel

Unemployment in our region is more than 10 percent, and we must take bold action to jump-start our economy. The housing industry usually leads economic recovery because it has a ripple effect. New homes put engineers, pavers, contractors, plumbers, electricians and carpenters to work. But it doesn't stop there, because new homes need the appliances, televisions, fixtures and furniture that manufacturing provides.

The Merriam Mountains housing project will create 13,000 jobs, totaling $685 million in construction and $347 million in other wages. It's a stimulus package at developer, not taxpayer, expense.

In the 1990s, the county Board of Supervisors expanded 4S Ranch, a smart-growth success. Merriam Mountains is the only similar master-planned community since then and we believe it is time the county does its part to provide housing. While one or two disingenuous politicians have tried to seize upon unfounded fears for political gain, San Diego Leaders for Fairness, Jobs, and the Economy have thoroughly reviewed the facts, which are these:

At a time when the state is broke, Merriam Mountains will build or contribute to building $60 million worth of improvements to crucial roads, including Deer Springs Road and its Interstate 15 interchange. This reduces commute times and benefits all of us, especially San Marcos, Twin Oaks and Hidden Meadows residents.

Merriam Mountains is the most fire-conscious master-planned community of its size in the county including multiple evacuation routes, state-of-the-art fire-resistive construction, a new fire station and defensible space exceeding county standards. Its vegetation management plan will transform the "Twin Oaks Tinderbox" that threatens existing residents to a perpetually managed system of firebreaks, habitat management and fire-resistive landscaping, serving as a line of wildfire defense to protect cities like San Marcos.

Recent rains give us hope water supplies will get better, but we need better water conservation. Merriam Mountains will use 25 percent less water than older communities, employing water-conscious home and landscape design. Additionally, more than 70 percent of the project will become a biological preserve, preventing development or farming of this property in perpetuity, eliminating future water use.

Merriam Mountains will care about its neighbors, so those of you who live nearby will enjoy its many parks, trails, and sports fields. Tucked away in the hills, few homes will be visible from the surrounding area.

Our economy is struggling and Merriam Mountains is the shot in the arm we need. It will pay tens of millions of dollars to local school, water and fire districts.

You now see why more than 100 local leaders from businesses, community organizations, city government and the state Legislature have joined our organization. Be a responsible citizen and consider the facts, rather than being taken in by the hucksters who are peddling bogeymen for cheap election-year points. For the sake of local workers, the unemployed and your community, please support Merriam Mountains.

CARL SKAJA of Escondido and CHUCK RABEL of Vista are with San Diego Leaders for Fairness, Jobs and the Economy, an organization affiliated with the proposed developer of Merriam Mountains.