The Helix Water District board agreed yesterday to give a wildlife group a year to study and obtain permits for a nature habitat in Lakeside's El Monte Valley.
The 460-acre property off El Monte Road had been planned as a golf course, but problems that arose during grading and an abundance of new courses in the county made that prospect less appealing.
The water district board voted unanimously to enter into a legal agreement with the Endangered Habitats Conservancy, a nonprofit set up by the Endangered Habitats League to work on the nature project.
The board also agreed to suspend for a year a lease with a 15-member partnership that planned to build the golf course.
“There's a lot to be done, but this basically sets up a formal agreement,” said Helix general manager Mark Weston.
Water district officials also plan to pump treated recycled water into the eastern end of the property along the San Diego River, and then retrieve it as groundwater on the western end.
The district board agreed yesterday to spend $100,000 to hire the consulting firm Porter Novelli to deal with public relations for the recycled water project.
Helix Water District has owned the property where the habitat is proposed since the early 1900s, when its water wells were located there. After a water treatment plant opened in 1965, the wells were no longer needed. The land was leased to farmers who grew hay, vegetables and other crops, but the number of leases dwindled as farming became less profitable.
A lease was signed with the golf course partnership in 1997 to build two 18-hole golf courses, a nine-hole golf academy and a 20,000-square-foot clubhouse. The project was estimated to cost $25 million.
Grading on the property was halted last May when the county and the state Regional Water Quality Control Board accused the developers of violating their permits. The grading resumed after the permit issues were resolved.
Another setback occurred when a landscape contractor filed a $1 million lien against the developers.
Meanwhile, a study found there wasn't enough public support for a new golf course. Since the course was proposed, 11 golf courses have been built in the county.
Anne Krueger: (619) 593-4962; anne.krueger@uniontrib.com
