I don’t sweat the quarry, I very much doubt it will ever happen. I say this because the eco nimby folks up here have substantial power and when they have the indians, the city, the wineries, the tourism folks and all the environmentalists on their side, they never lose. About ten years ago that S.O.S. group was formed to fight a power line to San Diego, it seems the big energy companies may have wanted to sell electricity from mexico and from new plants in s.d. to L.A., the S.O.S. folks formed, raised tons of cash and won. San Diego’s Sunrise power link exists because of these guys. It’s a long story, I attended their fundraisers in the wine country (great parties by the way) and they now have set their sights on the quarry. Only this time the tourism and wineries have grown about 10 fold since the power line days. Tourism here is no small affair, 600 million a year, so is the agriculture/wine biz valued at 600 mil, god only know how much the pechangans make with the largest casino/resort in the state. It will also endanger SDSU’s big eco preserve and the last/largest coastal flowing river and pendleton’s water supply. I’m not even sure it will be all that big of a deal if they built it, it’s actually closer to fallbrook than it is to me but do not for minute think that these folks are small time, they have money, experience and an undefeated record, they dont want something, it’s not coming. The city just spent 2/3 of a million on another study to fight it, they have the money set aside to buy all of the land around it, the game is not over. The city has a balanced budget and a 15 million dollar surplus this year, even in these times, they are laying off nobody and have cash left over, there’s lot of cash for lobbying, lawyers and perhaps a few bribes. If they made it a bet in vegas, I’d give you 2 to 1 that it never gets built.
As for the town, search old threads, nobody wants to hear me tell them all again, i defended my hood valiantly for a few years and it exhausted me. I wont even fight the sterotypes, if you want a 5 br home in a safe area with a responsive local governemnt at a price that is in line with Texas, you have but a few choices, this is my favorite one. If houses on the coast cost the same, I probably wouldn;t live here, but the cost vs the benefit is where I made my decision, you have to make your own. If the OP is serious about shopping, send me a private message with any questions, I’d be glad to give you my specific opinions on the neigborhoods, developments and tracts, that stuff i know. I’m not a realtor, I have not and will not take a nickel for my advice and over a dozen piggs, past and present can attest to that, many of them I’ve met in person. Some are my neighbors now, some are my friends and i truly believe that at todays prices, you are making a fairly safe bet in real estate up here right now if you play it smart. But that’s me, I’m selfish now, I got mine, now i just pop in for fun and to interact with old friends, it makes no difference to me, I’m not selling, and if i did, I’d make a tidy profit, not because of the town I chose but because I did it the piggington way, the informed way.
