Coping with growth: North County feels transportation is key.

Growth, growth and more growth--when will it end? No one knows the answer, but the region is trying to do what it can to cope.

The North County Transit District just passed a $65 million budget that begins July 1. It increases fees to ride the Coaster, funds a larger than ever advertising budget and keeps the $350 million Sprinter light-rail project on the right track. Bids for the construction of the Sprinter's mainline will open July 6.

As the average cost of housing goes up, more and more homes are beginning to be built. With that new housing comes dozens of mitigation projects. In Carlsbad, Morrow Development is building 1,325 homes in the Villages of La Costa project and they have, coupled with their earlier developments, kicked in $21 million to the city's road construction fund.

Along with some government grants, the money helped to build the new section of Rancho Santa Fe Road. That includes the new bridge and the road widening effort from San Elijo Road to the city limits--a 3/4 of a mile project that will conclude in 2006. The finished project will give residents a six-lane road. When the street reaches San Marcos it will connect with a fourlane, $14 million road that is slated for completion by late 2005. Many North County roads will open in the next few years with developer impact and mitigation fees paying a lion's share of the cost.

To keep up with the growth in North County housing is the latest example of a supply and demand economics model. The average cost of a single family home in North County is more than $529,000. Take a look at the new project Lennar Communities is building at Bressi Ranch in Carlsbad. With approximately 600 units of housing, the company has an interest list of potential buyers that has more than 10,000 names already on it.

Agriculture is a key industry in North San Diego County and Carlsbad is stepping up to answer the call for migrant farm worker housing. The city already has two projects and is looking to build more. The city council voted on July 6 to rework an agriculture mitigation fund with $6 million in it to allow for some of the money to be spent on farm worker housing projects. One proposal calls for a 65 bed shelter near Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

Once the Carlsbad City Council learned of a potential $6.5 million cut in funds from the state they began studying the ways to circumvent the reduction of services for residents. One way to do that is to consider allowing big box stores to build in the city. The project would need a general plan amendment to allow their use in certain commercial and industrial zones. The Carlsbad Chamber supports the stores because it will bring economic vitality to the city and create good paying jobs. One issue that will be a slight hurdle will be whether or not to allow big boxes that are stand-alone projects.

As the county continues to burst at the seams with growth, the need for roads and freeways is the No. 1 priority on nearly everyone's lips. The cost of roads is in another galaxy. If you think gasoline is expensive, check out freeway building costs. The average cost per mile of a freeway is more than $10 million. If it's being built in an environmentally sensitive region, it could soar to $60 million.

The November election will carry a ballot measure asking voters to support a 40 year extension of the current 1/2 cent sales tax for transportation. The Transnet tax would raise $14 billion through 2048. The current tax expires on March 31, 2008.

The San Diego Association of Governments board of directors approved a plan dividing the future revenues. The first $4.6 billion would be set aside for transit projects, such as rail and bus lines, $4.5 billion would go for local roads and the remaining $4.4 would be earmarked for freeway projects. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted to not support the set asides, because East County residents feel they won't benefit from buses and trains due to the sparse terrain and difficult geography. They prefer more be spent on roads and freeways.

Eventually agreements will need to be reached in order for SANDAG to continue to operate and for the voters to support the extension. Most business leaders agree that without the tax extension gridlock will be the downfall of our economy. The tax has been in effect since 1984 and the impact of it continuing, most agree, would not be felt by taxpayers.

Ted Owen is president and CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. You can contact him about Business in the North County at [phone], or [e-mail].