Mission Trails Task Force Pushes Quail Brush to September, Likely Won't Take Sides

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The Mission Trails Regional Park Task Force meeting on Thursday was attended by many in orange "Save Mission Trails" t-shirts in opposition to the Quail Brush Power Plant proposed to be built near the park, but discussion on the topic was delayed until September, and it seems unlikely that the Task Force will be able to vote to .

Task Force member and San Diego City Councilmember Marti Emerald said the decision was made to continue the topic to another date because a about the project was held on the same day, and the Task Force didn't want to burden members of the public interested in attending or commenting on the power plant with too many meetings on the same day. The Task Force will now be discussing the power plant at the .

By the end of the meeting, Emerald also said that it looks like the board wouldn't be able to get a majority vote on the power plant because too many members needed to recuse themselves because they sit on other boards that might hear the issue (Emerald sits on the San Diego City Council).

The issue will likely be docketed as an informational item instead of an advisory vote. The September 20 Task Force meeting will be a hearing in which the applicant and the public can speak to the board.

Task Force member and Santee City Councilmember was unsatisfied that the Quail Brush issue was continued to September and that he nor the public were informed about the continuance before Thursday's meeting. He said he wants the Task Force to be a part of an opposition coalition of local leaders and boards, and was dismayed that the Task Force might not be officially taking sides on the issue.

The Task Force described the results of the SDPC meeting, in which the commission voted 4-1 to deny the application. Cogentrix can, and will file an appeal to the San Diego City Council, according to , a representative of Cogentrix, the company charged with constructing and operating the plant.

In a KPBS radio interview conducting Thursday with Emerald, Cogentrix and the CEC, the applicant said they will be filing an appeal to the decision by the SDPC, pushing the subject to the City Council. The council wouldn't be hearing this issue until September at the soonest.

"I respect the years of hard work to put together this park [Mission Trails]," said Emerald. "It's a gem- a regional resource that we need to protect."

The Task Force also discussed attempting to gain some control over the if it is approved.

"We don't trust state agencies and don't want to just let go," said Dorothy Leonard, chairperson of the Mission Trails Citizens Advisory Committee.

Read more about the Quail Brush Power Project