The Coast News, March 22, 2013

MARCH 22, 2013
City OKs lot sale, demolition
By Bianca Kaplanek
DEL MAR — Council
members authorized the sale
of one city-owned lot and the
removal of an a bandoned
maintenance building fr om
another at the March 18 meeting.
Property owners adjacent
to a 3,170-squar e-foot parcel
just east of 301 Hid den Pines
Road have expressed interest
in buying the site, which is
zoned residential and could be
developed with variances.
The lot is 25 feet wide,127
feet deep and has a steep
south-to-north slope, with an
elevation difference of about
40 feet. There is a small, relatively
flat area on the northern
portion that is slightly elevated
from the street.
The parcel was formerly a
water pump site that has been
abandoned. Mark Delin, assistant
city manager, said it has
some potential for other public
uses but they would be limited.
He said because it is accessible,
it could conceivably be
converted to a pocket park.
But Councilman Don
Mosier disagreed.
“In considering other
uses, it’s a v ery steep lot, ”
Mosier said, noting there’s
about a 45-degree incline.
“It is not of general use for
a park and developing a property
on that even with the variances
would be a v ery expensive
undertaking,” he said. “If
someone were to come forward
… and propose an alternative
or better use I’ d be happ y to
entertain it, but it’s hard for me
to envision use as a poc ket
park or an ything that w ould
serve the local community.”
Because the city no longer
has any use for the property, it
is in the public inter est to sell
it.
To do so , a hearing m ust
be held to allo w testimony
from anyone who opposes the
sale.
At least one nearb y resident
does.
Gary Burke, who lives just
south of the lot on Torrey Pines
Terrace, has a gate on his back
property line that would allow
him to e xit via the lot in an
emergency.
“It was a benefit to the
property when I bought it,” he
said. “I like that idea, having
that ability. And if y ou sell it
I’m going to lose that benefit.
Maybe I’m being selfish f or
that but I don’t know that
you’re going to gain that m uch
money out of the sale.”
Staff recommended holding
the pr otest hearing on
April 1, but council member s
agreed with Cl yde Freeman,
A hearing is set for May 20 at 7 p.m. at City Hall for anyone who opposes
the sale of a 3,170-square-foot city owned lot that was once used as
a water pump site. Courtesy map
who also lives adjacent to the
property, that the date didn’ t
give the public much time.
Extending the hearing
“gives people a little mor e
chance to see what’s going on,”
Freeman said.
“Clearly moving a little
too fast,” Councilman Al Corti
said. “Let’s give (residents)
more ample time to weigh in.”
Both adjacent pr operty
owners have development
projects in the w orks and one
sent a letter to the city r ecently
expressing interest in purchasing
the lot, which is wh y
the city began pur suing a possible
sale.
The protest hearing is
scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 20
at City Hall. Meanwhile, staff
is conducting a pr eliminary
title report and appraisal at a
cost of about $3,400.
Staff also r ecommended
putting the mone y from the
sale in the capital impr ovement
program. Mayor Terry
Sinnott said he would rather
see it earmarked for a specific
project.
“I would feel much more
comfortable … if this mone y
was designated f or a futur e
project,” Sinnott said.”I know
that’s kind of har d to do but I
feel uncomfortable having
money just going into the capital
improvement bucket.”
Shores maintenance
buildings
When the city bought the
Shores property in 2008 fr om
the Del Mar Union Sc hool
District, it included fi ve
attached modular buildings
that housed the maintenance
operations.
The district had a bandoned
the complex and it “was
in extremely dilapidated condition”
from water damage,
according to the staff report.
After examining the
building for possible resale,
staff determined it w as unusable.
The Winston School,
which is also located on the
Ninth Street property, requested
it be r emoved because it’s
unsightly and attr acts termites.
They city has r eceived a
$15,000 estimate to demolish
the buildings and r ecycle or
remove all materials, cap
sewer lines, properly remove
refrigerant from air conditioning
units and bac kfill and
patch the area when the pr oject
is complete.
Money will come from the
open space reserve fund, which
currently has a $133,388 balance.
“This may be a hazardous
cleanup job and so I think the
budget is appropriate and it’s
important to get that out of
that site,” Mosier said.
His colleagues agreed, but
said there are other items on
which they’d rather spend the
money.
“There are essential services
and maintenance that w e
… need to find the mone y in
the budget (f or),” Corti said.
“I’m in f avor of the trailer
removal but I also think ther e
are other safety issues ther e
that should be looked at.”
“Even though ther e’s
other things w e’d love to do
with that mone y we need to
get that thing resolved,” Mayor
Terry Sinnott added.
Work is slated to be done
the week of Mar ch 25, when
The Winston School is closed
for spring break.
THE COAST NEWS
Judge throws out Tri-City lawsuit
By Jared Whitlock
OCEANSIDE — Last
week, a California judge
dismissed a 4-year-old lawsuit
filed b y Tri-City
Medical against Scripps
Health for allegedly poaching
patients.
According to J udge
Earl H. Maas of the
Superior Court of
California, Tri-City failed to
demonstrate “actual controversy”
and that Scripps
engaged in unf air competition.
In 2009, Scripps
acquired Sharp Mission
Park, where 65 primary care
doctors previously referred
most patients through written
agreements to Tri-City.
After the tak eover, doctors
began sending mor e
patients to Scripps, causing
Tri-City to lose millions of
dollars, according to the
medical center.
Scripps maintains that
doctors at Sharp Mission
Park directed patients to
Scripps facilities because
they had their patients’
1x2
best interests in mind.
But Tri-City has argued
that Scripps ad versely
affected care by directing
patients who live within Tri-
City’s boundaries to Scripps
facilities in Encinitas, and
sometimes as f ar away as
Chula Vista.
In a written statement,
Tri-City CEO Larr y
Anderson said: “Scripps’
anti-competitive activities
continue, to this very day, to
deny patients the right to
choose to receive care at the
hospital closest to them
rather than driving miles to
a Scripps facility.”
The statement goes on
to say that Tri-City could
possibly appeal the ruling.
“Tri-City will be e xamining
the court’s decision
closely and will evaluate its
options to appeal this
order,” Anderson said.
In response to Tri-City’s
lawsuit, Scripps CEO Chris
Van Gorder said that
patients are brought to the
nearest hospitals in emergencies.
But if they’re in sta-
A9
ble condition, Scripps has
the legal right to tr ansfer
patients to its facilities.
“Transfers take place
every day in hospitals
throughout California,” Van
Gorder said.
Van Gorder said all the
legal bills haven’t come in,
but he estimates the lawsuit’s
cost to be in the “high
six-figures” for Scripps.
Historically, Van
Gorder said Scripps and Tri-
City had a “very good” relationship.
He said that
Scripps is still open to working
with Tri-City, but added,
“collaboration is a tw o-way
street.”
Last spring, Scripps
tried to force the case into
arbitration, rather than
court, based on expired contracts
between Scripps and
Tri-City. However, the
California Fourth District
Court of Appeal upheld a
trial court’s ruling that Tri-
City’s claims of anti-competitive
conduct ar e not subject
to arbitr ation, sending
the case to court.