VISTA, Calif. — Green Oak Ranch, a coveted piece of property in southern Vista, is up for sale, and the County of San Diego is looking to buy it. The sprawling land is a total of 138 acres, but only 110 acres are for sale.
“It’s a unique and extraordinary opportunity for a future regional behavioral health site in San Diego County,” said County Supervisor Jim Desmond at the Board of Supervisors meeting on April 30.
The County voted unanimously to enter negotiations with the real estate trust that owns the acreage for sale, while also laying down $300,000 in an earnest money deposit.
“We can see the needs in our streets, our sidewalks, our hospitals and parks and underpasses for more facilities for treatment and mental health services,” said Desmond.
Desmond’s vision for the property, which over past decades has been host to popular summer camps for kids and RV parking for low-income families, would be a $335 million dollar transformation into a mental health hub.
“Immediately I was shocked,” said Tim Troncone, a homeowner who lives nearby.
He found out about the County’s proposal three weeks ago and quickly galvanized neighbors in a Facebook group to oppose it.
“We’ve heard a thousand beds possible, we’ve heard 200 beds,” said Troncone. “The story’s changed on what exactly is going to happen, so we don’t know.”
CBS 8 called Supervisor Desmond’s office and staff told us they’d have a maximum of 200 beds on the property in what they’re calling a “regional campus for healing.”
“I have small kids,” said Troncone. “My neighborhood is a family neighborhood. We all have kids, and we all have concerns.”
Desmond’s initial plan calls for a referral-only sober-living recovery program as well as psychiatric care with 24/7 supervision and security, and no walk-ins allowed.
“Once the County of San Diego would become the owners of this property, all land use control would be in the hands of the County,” said Vista’s Mayor John Franklin.
For many decades, Green Oak Ranch Ministries has operated a faith-based drug and alcohol recovery program for 50 people at a time. The program’s facilities are located on the 28 acres not for sale, so it will remain where it is regardless of what happens with the sale.
Mayor Franklin raised concerns to CBS 8 about patients being released into the City of Vista from a large county-run facility at Green Oak.
“‘Where will they go? How will they get back to the places that they came from before they came to Vista?’ We simply don’t have the resources to manage that problem if it spills out onto the city streets of Vista,” said Mayor Franklin.
Others also interested in buying the property are Solutions for Change, a Vista-based nonprofit that provides homeless services to families, and the City of Vista, which hasn’t released their potential vision for the site.
“The City of Vista needs to buy this land and build a sports complex, more fields for our community and our kids,” said Troncone. “The Vista firefighters need a training facility. We would love to have a training facility built here for our firefighters.”
The Vista City Council will be discussing the possibilities in a closed session meeting Tuesday. A large group of neighbors is expected to show up and speak out at the public meeting at 5:30 p.m., though this item is not on the agenda.
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