Carmel Valley: A decade in review

By Karen Billing/Staff Writer

With the fingers blackened by newsprint to prove it, we poured through nine years worth of archives to bring you the stories of the last decade in Carmel Valley.

The last nine years have brought lots of change to the community with a new freeway, homes, shopping centers, parks and a whopping nine new schools!

2000
• Carmel Valley News celebrates its 10th year in print
• Ground breaks on the San Diego Jewish Academy and the Del Mar Marriott on El Camino Real.
• Sage Canyon School opens as does the Boys and Girls Club’s Polster branch and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
• Torrey Pines High School turned 25 years old.
• The U.S. Postal Service discusses plans for a post office for Carmel Valley. In 2010, the only one serving the area remains in Sorrento Valley.
• Pardee Homes sells its visitor center property on El Camino Real for $900,000. It later becomes the site of the skatepark.
• A San Francisco-based-athletic club chain announces plans for a $24 million sports center in Carmel Valley—it would become Pacific Athletic Club.
• New home construction booms and planning begins for Pacific Highlands Ranch. Construction begins on Signature Point, the housing complex across from Del Mar Highlands Town Center
• Amid “name calling, threats of litigation and emotional pleas,” off leash dog parks are approved by the CV planning board for Torrey Highlands and Renaissance Park. The city approves the parks in 2002.
• Sorrento Valley Road reopens between Carmel Valley Road and Carmel Mountain Road, stirring community debate. It had been closed since 1996. In response to concerns, the road is closed again in 2001.
• A group called FANGS, Families Against Neighborhood Gas Stations, opposes a Chevron gas station planned for East Ocean Air Drive and Carmel Mountain Road. The fight continues until 2002, when Chevron abandons their plans.
• Torrey Hills Community Park opens.
• The CV Community Planning Board includes Anne Harvey, Frisco White, Victor Manoushakian and Jan Fuchs—all people still involved in 2010.

2001
• The Solana Beach School District aimed to buy 10-acres of Pardee-owned land next to the Carmel Valley Library for a third Carmel Valley school (the future Solana Pacific). The debate is bitter over whether a school or housing belongs on the site.
• Sorrento Hills lobbies to become Torrey Hills. Sorrento Hills School was the originally planned name for Torrey Hills School.
• San Dieguito Union High School District Superintendent Bill Berrier retires after 36 years in the district and 29 years as its superintendent. Peggy Lynch is hired as his replacement in May.
• The shootings at Santana High School on March 5, in which two students were killed, sent shockwaves through local schools with some parents calling for metal detectors in the San Dieguito district. Then-Earl Warren principal Margie Bulkin said, “It is not the time for metal detectors—it’s the time for education. We need to all lock arms and teach love and tolerance.”
• Torrey Hills residents fight a proposal for a drive-through restaurant in the still-to-be-built Torrey Hills Vons center.
• St. William of York parishioners in Carmel Valley raise funds to build a new church—the church, St. Therese of Carmel, would open in 2008. Canyon Hills Community Church also begins an expansion, it is now known as Grace Point.
• The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 hit close to home. 29-year-old Chad Keller, a Del Mar resident, was among those killed on American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon.
Residents, as did all Americans, reacted strongly to the tragedy: Torrey Pines students raised $5,228 in two days; Carmel Del Mar School planted an olive tree in memory of the lives lost; neighbors held candlelit vigils in community parks; Carmel Creek students created an “America Unite” poster with an American flag; and their handprints in red and blue that hung from the pedestrian bridge across Del Mar Heights Road.
At Carmel Valley’s Congregation Beth Am, Rabbi Arthur Zuckerman said attendance doubled after the attack.
“People just want to be comforted by words and prayer, they want reinforcement that there is good in the world,” Zuckerman said.

2002
• Vista Sorrento Parkway opens as well as Carmel Knolls Park and the Torrey Highlands Dog Park.
• The tug-of-war continues on the vacant Townsgate Drive site as Pardee even proposes building a theater to enhance Carmel Valley’s town center. SBSD still wants 10 acres for a school and parents protested Pardee for blocking the sale of the land
In December, the district voted to condemn the land, giving them the right to seize the land from Pardee under eminent domain at fair market value. The district breaks ground on the new school in 2003.
A lawsuit isn’t settled until 2004, when Pardee got $41 million for the land—SBSD originally wanted to pay $24 million.
•City Council voted that 56 acres of Del Mar Mesa would become part of the Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP). The acquisition brings the total acreage preserved on the Mesa to 344 acres.
• Pop Warner football returns to Carmel Valley after a 16-year absence with Torrey Pines Pop Warner league.
• More than 150 people attend heated Del Mar school district meetings on boundary changes to alleviate an overcrowded Ashley Falls School, ending a period of open boundaries in the district.  Also in the Del Mar school district, early Wednesday dismissal begins.
• The San Dieguito Union High School District is concerned about an overcrowded Torrey Pines High, with 3,200 students expected in the fall.
• Carmel Valley resident Sam Zien becomes TV’s “Sam the Cooking Guy.” By 2010, he’ll have won 12 Emmys, have a national series on the Discovery’s Health Channel, and will release his third book in 2011.
• A YMCA at Torrey Hills Neighborhood Park is approved, complete with a swimming pool.
• A new gate is placed at the entrance to the Carmel Mountain Preserve to prevent vehicles from wreaking havoc on 300 acres of protected open space.
• Solana Beach School District trustee Linda Potter retires after 16 years of service on the board.
• Torrey Hills School opens with Gary Wilson as the founding principal.
• A single engine Cessna made an emergency landing in the vacant field outside the Carmel Valley Library.
• Torrey Hills Community Coalition fights the placement of biotech projects near their elementary school.
• Five vied for three seats on the Del Mar school district board. Winning seats were Annette Easton, incumbent Barbara Myers and Peggy Yamamoto. A slate of incumbents Barbara Groth, Dee Rich and newcomer Linda Friedman was elected to the high school board. Debra Schade joined the Solana Beach school district board.

2003
• Carmel Valley celebrates its 20-year anniversary. The first building permits for Carmel Valley were issued to Pardee in 1983 for the initial phase of 5,000 homes, Pardee eventually acquired about a third of the 4,360-acre Carmel Valley planning area along with Baldwin Homes.
• Drama in the Del Mar Mesa: Developer Paul Metcalf was named chair of the Del Mar Mesa Community Planning Board, ousting longtime member Jan Hudson. The board also voted to eliminate the contiguous community seat held by Anne Harvey. The divisive group would have to work with a city mediator.
• Carmel Valley hosted the Pardee Homes Race for Knowledge 5K for the 20th year. The race used to go through Carmel Valley neighborhoods and end at Torrey Pines High. The last 5K would be held in 2005.
• More than 600 people sign a petition to keep Crispy’s Donuts in Del Mar Highlands Town Center. The popular donut shop’s lease was not renewed due to its annual gross income per square foot of space.
• Ground breaks on the new Canyon Crest Academy and on its neighbor down the street, Cathedral Catholic.
• A July head-on vehicle collision where several youths were airlifted from Shaw Ridge prompts concerns about teenagers partying on the Del Mar Mesa. Local cops say going into the canyons to party has been happening in the area for 25 years.
• Meadows Del Mar golf course’s tee-boxes illegally grade into the neighboring habitat, prompting city action. A lawsuit isn’t settled until 2006, granting $250,000 to benefit Carmel Valley and Del Mar Mesa communities. The boards were still working on getting that check in 2010.
• Ground breaks on St. Therese of Carmel parish and neighboring Notre Dame Academy.
• Arson fires of four homes under construction in Torrey Highlands and Carmel Valley caused more than $1 million in damages. The arsons are attributed eco-terrorist group Earth Liberation Front. Another arson, considered a hate crime, is committed at the Congregation Beth Am, causing $35,000 worth of damage.
• A forum is held in Carmel Valley to discuss the San Diego Chargers efforts to redevelop Qualcomm Stadium with a new facility by 2011.
• Residents reacted to The Fire Siege of October 2003, when 15 wildfires raged throughout Southern California. The Cedar Fire burned 280, 278 acres, destroyed 2,232 homes and killed 15 people in San Diego County. Community members rallied with fundraisers and donation drives.

2004
• Oprah Winfrey visited a Carmel Valley book club after they won a national contest. She stayed for dinner and margaritas as they discussed “100 Years of Solitude.”
“She’s very down to earth and extremely fun to hang out with,” said book club member Kristy Laliotis.
• The Del Mar Highlands McDonald’s goes bistro gourmet. The fast food eatery opened in Carmel Valley in 1989.
• Local planning groups oppose a proposed Home Depot in Sorrento Valley. Groups are also up in arms over lights at the Carmel Valley Community Park South. The park, which would become Ocean Air Community Park, wouldn’t open until 2009—with lit basketball courts and ball fields.
•Some of the names in the running for the new Solan Beach School District school on Townsgate Drive: Ellie Topolovac Elementary, Wild Child, Solana Chocolate and Wonderful Elementary.
“Nobody wants anything with ‘Carmel’ in it,” then-superintendent Topolovac said.
The school opens as Solana Pacific in the fall. Topolovac retired after 38 years in the district and nine as the superintendent in June.
• Torrey Pines High’ baseball and softball fields get renovated to include dugouts.
• Earl Warren Middle School turned 50 years old and ground breaks on Sycamore Ridge School.
• In July, the last 4.5 miles of State Route 56 opens, linking Interstate 15 with Interstate 5. City Councilman Brian Maienchein said, “This will allow people to get home five or 10 minutes quicker…and just have time for their quality of life rather than sitting in traffic.”
• Canyon Crest Academy opens in September to 372 students. Half of campus remained under construction and students attended in portables in the parking lot.
• San Diego Jewish Academy unveils the 10-foot high menorah on their campus.
• The Carmel Mountain Road bridge is completed, paving the way for the $35 million Torrey Hills Vons Center to begin construction in the late fall.

2005
• Solana Beach School District fired superintendent Karen Walker less than one year after she was hired. The board said Walker just wasn’t a good fit for the district. Leslie Fausset was hired as Walker’s replacement in August.
• Then seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong rode through Carmel Valley as part of the Tour of Hope cross-country bicycle tour. San Diego Jewish Academy raised funds for the tour and to support fellow student Matthew Beaver, who was undergoing treatment for cancer. Beaver got to meet Armstrong on the SDJA campus. He would lose his battle with cancer in 2009 at age 17.
• The former University of San Diego High School’s new $50 million Cathedral Catholic High opens, as does Sycamore Ridge School.
• Village Mill Bread Company in Del Mar Highlands celebrates 10 years in the community.
• Ground breaks on the Northwestern Division police substation and the Grand Del Mar resort.
• The Scripps Health Clinic on Valley Centre Drive opens as does the Vons in Torrey Hills alongside Starbucks and lunchtime favorites Subway, Joey’s Smokin’ Barbecue, Daphne’s and Pick-Up Stix.
• Carmel Valley roads’ congestion is discussed as commuters look to avoid traffic on the 56.
• Carmel Valley Fire Station 24 Captain Marvin Currier retires after 31 years of service.
• A DMUSD Surplus Property Advisory Committee studies what should be done with the Del Mar Shores property. It was deemed surplus and put up for sale.
• Del Mar Heights Road bridge is opened, linking Del Mar Heights to Carmel Valley Road and the neighborhoods around Canyon Crest Academy. The bridge not only made for faster commutes but also provided wildlife under crossing.
• Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in August and the community showed an outpouring of support. Carmel Creek students and parents raised nearly $20,0000 from a rummage sale and matching funds from Pacific Athletic Club.
• Diana Casale, a Torrey Hills community activist who fought against the Chevron gas station and increased traffic around Torrey Hills School, died after a 13-year cancer battle at age 57.
“I think everyone will tell you she was the heart and soul of Torrey Hills,” said friend Guy Ravad.

2006
• A 25-year-old woman was murdered in Carmel Valley in August. Karen Chuang was found with a gunshot wound to her head in front of her condo on Tiverton Drive. The case was never solved.
• Carmel Valley had bus service. A MTS route ran from the southwest corner of Del Mar Highlands Town Center to La Jolla Village Drive. Two years later, the route was axed.
• There was drama in the CV planning board election over proxy votes. Proxy votes were no longer allowed in future elections.
• The $86 million San Dieguito Lagoon Restoration kicks off, restoring a valuable wetlands environment off Via de la Valle.
•  Residents get a first look at Flower Hill Promenade’s revised expansion plans and some neighbors have concerns with its bulk and scale and an opposition group, Citizens Against Flower Hill Mall expansion forms. A smaller scale renovation is approved in 2010 and construction aims to kick off in 2011.
• Brett Killeen is named the new principal of Torrey Pines High School.
•Notre Dame Academy opens
• Former Carmel Valley resident Shaun White (he attended Carmel Del Mar, Carmel Valley Middle and Torrey Pines) won gold in the snowboard half pipe at the 2006 Winter Olympics. He’d win gold again in 2010 in the Vancouver Olympics.
• CV planning board member Laura Copic leads the local fight on preventing the Sunrise Powerlink, a proposed 120-mile “energy superhighway.” from coming through the heart of the community. In 2008, an alternate route was selected for the Powerlink, bypassing Carmel Valley. Construction began on the route in late 2010.
• Negotiations continue with the city of Del Mar on the sale of the Shores property, home to the DMUSD offices. The sale would be complete in 2007 for $8.5 million, giving the district until May 2011 to relocate.
A rocky year for the Del Mar Schools Education Foundation saw four board members resign citing mismanagement and a lack of transparency.
Completing a busy year for DMUSD, a groundbreaking is held for Ocean Air School and six candidates competed for three seats on the DMUSD board, with a slate of Katherine White, Annette Easton and Steven McDowell winning the spots.
• A city zoning mistake leads to trouble with Taste of Italy restaurant in Torrey Hills’ ability to serve alcohol.
• The new sanctuary for St. Therese of Carmel opens. The Del Mar Trails church’s new parish hall would open in 2010.

2007
Many will remember 2007 as the year of the firestorm. As the Witch Creek Fire blazed in the neighboring communities of Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Santa Fe, many Carmel Valley residents were evacuated from their homes on Oct. 21. It was an exhausting and nerve-wracking few days as Carmel Valley was never specifically mentioned in TV fire coverage and people just weren’t sure if their homes would be safe or not. While the fire never did reach Carmel Valley, the community reached out to help others through volunteering and fundraising efforts.
• Despite years of development and hopes as well as a $2.7 million fundraising campaign, the YMCA of Encinitas cancelled plans for a Torrey Hills facility, citing insufficient community support. The projected 38,000 square ft. facility was expected to be a recreation center and pool on a 4-acre parcel of Torrey Hills Neighborhood Park.
• The CV planning board held a design workshop for the new Carmel Valley Skatepark. Local skaters helped design what they wanted for the park.
• Torrey Pines High School football coach Ed Burke announced his retirement after 21 years. During his 21 years, he recorded a 182-60-5 record, winning eight league championships — five Avocado and three Palomar titles — and four CIF San Diego section titles in 1992, 1997, 2003, and 2004. He was instrumental in seeing more than 100 college scholarships go to his players, and coached four NFL players in John Allred, Brody Hefner, Chad Hutchinson and Hayden Epstein.
“Leaving the program is like a portion of your heart is being taken out,” said Burke. “It will take time for it to grow back.”
Assistant coach Scott Ashby took over the program and the Falcon Stadium field was named in Burke’s honor.
• Carmel Valley’s Northwestern Division police station had a grand opening celebration on March 22. In June, Kathy Healey was named the captain of the station.
• The Optimist Club of Del Mar and Solana Beach hosted its 25th annual Children’s Challenge Awards Ceremony celebrating local kids who do amazing things.
The awards were the brainchild of Victor Kops, a Carmel Valley resident.
Kops unexpectedly died at the age of 61 from a heart condition just weeks later on June 12. The awards are now named the Vic Kops Children’s Challenge Awards in his memory.
• An early morning fire destroyed the nearly completed Hilton Garden Inn on Vista Sorrento Parkway. The fire caused about $8.5 million in damages and destroyed 30 parked cars. It also damaged the Hilton Homewood Suites next door.
• Iraq protests started up in Carmel Valley on the corner of Del Mar Heights Road and El Camino Real. The protesters promised to be out protesting the war every Sunday until the end of the Iraq War.
• Ocean Air School opens with Gary Wilson as principal.
• The Grand Del Mar Resort opened, a $270 million resort on 380 acres including a golf course designed by Tom Fazio.

2008
2008 was a dramatic year for DMUSD. In February, the board bought out 10-year Superintendent Tom Bishop’s contract. Bishop’s departure led to some mixed emotions with district employees and parents. Trustee Linda Crawford’s emotions were not mixed. She resigned from her post after Bishop’s ouster, ending her 11-year term. Candidates were then scouted in a nationwide search, eventually finding new Superintendent Sharon McClain.
Trustee Crawford’s interim replacement, Doug Perkins, would then be appointed after an unprecedented public interview session with seven candidates at Ocean Air School.
• SDUHSD Superintendent Peggy Lynch retires, Ken Noah is named as her replacement.
• A revision of Flower Hill Promenade’s expansion plans reveal the UltraStar Cinema will be replaced with a Whole Foods Market.
• Canyon Crest Academy graduates its first senior class in June. In October, they celebrated their first homecoming and their new mascot, Rupert the Raven, was unleashed.
• The Pacific Highlands Ranch Station 47 opened for service.
• The Hilton Garden Inn in Torrey Hills opened nine months after a fire completely destroyed the Inn while it was under construction.
• Torrey Corner opens on East Ocean Air Drive and Carmel Mountain Road, the site of the controversial Chevron station. Zip Fusion Sushi, Love to Dance and Bank of America are among the tenants.
• Ocean Air Community Park held a groundbreaking ceremony with hundreds of neighbors in attendance.
• Carmel Valley seven-year-old Max Mikulak loses his battle with cancer. His family starts the non-profit Max’s Ring of Fire in his honor, holding events like Touch-A-Truck and a 5K race this past year.
• The long-awaited Carmel Valley Skatepark opened. City cuts would lead to the park to be free and unsupervised in 2009, raising some concerns about safety as many riders opted not to wear helmets.
• A much-used system of trails known as “The Intestines” was permanently closed in Del Mar Mesa. In December, the city closed another popular system of trails called the tunnels in the mesa and began work on developing a new resource management plan. A revised trail map has yet to be completed and the trails remain closed in 2011.
• PHR Town Center plan was finally approved by the planning board after months of review. The project, at the empty lot on Carmel Valley Road and Village Center Loop Road, will feature 286 residential units along with a boutique grocery store, shops, office space, restaurants and a movie theater. The board estimated a 2013 opening.
• The CV planning board adds two Pacific Highlands Ranch seats.
• Cathedral Catholic football team made its first appearance in the State Championship, claiming the Div. II title 37-34. Standout running back Tyler Gaffney set a state bowl record, rushing for 339 yards and five touchdowns on 33 carries. He now plays for Stanford.

2009
• Early in the year, residents are rattled by a pair home invasions in which women were attacked in their garages, one of them sexually assaulted. Nearly 200 people showed up to a community crime forum held at Grace Point Church and Neighborhood Watch groups saw resurgence. A Tierrasanta man was caught in connection to the Carmel Valley crimes and five other assaults. The man committed suicide in his jail cell in July.
• Los Cabos Mexican Mesquite Grill and Cantina closes after 17 years at Del Mar Highlands. Later in the year Eli’s and The Daily Pet also close. They are replaced with Tilly’s and Pet People. A major renovation of the center begins in 2010.
• A monster named 7/11 reared its head in 2009 when DMUSD created a task force to look at whether surplus space was available within the district to house a district office. The community was divided as school closures and co-location options created anxiety. After eight months and many, many meetings the committee reported no proposals gained consensus. In early 2010, school closure was off the table.
• Jack Northrop, a longtime champion of preservation of Carmel Valley’s open space died at age 86.
• Faced with the threat of losing 19 Extended Studies Curriculum teachers, DMUSD parents rally to raise over $1.3 million to save teacher’s jobs.
• The community is shaken by two fatal car accidents involving teenagers on Rancho Santa Fe roads.  On Oct. 4 Torrey Pines senior Alex Capozza, 17, was killed in a single-car accident (he was a passenger in the car). Alcohol played a role in the crash and the 17-year-old driver pled guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and was sentenced to 547 days at a youth correctional center in December. In October, Alex’s classmates named him Homecoming King, an honor accepted by his younger sister Anika.
Only 21 days after Alex’s death, Santa Fe Christian junior William Wardrip was killed in a single car accident near Fairbanks Ranch. Since October, a rotation of flowers has marked the site of the tragic accident, attributed to speeding.
• Santa Fe Christian lacrosse player Tommy Mallon suffers a broken neck during a game. By 2010, he no longer needed use of his neck halo, is enrolled at University of San Diego and became an advocate for athletes who suffer from spinal and neck injuries, concussions and heat illness through his Advocates for Injured Athletes foundation.
• Northwestern Captain Healey retires along with as many as 100 officers in the SDPD die to city-imposed contract changes that affected retirement benefits. Her replacement, Captain Miguel Rosario would be reassigned at the end of 2010, with captain Albert Guaderrama taking his place.
• Carmel Valley plastic surgery office Changes stars in a reality show on the Oxygen channel called “Addicted to Beauty.”
• Members of the Westboro Baptist Church hate group from Kansas appeared in Carmel Valley, picketing Congregation Beth Am and the San Diego Jewish Academy.
• Ocean Air Principal Gary Wilson resigns, taking a position as superintendent of the San Pasqual Union School District. More than 50 people spoke up at a DMUSD meeting, blaming his departure on the board.
• Capping off the year, DMUSD board held a special meeting to discuss whether to discipline or dismiss Superintendent McClain over her handling of a student’s suspension. Many spoke out in support of McClain and her job was safe—until March 2010 when she was terminated in another heated meeting.

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Posted by Scott Reeder on Jan 7, 2011. Filed under Carmel Valley. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry