Most attempts to develop agricultural property won’t work, said Charley Wolk, long known as one of California’s most influential avocado growers. That’s because landowners look for what property specialists call the highest and best use. If the land was best suited for development, that would have already taken place. Land that is best suited for agriculture is used for that purpose.
Some agricultural land is too steep and hilly to be easily developed. But that land is well-suited for avocado groves, which require plenty of drainage. The hilly avocado groves visible from I-15 near Bonsall are examples.
“You don’t see a lot of subdivisions going in on an old avocado orchard,” Wolk said. “It’s not going to happen. The highest and best use of the land is the agriculture.”
Despite the obstacles, replacing agriculture with residential and commercial development has long taken place in San Diego County. The pressure of a growing population is the cause. As population density rises, the math changes.
Within the lifetime of many San Diegans, Mission Valley held dairy farms. Qualcomm Stadium and Mission Valley Center occupy former dairy land. The farmers moved farther east in the county.
Much the same pattern happened in North County, where acreage once devoted to food crops and ornamentals, Wolk said, the latter especially important in Encinitas and Carlsbad, has given way to homes.
“There used to be quite a few avocado orchards in the coastal communities, Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Vista,” Wolk said. “Now you can’t even find one of those orchards. If you look, you can find the remnants of the groves.”
Farming moved east to Valley Center, Escondido, and north to Fallbrook and Rainbow, near the Riverside County line.
Development was possible because the land is mostly level, Wolk said.
In these instances, property values drove the transformation. Land has always been more expensive on the coast and less expensive inland. The cost and availability of water were less important.
But water costs have soared over the last two decades. The San Diego County Water Authority has spent billions to improve emergency storage in the county and bring more water to the region. While consumers may grumble about the expense, to farmers it’s a critical issue.
Water is the single biggest cost for avocado and citrus growers in inland parts of the county. So escalating costs and an unreliable supply have resulted in much of this acreage simply being abandoned.
Valley Center has become a nexus of this struggle between developers eager to profitably supply new housing to the region, and local residents who say the influx will degrade their quality of life.
Hundreds of acres of citrus and avocado trees are dead or dying in this semi-rural community after growers cut off the water supply. The farmers let the least productive trees die to save the rest.
Those attempting to develop that land face steep obstacles, such as the need for more roads, and utilities. Sewer hookups are impractical for the most part, so homes must rely on septic tanks, Wolk said. Building codes require backup land for another septic system on site, doubling its footprint and taking away area that could have been used for housing.