THE PROBLEM: Torrey Highlands and Santaluz are among San Diego's newest neighborhoods. With freshly painted homes and beautifully landscaped yards, they would be perfect were it not for tall weeds and dying plants along major thoroughfares.
THE SITE: Camino del Sur in San Diego's Torrey Highlands neighborhood.
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In theory, the landscaping should be lush. Homeowners in Torrey Highlands, east of Rancho Peñasquitos, each pay about $70 a year into a landscape maintenance assessment district administered by the city. The money is supposed to cover maintenance along sections of Camino del Sur, Carmel Valley Road and three other thoroughfares.
Santaluz homeowners pay about $310 per year for maintenance of sections of Carmel Valley Road, Camino del Sur and San Dieguito Road.
But developers have not turned the landscaped areas over to the city, nor have they maintained the areas.
Sabrina Leitner said she and other Torrey Highlands residents have tried to get the developer, D.R. Horton, to take care of the problem. While Leitner has seen some progress, she worries that Horton will not follow through because of the downturn in the housing market.
STATUS: The city and developers in both areas have plans that should get the areas cleaned up and turned over to the city within five to six months, said Andy Field, an assistant deputy director with the Park and Recreation Department who works with maintenance assessment districts.
A company hired by Horton last month began sprucing up one area along Camino del Sur near Westview High School.
After the work is done, the city will inspect it. If all is in order, the area will be turned over to the city and a maintenance company it hired temporarily will take over.
The same process will be followed in one area after another until the entirety is turned over to the city. At that point, a permanent landscape maintenance company will be hired with money from the assessment districts.
Meanwhile, the districts are building large reserves: Torrey Highlands has amassed $497,000; Santaluz has $699,000.
Joe Taylor of Taylor Morrison, developer of Santaluz, said he's confident that the areas in question will soon be turned over to the city. Kim Molina of Horton declined to comment.
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE: Andy Field, who can be reached at (619) 685-1350 or afield@sandiego.gov.
NEED A PROBLEM SOLVED: Is there a problem government hasn't fixed despite your complaints? Whether it's a missing bus bench or an unkempt park anywhere in San Diego County, Just Fix It might be able to help.
Complaint forms are at justfixit.uniontrib.com, or call (800) 820-8714.
