NBC 7’s Joe Little explains how the city of Chula Vista might expand its footprint.
The city of Chula Vista is considering moving its city limits a couple miles to the east.
On Tuesday afternoon, the city council began discussing annexing an area known as Otay Ranch Village 13, which encompasses 1,869 acres northeast of the Otay Reservoir, currently overseen by the county of San Diego.
“It’s just a very preliminary nod of, ‘We’re interested in maybe annexing this into the city’,” explained Chula Vista Deputy City Manager Tiffany Allen.
For almost a decade, Moller Otay Lakes Investments and Baldwin and Sons have discussed developing the property with more than a thousand homes, businesses and possibly an elementary school and 200-room resort hotel. The developers have requested that Chula Vista annex the area from the county. Allen said the city has discussed it before but never taken any serious actions.
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“It is not a small undertaking,” Allen admitted.
City services are at stake. Whoever eventually moves into Otay Ranch Village 13 would use Chula Vista roads, sewers, parks, and libraries, and attend schools in the local districts. Those services are funded by taxpayers. Making the new development part of Chula Vista would mean those residents and businesses would buy in to the system through taxes and fees.
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“That would be the fair thing,” Allen said.
If Chula Vista follows through with the annexation, it would be the third time the city has absorbed parts of the county of San Diego. Allen said the process could take about 18 months if the city council and county are interested and everything goes smoothly. She said it would take about another year after that before actual construction began in the newest part of Chula Vista.
