Rimbach Road Six Home Development

The Rimbach wildlife area consists of seven acres off of Pomerado and Rimbach Road, near Pomerado Elementary School.  It is on the lower "southeast" slope of Van Dam Peak.   Rimbach Road is a private one lane road in a High Fire Severity Hazard Zone.  Rimbach is a fractured parcel, separated from the Meadowbrook Ecological Reserve by development. Even with development surrounding it, Rimbach supports endangered Coastal Sage Scrub, and threatened Ashy spike-moss.  It is teaming with wildlife, including the threatened CA Gnatcatcher, and species considered sensitive: the Wrentit, CA Thrasher and Nuttall's Woodpecker.  Poway's Habitat Conservation Plan states the importance of fractured parcels, like Rimbach, to the overall health of the reserve.   However, these fractured parcels are disappearing at an alarming rate.  Currently, twenty-eight acres of wildlife habitat near or adjacent the Meadowbrook Ecological Reserve are slated for development.  

Tentative plans for the Rimbach Subdivision have been completed.  Current plans show that the landowner wants to build six homes each one with a 1200 square foot Auxiliary Dwelling Units (ADUs) on one acre parcels.  That will mean twelve houses on the seven acre parcel. Senate Bill-9 states ADUs are excluded from High Fire Zones and Rural Residential areas.  Rimbach qualifies for both.  The landowner wants to mitigate by paying outdated in-lieu fees. No habitat will be preserved on site. This project will be coming up for city council approval soon.  Rimbach Road is another endangered wildlife habitat area soon to be bulldozed for development.