Montecito Ranch developer works on mitigation project

An area off Montecito Way across from an old rodeo arena is being used as a vernal pool restoration/creation area for the Montecito Ranch development, according to a consultant working with the developer.

Last month some residents saw workers planting at the site. Round depressions in the ground were flagged with new plants. The mitigation bank, adjacent to the northeast portion of the county-owned Ramona Grasslands Preserve, is within an approximately 220-acre site dedicated to open space for Montecito Ranch, said a county official.

Chris Brown, a consultant working on Montecito Ranch, said the vernal pool creation is a requirement of environmental agencies for the 935.2-acre residential development, slated to be built south of state Route 78, west of Ash Street, and north of Montecito Way, Summer Glen and Cedar Street. The developers are working on the final map of the project, proposed to have 417 single-family homes.