Skyline Church is breaking a promise and building a luxury for-profit retirement center on biologically-sensitive open-space.
Tell Pastor Jeremy McGarity about your concerns now: jmcgarity@skylinechurch.org

Stop the Skyline Luxury Retirement Center

We want Skyline Church to be a good neighbor, keep its promises, and protect what remains of God’s land.

A Little History and What's Happening Now

In 1996, a letter by Pastor Jim Garlow promised that Skyline Church would never develop the environmentally sensitive habitat and designated open space known as the Via Mercado parcel. This promise was pivotal to easing the concerns of the community and local planning group at the time.

In exchange for this promise and other mitigation (land set aside in a trust), Skyline was allowed to build a large church campus on the previously designated open space where it sits today.

In later years, Skyline entertained offers from Walmart and others to build on church property.

Now Skyline intends to build a huge luxury retirement center. There is nothing wrong with a retirement center that profits the church. The problem is where they plan to build it.

Skyline is attempting to remove environmental protections via amendments to the San Diego County General Plan and the Rancho San Diego Specific Plan.
In other words, Skyline is now reneging its covenant with the community, breaking the explicit promise it made that it would not develop the land in question.

If you can’t trust a church to do the right thing, who will set our moral compass?

If this development goes forward, it will lead to more open spaces converted into Walmarts, strip malls, and other non-essential industries in our neighborhood. This action will effectively remove the last of the “Rancho” from Rancho San Diego.

Scale of Greed

Greed: The thumb on the scale of integrity and ethics

Every human can, at times, be blinded by greed.
We all want to act with integrity, but then eyes can fill with dollar signs, and we make poor decisions.

The 1996 Promise Letter

This is the letter, written by Pastor Jim Garlow which assures the Board of Supervisors and local community that they would NEVER develop this land.

1 2 3

Read the full-sized letter here. Note: These copies from the County archive are light but readable.

The Bible's Guidance for Skyline

Psalms 89:34
I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

Ezekiel 34:18
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?

The Bible teaches us to keep our word.
Pastor Grant's position is that times have changed, and because there is nothing that legally binds Skyline to keep their promise to the community, they need not abide by that promise.

What if, 20 years after the resurrection, Jesus said, “Times have changed, so I'm not going to honor my promise of salvation”?

Colossians 1:18 and 1:24 suggest that the Church is the Body of Christ. Should not the body behave as Christ did? If Christ keeps His covenant, should not Skyline keeps its covenant with the community?

If you think Skyline should follow scripture and act ethically, please email Pastor Jeremy McGarity here: jmcgarity@skylinechurch.org

Claims disputed

Skyline claimed at the Planning Commission hearing that the reason they do not need to honor their promise is that the Via Mercado parcel was excluded from the final project as submitted in 1996.

However, there are two whole paragraphs about it in the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) filed with the SD County Planning and Use Dept. as part of that project. Paraphrased, it says, the applicant (Skyline) has agreed to acquire that property to address concerns of the VDOCPG and improve biological connectivity. It says the property will be preserved as open space.

There is nothing in the text about rezoning and building on it.

Here is just the cover sheet and page of the EIR regarding the Via Mercado parcel.
For the record, you can download the full EIR in PDF format here: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/bin/documents.document/LUEG/0900f48e801d4901. See page 60 of this big PDF.

At the same meeting, Skyline claimed they were helping with the shortage of senior housing. However, they admitted that the starting price would likely be from $4500-$5000 per month and up. If you sum up everything else about Skyline, it is easy to develop the opinion that this luxury retirement center will only serve rich white straight Christians.

At the San Diego County Board of Supervisors hearing on Jan 29th, 2020, a lawyer with the county staff gave the opinion that Skyline need not comply with the promise, even though it is crystallized in a promise letter, Environmental Impact Report for the original project, and other documents. This runs counter to the opinions of other lawyers. However, even with questionable legal standing, the Supervisors voted to amend the General Plan and allow this land to be bulldozed for Skyline's project. A lawsuit may be brewing, as the "batching method" that they are using to change the General Plan may be illegal. But that's another story (the Sierra Club may be filing a lawsuit at some point).

During COVID, the project went dormant. However, it's back in 2022 restarting the same process with VDOCPG and county.

Map

Location

This map shows the location of the generally triangular-shaped 8.5-acre parcel that is designated "open-space conservation".

Click the map image to see a bigger version.

Skyline's Pure Motivations?

Skyline wants the community to believe they are doing this to help elderly folks find housing. However, they do not dispute that prices will start above $4500 per month for basic units. That's more than 3x the average monthly Social Security check.

This follows their for-profit history where they entertained offers to build a Walmart on church land:
Walmart to be Built on Church Land? - Union-Tribune Story 2005

Skyline's other actions also indicate that laws or regulations should not apply to them as they flaunt IRS regulations for their tax-exempt status and endorse political candidates from the pulpit. One former Skyline pastor was arrested for trying to carry a gun on a commercial airliner in some kind of Second Amendment fiasco gone wrong.

This website was created to hopefully sway Skyline back into following the law of the land, acting ethically, and keeping their promises.
It just feels like this church has lost its way. They can be so much better - they could become an asset to this community.

Valle de Oro Community Planning Group (VDOCPG)

There was a vote of the VDOCPG, 12 to 2 against the current proposal on Sept 7th, 2018. Reasons cited included the fact that the project does not conform to the Rancho San Diego Specific Plan, and that the land was already deemed as open space set aside in perpetuity. Other subjective issues brought up at the meeting included extensive environmental damage, undesirable traffic patterns, increased traffic congestion, and a change in character to the community (taking the last of the "Rancho" out of RSD).

The VDOCPG is a duly-elected body who are made up of mostly civil engineers and other professionals from the local community. They hold public meetings/hearings and advise the county on various development projects (from septic systems and home additions to whole strip malls).

Back in 1988, they initially voted against the Skyline church itself since it was to be built on biologically-sensitive open-space. They compromised only after the promise or assurance was made about the Via Mercado parcel in 1996.

Protest

Why we protested

Watching the whole sermon the Sunday after Skyline won a decision at the Planning Commission, we realized that they did not mention anything about the retirement center.

It seems Skyline members are barely aware of this major project and potential profit source for the church. So we wanted to get the word out, but in a kind way. Waving and smiling with a few signs on the public sidewalk seemed like the right way.

Many of the Skyline members were very kind and waved back, which was nice (only two yelled some insulting comments). It seems most folks are kind and thoughtful at Skyline.

Links to Facts, Articles and Resources

If you have questions, please direct your concerns to Pastor Jeremy McGarity at jmcgarity@skylinechurch.org

The main project site at San Diego County: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/ceqa/GPA-16-005.html

A 1988 Union Tribune story about the church's first efforts to build on the former open-space where it sits today
There were grave concerns back then about the environmental impact and why we would throw away the General Plan that balances development with horse trails and nature.

U-T Story from 2006: Skyline first proposes a retirement center, but withdrew the project after being confronted with the 1996 letter. At that time, Pastor Dan Grant said, "We want to act with integrity."
He has since changed his position.

In 2015 Skyline tried to get a permit to clear all brush from the parcel. Upon checking with San Miguel Fire, it was discovered that no clearing was necessary, nor requested by them. Some members of the VDOCPG asserted that this was a ploy to preemptively destroy the biological and habitat value of the parcel to justify later construction. Caught red-handed, Skyline withdrew the application before it came up at the hearing where is was docketed: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/pds/Groups/valledeoro/VAD150120AG.pdf

U-T Story from 2018: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/east-county/sd-se-valledooro-skyline-20180913-story.html

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