On Thursday, April 18, the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA) Board of Directors held a public meeting to approve the conceptual design for the State Route 241 Tesoro Extension. This meeting was necessary because the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board had informed TCA that before a decision could be made for the Waste Discharge Requirement permit for the project, the TCA board would need to vote on the California Environmental Quality Act addendum to the Environmental Impact Report. In accordance with state law, a public notice for this special meeting was posted on TCA’s website with more than the required 24 hours of advance notice. Many members of the public attended the meeting and addressed the board prior to the board’s decision.
The board approved the conceptual design of the 241 Tesoro Extension with the understanding that the board will consider several other actions on the project in the future. This is not the final decision on the project. The plan remains that in the coming months, there will be a public forum meeting in which the public will be encouraged to participate and provide comments. Additionally, the Environmental Assessment for the project will be circulated by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, which will also include a public comment period. All comments received during this period will receive a response.
The SR 241 Tesoro Extension extends the 241 Toll Road by five and a half miles from its current terminus at Oso Parkway near Tesoro High School to Cow Camp Road within the approved Rancho Mission Viejo development, which is currently under construction. The 241 Tesoro Extension will serve as an important independent regional transportation facility for this development as well as provide an alternative to the congested Interstate 5 (I-5) and local arterial roads that are already at capacity in the San Juan Capistrano area. The extension will also offer drivers who travel the Ortega Highway from the Inland Empire another option to access job centers in the north. Construction of the 241 Tesoro Extension Project creates more than 2,400 jobs.
The 241 Tesoro Extension does not connect to I-5 near San Clemente. Some of the emails TCA has received since the April 18 meeting mention concerns of the project’s potential impacts on the San Onofre State Beach park leasehold within Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and coastal areas adjacent to I-5. The 241 Tesoro Extension is approximately 9.64 miles from the state park leasehold. It is not in the San Mateo Watershed.
In 2008, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce upheld the California Coastal Commission’s objection to connect the SR 241 with I-5 at Cristianitos Road. The Commerce Secretary stated that the decision did not preclude modification of the SR 241 completion project.
Public participation is always an important part of the process. Since the Coastal Commission and Commerce decisions in 2008, TCA has conducted an extensive community outreach campaign and held over 300 meetings with both project supporters and opponents — including two years of meetings with a coalition of environmental organizations — to see if common ground could be found on a viable alternative to complete SR 241. Nearly all agreed that traffic was a problem and a solution was needed. The 241 Tesoro Extension is a result of this effort. TCA also participates in several community events throughout the year and has booths where the public can ask questions and see maps of the project.
A poll conducted in June 2012 showed that 61% of South Orange County voters support the 241 Tesoro Extension and 27% opposed. The percentage of support increased to 67% in San Juan Capistrano, the city closest to the end of the alignment, with 25% opposed.
Thank you for your interest and comments.
