Sprawl and Farmers at odds in CA

Interesting article here Some choice quotes:

The flower plot, along with 255 nearby acres of strawberry fields and two parcels of open land, are vestiges of this San Diego suburb's agricultural past. They're also at the core of a growing dispute about the fate of the area's few remaining farms.

A citizens group has qualified a measure for Carlsbad's November ballot that would ban development of the properties.

"We're losing 20 acres for every acre we're protecting," said Ed Thompson, California director of the American Farmland Trust, a nonprofit group that advocates farmland preservation.

Mayor Claude "Bud" Lewis, who opposes the measure, said he understands the desire to slow development but fears the ban will bring costly lawsuits from landowners claiming it devalues their property.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co., which owns the strawberry fields, is not considering a lawsuit, spokeswoman Anne Silva said.

Carlsbad's long-range development plan once called for the accommodation of about 225,000 people, Holzmiller said. But that target was reduced to about 125,000 in 1986, with up to 40 percent of the city's land devoted to open space.

Still, "You're going to have an urbanized city, that's always been part of the plan," Holzmiller said.

I am fairly certain it is a matter of how Carlsbad is using the space already available to them. This has been in the news before.