Elfin Forest - Town Council

Dedicated to Preserving our Rural Environment  

Meetings

Town council meetings are on the first Wednesday of every month at the Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Fire Station, 20223 Elfin Forest Rd. Elfin Forest. 7:30 p.m., preceded by a social 1/2 hour. 

Meeting Topics

Topics are always issues of interest to the community. 

About the Town Council

The best way to become familiar with your community and find out how to get involved in activities is to attend the monthly town council meetings and to subscribe to the Town Council newsletter, the Chaparral. 

The town council is a volunteer organization founded in 1980. In 1998, it became a 501c3 non-profit corporation.  Membership is open to all the residents and property owners of Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove. It serves as the voice and watchdog of the people in the community, and at its monthly meetings provide a forum for issues of importance to the community. It is managed by a nine- member board of directors and is made up of all residents of Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove who live within the boundaries of CSA107. 

Town Council meetings are held on the first Wednesday evening of each month, 7:30 p.m., at the fire station (20223 Elfin Forest Rd.). These meetings are open to all and provide an open forum for people to express their opinions about what is happening in the community and how it might affect our lifestyle. Speakers from various projects are often invited to these meetings so residents can gain information and directly express their opinions.

Although the Town Council Board tries to bring issues of interest to the attention of residents by inviting speakers to the meetings and through the Chaparral, it is up to the community to act on these issues. The board members help by organizing committees and keeping the community informed on the progress made by the committees. The work is done by the committees and not by the Town Council Board.

The Town Council has a mail slot in the Fire Station and the phone numbers of the current board members are published in the monthly newsletter.

Why is a town council needed?

For representation. Because we live in an unincorporated area, we have no city council to turn to. Since the town council’s inception, we have had to fight projects like the landfill expansion, incinerator, mulch processing plants, sludge treatment plants, freeways through our community, just to name a few. We believe that our area needs to retain its rural character, and to do that, we all need to be aligned to that purpose and vision.

 How does the town council accomplish its goals?

We communicate with you through our monthly newsletter, the Chaparral, through emailed “Elf Alerts”, through monthly community meetings, and by phone calls from your block captains. As a voice before the county and surrounding cities, we express strong leadership and a “can do” attitude. We are known for our ability to rally the strong support of the entire community for issues that affect us.

How much does it cost?

It’s FREE!!!! It costs nothing to participate in the town council. But not participating will cost you the quality of life you now enjoy. The town council is funded through your subscription to the newsletter, by the sale of community guides, and the sale of other gift items such as mugs, decals, t-shirts, and other items.

Town Council History

The Elfin Forest Town Council was formed in 1980 to represent the residents in the area known as the Elfin Forest Fire District to any and all government agencies and any private groups, to insure the proper use of the area known as Elfin Forest and is dedicated to the continuing rural atmosphere of the Elfin Forest area.

In 1999, the name was changed to Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Town Council, to be consistent with the name of the fire department and to acknowledge that both communities are together  within CSA107.

The town council hosts many community events and publishes the monthly newsletter and community guide. The board consists of 7 members elected by the community each February.

In 1979, rumors of a large development being planned for the hills surrounding Elfin Forest and a proposed high density mobile home park at the Vacation Ranch caused grave concern to the community. It was apparent that the community had to organize to ensure that the Elfin Forest area was properly represented before the various planning groups in San Diego County. These groups had made and were in the process of making decisions with regard to future area planning and zoning without proper notification to area residents and landowners.

Because of this, a group of 29 concerned neighbors met at Bill and Abby Barker's to discuss methods available to them and other area landowners to insure proper representation before the various planning groups. At that meeting, a steering committee was formed to gather information and to define areas of concern. This steering committee was formed for a period of 30 days. At the end of that time, a general meeting of the community was held at the fire house to discuss the committee's findings. Different types of associations were discussed and areas of concern were identified.

A second steering committee was formed for another 30 days to investigate which type of association was appropriate for the community. At the end of that time at a community meeting, it was decided that an informal government/community association called the Elfin Forest Town Council be organized for the purpose of providing "an open forum for the members of the community to express their interests, ideas and problems; to maintain the quality of rural community living; to act as a representative of the community in dealing with outside interests; and to preserve the uniqueness and character of our area." The Town Council function would be to chair meetings, assign committee work to study issues and to report back to the community its findings so that members of the community could decide what action was necessary, and to then communicate with County and State agencies in an organized and effective way. It was also decided that the Town Council would not be a governing body, and would not have the authority to set land use requirements or CC&Rs.

The Town Council was officially formed in January, 1980 and a set of bylaws was adopted. Over the years, the Town Council has successfully addressed many issues including the development of the mobile home park regarding proposed density, the development of the Rancho Cielo project in the hills surrounding the area regarding density, impacts, road and traffic problems, light and noise, opposition to the reopening of the rock quarry on Questhaven Road, opposition to a proposed low income trailer park on Questhaven Road, opposition to the proposed trash to energy plant and landfill expansion, impacts to the community of the San Elijo Hills development on Questhaven Road, and most recently, opposition to a proposed alignment of 680 through the community.

Town Council steering committees were responsible for laying the ground work and supporting the formation of the fire department CSA for fire protection, North County Concerned Citizens which addressed the impacts of the proposed trash to energy plant, The Escondido Creek Conservancy, the Elfin Forest Community Foundation, the Trails Committee, to name some. In addition, the Town Council has addressed local area road conditions, trash truck traffic on Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove Roads, illegal dumping and shooting in the area, organized a Neighborhood Watch program, worked with the Fire Department to prevent the inclusion of much of the community into the San Marcos Sphere of Influence, organized the neighborhood welcome committee "Elfin Forest Greeters", supported various community fund raisers, organized trash cleanups along our roads, sponsored the planting of trees along our roads, erected Elfin Forest identification signs, installed a ceiling in the training/community room at the Fire Station and sponsored the annual 4th of July parade and picnic.

Town Council Chairpersons

04/14/2009 Copyright Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Town Council. All rights reserved. Web design by Evelyn Alemanni