About Heart of Valley Center

For as long as people have been choosing Valley Center as their home, they have been working to preserve it; at least trying to preserve what drew them to it in the first place - its natural beauty, its opportunity for individual privacy and its agricultural way of life.

We know what we have here is precious and that Valley Center can swiftly change into one more sprawling bedroom community, or one more unremarkable collection of residential developments, or one more set of predictable strip malls.

As the pressure for development has increased, various individuals and groups have taken their place in Valley Center’s history defending its right to grow within its values. Many of these people served on the Valley Center Community Planning Group over the years. However, between the time


it takes for plans to become reality, a lot is learned and lost as Community Planning Group members and County planning staff alike change and move on, taking their knowledge with them.

By early 2008, one group decided to form an educational organization that would garner lost knowledge to work and serve as a resource for the community. They decided to call their organization, the Heart of Valley Center and for the first time in Valley Center’s recent history, there is an opportunity to combine both passion and experience into a sustainable effort. Heart of Valley Center recently received IRS approval as a non-profit, 501(c)(3) benefit corporation.

Although members of the Heart of Valley Center have varying backgrounds – they all share in the belief that Valley Center will be experiencing significant change in the coming years. The Heart of Valley Center is determined to see that the inevitable change that is coming to Valley Center reflects enhanced community standards and respects its natural beauty.

With the advent of the General Plan Update, Valley Center’s own Community Plan and with many major development projects in the pipeline, our community has many decisions to make. The Heart of Valley Center believes that it is important for community members to be educated in managing the growth of our community. We will collaborate with any individual, group or public entity that affects our community in order to seek realistic solutions.

Some Recent Projects:

  • Created a non-profit 501c3community benefit organization and produced a strategic plan to implement its Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
  • Continues generating and organizing data to inform and guide the Community planning process. For example, Heart provided research and input to the General Plan Update Subcommittee that resulted in a reduction of population from previous planning maps
  • Members have built and fostered good working relationships with developers and their consultants as well as with County Planning staff that will help ensure sensitive development in our Villages
  • Assisted the General Plan Update Subcommittee in the preparation and application to SANDAG for a $400,000.grant to create a Master Plan for both the North and South Villages
  • Assisted the Circulation/Mobility Subcommittee in the preparation and application to CALTRANS for a $150,000 grant through the Department of Public Works to create Community Right of Way Standards for Valley Center
  • Assisted in the preparation for public hearings on the General Plan Update
  • Obtained letters of support from community organizations in support of the proposed grants
  • Arranged for experts from Caltrans and DPLU to address issues and educate working groups on circulation planning, land use and public works funding mechanisms

    Mission Statement:
    To preserve, protect and enhance Valley Center’s unique small town country character.

    Vision Statement:
    Heart of Valley Center is a community-inspired organization providing
    education and a forum for collaboration and advocacy.

Board of Directors
Christine Lewis
Lael Montgomery - Chair
Ann Quinley
Jim Quisquis
Rich Rudolf
Sandy Smith – President
Andy Washburn

Disclosure Documents