IF YOU FIND A PIECE OF UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE: 
DON'T TOUCH IT,
MARK ITS LOCATION,
CALL 911,
 WAIT FOR THE FIRE DEPT TO ARRIVE

by Deanna Spehn

     The Tierrasanta/Murphy Canyon community was part of the original Rancho de la Mission San Diego de Alcala and the El Cajon Rancho, two mission ranchos that flourished during the first half of the 19th century. It was at that time that the Kumeyaay Indians lived in this area. The Tierrasanta/Murphy Canyon community lies within the geographical limits of what was formerly Camp Elliott. In 1941, the United States government acquired 27,700 acres for a Marine training camp. The borders for Camp Elliott were Murphy Canyon Road and U.S.-395 on the west, Sycamore Canyon on the east, Pomerado Road and Beeler Canyon Road on the north and the San Diego River and Mission Gorge Road on the south.

     Camp Elliott was used during World War I by the U.S. Army as an artillery and machine gun training facility. From 1941 to 1944, Camp Elliott was a tank training base, with the tanks housed at what is now Admiral Baker Field (just off Friars Road). Camp Elliott was home to several commands including the Fleet Marine Force Training Center-West Coast, and the Troop Training Unit of the Amphibious Training Command for the Pacific Fleet. The base provided encampments, bivouac areas and 41 firing ranges that were used for tank, anti-tank, artillery training, demolition training, mines, raw explosives and for parachuting practice. In addition, there were specialized schools on site for infantry, scout, mortar and sniper education. According to the Final Ordnance Report prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by Environmental Chemical Corporation in 1995, "The base and ranges were used for training on every type of weapon in the Marine inventory until 1944, when they moved to Camp Pendleton."

     In 1944 the Marines no longer needed the area and it passed to the Navy for use as a retraining center. From 1946 to 1947 the Army had jurisdiction over the land but it was not used during those years. The Retraining Command had jurisdiction from 1947 until 1960. During World War II and the Korean War, Camp Elliott was home to more than 250,000 troops. Camp Elliott was annexed to the City of San Diego in 1960 and in 1961 the government declared nearly half the land surplus. The land was zone R-1-40 residential. Before the Federal Government's General Services Administration offered the land for public sale, the City of San Diego was provided the opportunity to prepare a community plan and acquire the land necessary for public uses at a reduced price. It was then that the City acquired the sites for the fire station and library on La Cuenta, as well as several park sites throughout the community. The San Diego Unified School District also acquired several sites. The result was the Elliott Community Plan of 1962.

     Christiana obtained 2600 acres of the former Camp Elliott land in 1968 in an agreement with the U.S. government that transferred 2740 acres to the Point Reyes National Sea Shore near San Francisco. In 1971, City staff met with representatives from various public agencies including the State Division of Highways, the U.S. Navy, the school districts of San Diego, Santee and Grossmont, and representatives from Christiana to prepare a revision of the Elliott Community Plan. It was then that the first master planned community in the City of San Diego was born.

     Originally, the Elliott Community was comprised of 10,120 acres and included the Murphy Canyon Heights military housing area, all of what is now Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) and an area known as East Elliott, located to the east of MTRP. In 1976, a Master Plan for the proposed Mission Trails Regional Park was created, and in 1980 the Elliott Community Plan was broken down into the Tierrasanta Community Planning Area, with MTRP issues dealt with by its own planning group, and the East Elliott site dealt with separately due to its separation from the Tierrasanta area.
    
     In 1985, the City Council deleted from the Tierrasanta Community Plan Area all lands north of the proposed State Route 52 and re-designated the MTRP area as a regional park. In 1986, the City Council adopted an amendment to the Tierrasanta Community Plan which adjusted the northern boundary of the planning area to SR52, which had always been the intention. However, it was not until 1986 that it was clear which alignment for SR52 would be selected.