FALLBROOK — A nearly 70-year-old downtown parking lot that has long served Fallbrook businesses and library patrons is at the center of a debate over whether the space should remain a public amenity or be sold for new development.
The dilapidated lot on Alvarado Street, between South Mission Road and South Main Avenue, belongs to Fallbrook Village Plaza LLC, a partnership of seven business owners who claim the cost of upkeep and maintenance has outpaced their ability to pay.
“Expenses have gotten way out of hand,” said Roy Moosa, owner and broker of Sun Realty and one of the property’s co-owners.
The owners began considering selling the property, but they want it to remain available for community use as a parking lot.
County planners have recently completed a downtown revitalization plan that aims to slow traffic on Main Avenue and revitalize commercial storefronts. As part of that effort, officials found the parking lot was underutilized and rezoned the parcel to “Village 1,” opening the door to shops, restaurants or mixed-use housing.
Moosa said the county initiated the rezoning; the owners did not. Rather than sell to a developer who might build on the land, the owners sought a nonprofit organization that could preserve the site as a parking lot.
“A nonprofit could get a grant to repave the parking lot,” Moosa said. “It’s very difficult for private property owners to receive grants.”
Since library visitors often use the lot, the group approached the Friends of the Fallbrook Library, a charitable organization that funds programs at the county-run branch.
Initial talks appeared promising, according to Moosa, who said then-Friends President Michael Starling and other board members had expressed interest in purchasing the lot last fall. The board discussed the idea but took no vote.
Tensions flared in June when the volunteer group’s vice president, Pennie Leachman, circulated a letter stating that the board had issued a vote of no confidence in Starling, who subsequently resigned.
Leachman wrote that Starling “repeatedly made incorrect assertions that when the investment account balances reached $2 million in assets, we would face auditing requirements.”
Under California law, only nonprofits with annual revenues exceeding $2 million are required to undergo an independent audit and file a report with the state attorney general. At the November board meeting, the nonprofit’s investment account balance was nearly $1.87 million.
“He created a false sense of urgency to reduce investment account balances,” the letter states.
It also says, “FOFL Board approvals to ‘explore’ (not purchase) the parking lot were based on misrepresentations concerning the need to reduce investment account balances and failure to disclose relevant facts.”
With investment income described as “a vital source of funding for library programs,” the letter adds that “the Board has since voted to vigorously oppose use of investment funds to acquire the parking lot.” It concludes, “At no time was acquisition of the lot approved by the Board.”
An attorney advised the nonprofit that buying the parking lot would fall outside its mission, according to the letter.
Ahead of a membership meeting Monday, the board warned volunteers of a “hostile takeover by a local group that plans to take our hard-earned library program money and use it” to buy the property.
Social media posts in recent weeks have encouraged residents to attend the Friends of the Fallbrook Library’s upcoming general meeting and join as members to voice support for purchasing the lot.
In April, the Village News shared an opinion letter on Facebook from Luisa Cano, a former board member of the Friends group, who advocated for the nonprofit to acquire the parking lot. In the letter, Cano claimed she was “wrongfully removed” from the board due to her leadership role in the effort.
“This project could help us secure the downtown parking lot — the very lot so many of us rely on when we visit the library or support local businesses,” Cano’s letter states.
Cano also wrote that the board was attempting to shift the group’s mission into a “grant-giving entity,” and she urged community members to attend the general meeting to weigh in on both the parking lot matter and future board leadership.
The letter further claimed the parking lot was for sale, though Moosa, one of the property’s co-owners, later clarified that it is not currently listed for sale.
“We feel exceedingly threatened,” said board president Jane Wasko (previously Jane Dupes), who succeeded Starling. “We’re like David going against Goliath – at least that’s how I feel.”
Wasko said county studies show ample parking in the village and at the library.
Moosa stressed that the “local group” referenced in notices is not the lot’s ownership.
“They made a decision they thought was best, and the owners of the LLC accepted that,” he said.
Should no buyer step forward to preserve the site, the owners could sell to a developer. The lot is not listed in the county’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation inventory, meaning a builder would need an additional rezoning for affordable housing — an expensive but feasible step.
For now, the cracked pavement remains open, while business owners and library supporters debate whether Fallbrook’s familiar patch of asphalt can — or should — stay the way it is.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version referred to Friends of Fallbrook Library President as Jane Dupes. That is a former last name. Her official name is now Jane Wasko.
