Welcome to Torrey Hills
Torrey Hills is bordered on the north by SR-56 and Carmel Valley; on the northeast by Carmel Valley; on the south and southeast by the Los Penasquitos Canyon and Mira Mesa; and on the west by Interstate 5.
Originally known as Sorrento Hills, the Torrey Hills community is fiercely protective. Residents succeeded at fighting fast food restaurants and a gas station within the community. The first homes were built in 1995 and the total number of single family attached and detached homes is approximately 1758.
The community group helps to regulate the use of the commercial and office space, located primarily on the west end. At the heart of the community is a neighborhood park, YMCA, and a very active recreational program for families.
The community of Torrey Highlands is located in an area of the City still referred to as the North City Future Urbanizing Area. Torrey Highlands encompasses 1,134 acres and is west of Rancho Penasquitos, south of Black Mountain Ranch, east of Pacific Highlands Ranch, and north of Del Mar Mesa. State Route 56 traverses the community.
During 1979 when Carmel Valley was being planned, the city had conducted studies on the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve as an open space park and had not determined the boundary of the park, so the City designated Torrey Hills as Future Urbanizing on the General Plan. In February 1980, Genstar-Peñasquitos (now AG Land Associates, LLC) dedicated a total of 1,806 acres of Los Peñasquitos Canyon to the City. This created a border for the preserve. As a result, a community planning program was initiated, and the original plan area was transferred from Future Urbanizing to Planned Urbanizing on the General Plan, excluding 178 acres adjacent to the Torrey Hills community planning area, which was designated as Future Urbanizing.
On November 4, 1986, San Diego voters approved a transfer of 166 acres of government-owned land on the western boundary of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve located adjacent to Interstate 5 to a private landholder in exchange for 288 acres of land adjacent to the Los Peñasquitos Canyon preserve, north of the area referred to as “The Falls.” Between the 166 acre parcel and Interstate 5, 12 additional acres were incorporated into the ballot measure, which in total provided an additional 178 acres to Torrey Hills find more relevant info here. The ballot resulted in the city designating Torrey Hills as Planned Urbanizing. In 1994, the City Council approved an amendment to the Torrey Hills Community Plan.
As part of the approval, the number of residential units was limited to no more than 2,600 dwelling units in the Planned Urbanized portion of the community (Fairbanks Highlands contains an additional 93 dwelling units for a community total of 2,693 dwelling units).An amendment in 1997 provided a broader range of residential land uses, varying from apartments, condominiums and townhomes, to smaller lot detached residential and single-family subdivisions. A Neighborhood Commercial Center was added, providing for retail commercial uses typically serving residential neighborhoods. Additional amendments since 1997 have also changed residential and industrial land uses in the western portion of the community.