Land Use & Environment Group

LUEG is comprised of six departments whose functions range from building and maintaining county infrastructure to protecting our environment and public health, and from promoting agriculture and consumer protection to showing you how to better grow your garden.

If you drive anywhere on a county roadway, it’s the Department of Public Works that makes sure our nearly 2,000 miles of roadways, our bridges and guardrails, and even signs and traffic lights as well as those painted crosswalks are maintained. DPW runs our eight County airports including McClellan-Palomar, Gillespie Field and Ramona Aiport where Cal Fire is based. DPW crews plow the mountain roads during and after the winter storms and keep our storm channels and drains clear in preparation for those storms.

Those letter grades you see in restaurants and mobile food facilities indicate how they performed in the inspections conducted by the Department of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ). At the beach, DEHQ posts signs on the water quality - if it's safe to swim, information also now available on a mobile app. DEHQ also has a very active vector control program for mosquitoes, and other rodents that may carry disease. The Hazardous Incident Response TEAM (HIRT) is part of the HazMat section that responds to chemical spills and other emergencies.

Planning and Development Services inspects plans and even the buildings and houses under construction to ensure everything is built to code and safe.

If you shop at a local certified farmers market, or buy ornamental shrubbery, or even receive a shipment of flowers, it’s Agriculture, Weights and Measures that makes sure those shipments going in or out of the county are pest-free. If you buy gasoline, take a ride in a taxi, weigh your baggage at the airport, or buy anything that involves a scanned price, it’s a function of AWM to ensure you get what you pay for.

The Farm and Home Advisor, part of the UC Cooperative Extension, offers free advice to help you with your gardening or any type horticulture. FHA also runs several other programs such as 4-H, family nutrition, and Marine and Natural Resources.

And who doesn't like to play outdoors, or picnic, or hike or bike or camp. The Department of Parks and Recreation oversees more than 100 parks, campgrounds, community centers and preserves throughout the county – all to enhance our quality of life. It is true that “Parks make life better.” And here in San Diego we have lots of them – literally something for everyone.

So whatever you do in San Diego County, as a resident or visitor, LUEG in one way or another is part of your life. But it’s not just about infrastructure, or agriculture, or beach water quality, or building for the future – it’s about YOU!

Find out MORE by visiting the LUEG Open Performance site