Home building by California West has only just begun! Click here to read about our newest projects in The San Diego Union-Tribune and stay tuned for updates on our upcoming communities.

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Robert Thorne, CEO of California West, said the time it to takes to get a project approved has continued to increase over the years with multiple government agencies, water districts and federal agencies.

“All those issues have magnified,” he said. “It just becomes more and more time consuming. … We’ve had situations where we turn in first plans for houses and they sit in someone’s cubicle, without anyone looking at them, for two months.”

Thorne said he realizes land is hard to come by — his company spent $40 million on grading an old mining operation in San Marcos for a new development — but he’s not so convinced the county is running out.

“When I got in the business in 1985, there were people telling me there were no more lots left,” he said.

California West is investing more than $150 million in three projects in San Diego County that should begin selling this year: Westerly at Rancho Tesoro, Encinitas Enclave and S.L. Rey in Bonsall.

“Rates are at historic lows. Employment is high,” Thorne said. “I’d much rather be in a market like this than one where access to lots and land is wide open, but there is no demand.”