Beneath the shade of a 100-year-old pepper tree, Alisha Morrison and her neighbors gathered in Lincoln Acres County Park to talk about their community — one they say is unlike any other in the South Bay.
From a bird’s eye view, you might think you’re in National City. But you’d be wrong. In fact, the two have long been at odds.
“We don’t want to be annexed into National City,” said Morrison. “We like our way of life here.”
Alisha Morrison in front of the old pepper tree at Lincoln Acres County Park on Oct. 28, 2025 in National City. (Ariana Drehsler / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
This is Lincoln Acres, an unincorporated pocket of roughly 2,000 residents surrounded by National City, and hemmed in by Interstate 805 and state Route 54. And for residents of the so-called “county island,” there’s finally a reason to celebrate.
Last month, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the creation of a Community Sponsor Group to serve as an advisory body between Lincoln Acres residents and county officials. Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, who represents the South County district, said the group will strengthen communication and ensure residents’ voices are heard more clearly at the county level.
“This is about giving Lincoln Acres a seat at the table,” Aguirre said, calling the move a “no-brainer.” She described the neighborhood as “small, but mighty,” noting that residents made clear during her campaign that they wanted to remain independent while gaining a more direct line to county government.
Aguirre said the sponsor group will function much like others in unincorporated San Diego County. Unlike Community Planning Groups, whose members are elected, sponsor groups are appointed by the Board of Supervisors and serve in an advisory capacity. Aguirre added that the new body is a foundation for “good governance, transparency and putting community first.”
Lincoln Acres has a history dating back to the 1920s. It was one of the few places in the region where working-class families, many of them Mexican American, could afford to buy land and build their own homes.
“It was a rural place,” said Morrison, who is not related to National City Mayor Ron Morrison. “And it still has some of that. If you were to look into people’s backyards, you’d see a lot of chickens, goats — and my first horse that I grew up on was born in my backyard.”
Although that rural, independent spirit has endured, it’s now colliding with the modern pressures of development and growth.
The old pepper tree at Lincoln Acres County Park on Oct. 28, 2025 in National City. (Ariana Drehsler / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
For Morrison, the push for representation began after a controversial development proposal in November 2024 that galvanized the neighborhood. The plan — for a 24-hour gas station, car wash, drive-thru coffee shop, convenience store and five residential units — was slated for a residential area near her home.
“We felt very vulnerable because there was a development that was proposed by where we live,” Morrison said. “It was right next door to a home daycare and surrounded by families. It just didn’t fit the character of the neighborhood.”
Residents mobilized quickly.
Nineteen residents attended the first National City Planning Commission meeting on Nov. 18 to voice their opposition. When the item returned on Dec. 2, more than 30 people spoke against it, prompting the commission to reject the project as a “public health nuisance.”
“That experience showed us how little say we had in what happens here,” Morrison said. “So we started asking, how do we get a voice?”
Residents fear annexation would raise taxes and weaken local control, undermining the independence Lincoln Acres has long protected.
Lincoln Acres Library and Community Park on Oct. 28, 2025 in National City. (Ariana Drehsler / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Lincoln Acres native Doyle Morrison, whose grandparents migrated to the region from Oklahoma in the early 1900s, said the sponsor group marks a pivotal step for a community that he and his wife, Alisha, have long worked to preserve.
“It’s close to everything, but it still has that faraway feel,” Doyle Morrison said, noting that annexation and development pressures persist. He recalled when Lincoln Acres had its own ZIP code, 91947, and a small post office nearby — both of which are now gone.
“Now my mailing address is a National City address, and that’s something that should be brought to light,” he said. “We really would love to have our post office back, and even if it’s just post office boxes.”
“They’re trying to erase Lincoln Acres, and they can’t,” Doyle Morrison said.
Jose Vasquez (bottom left), Ashley Morrison (top right), Doyle Morrison (top left), Alisha Morrison, (bottom center), Kurt Worden, President, Lower Sweetwater Fire Protection District (bottom right) in front of the old pepper tree at Lincoln Acres County Park in National City on Oct. 28, 2025. (Ariana Drehsler / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
That same drive for self-determination inspired Ashley Morrison, daughter of Alisha and Doyle Morrison.
“As someone looking to buy a home, I want the Lincoln Acres I grew up with,” said Ashley Morrison, 32. “This group is about protecting that.”
Kurt Worden, president of the Lower Sweetwater Fire Protection District, said Lincoln Acres has long struggled to relay its concerns to the county, often relying on the fire board to fill that gap.
“The fire board is limited to fire and emergency services,” said Worden, a resident since 1985. “This gives residents a formal platform to raise issues such as infrastructure, zoning and neighborhood upkeep.”
Worden called the sponsor group a way to “streamline communication” with county officials while preserving Lincoln Acres’ independence.
José Vásquez, a 14-year resident, said the group emerged from neighbors’ frustration with issues that often fall between jurisdictions — from parking and illegal dumping to encampments and liquor-store over-saturation.
“We need everybody to work together — the county, National City, even the state,” Vásquez said. “Overlapping jurisdictions have created confusion around issues like homeless encampments and illegal dumping.”
For Alaina Jacobson, whose family has lived in Lincoln Acres for nearly a century, maintaining the area’s unincorporated status is essential to preserving its semi-rural lifestyle.
“It’s kind of like farm living in the city,” Jacobson said from the half-acre property her grandfather bought in the 1950s, where she raises goats, roosters, geese, and peacocks. “The most important thing is that we get to maintain the lifestyle we want to have.”
That sentiment is shared by sisters Treva Johnson and Theresa Duclos, who grew up on Orange Street near La Vista Memorial Park and said the sponsor group is a welcome step toward keeping the community’s voice strong.
Johnson, 83, agreed, saying the area’s unincorporated status has helped it retain a sense of safety and identity distinct from the surrounding city. Both expressed hope that the group will help protect the neighborhood from overdevelopment.
“We don’t want to lose Lincoln Acres,” Duclos said. “Everybody pretty much in Lincoln Acres knows one another, it’s kind of like a little family thing.”