Santee has seen tremendous revitalization thanks to the hard work of many visionaries. The City’s community and economic development planning process for the Town Center area have resulted in a beautiful park along San Diego River, transit-oriented retail centers and housing and a Class A office park. The Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility is a somewhat unlikely resident in Santee’s Town Center area, nestled away from the street and hidden from view on a 14-acre site. Now, the County, which owns that parcel of land, is planning to replace Las Colinas with a 45-acre “jail camp,” including low rise barracks, razor wire fencing and guard towers. Definitely not what the city’s visionaries have worked so hard to achieve! If the County moves forward with its plan, this Town Center model of smart growth will be forever blighted. Expanding the jail as proposed would mean that the detention facility would butt up against a high tech office park, homes, senior housing, a church and even a pre-school. Additionally, a land use study found that the County could make up to $89 million on the sale of the Santee land in question and easily use less valuable land they already own in Otay Mesa. Any land use project that could result in a total of $165 million in lost taxpayer resources (including lost revenue and devaluation of adjacent County property) is just plain bad, but add in the terrible effects the new jail would have on a burgeoning urban center and this idea deserves an onion!

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A 1 billion dollar expansion for 10 gates and some infrastructure upgrades.

All with a planned completion of 2013 to keep Lindbergh going until 2015.

http://www.sanplan.com/renderings.asp

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The 2008 City of San Diego General Plan expresses a citywide long-range vision and provides a comprehensive policy framework for how the City should plan for projected growth and development, provide public services, address sustainability, and maintain the qualities that define San Diego over the next 20 to 30 years.

San Diego’s General Plan was last updated comprehensively in 1979 – a time when approximately half of the City’s developable acreage was still vacant. Since less than four percent of the City’s land remains vacant and available for new development, the General Plan policies represent a shift in focus from how to develop vacant land to how to design infill development and reinvest in existing communities to support long-term growth. The General Plan update incorporates the City of Villages strategy, which was developed over a three-year period and adopted as a part of the Strategic Framework Element in 2002. The City of Villages strategy is to focus growth into mixed-use villages that are pedestrian-friendly districts of different scales, linked to the transit system. A “village” is a place where a mix of residential, commercial, employment and civic uses are present and integrated. Each village will be unique to the community in which it is located, yet all villages will be pedestrian-friendly, and characterized by inviting, accessible and attractive streets and public spaces.

The strategy draws upon the character and strengths of San Diego’s natural environment, distinctive neighborhoods, commercial centers, institutions, and employment centers that together form the City as a whole. The City has developed the General Plan within the context of state requirements, regional plans and population forecasts, and the issues and needs unique to the City. The policies within each element of the General Plan were developed with ten guiding principles in mind. These principles are to achieve:

1. An open space network formed by parks, canyons, river valleys, habitats, beaches, and ocean

2. Diverse residential communities formed by the open space network

3. Compact and walkable mixed-use villages of different scales within communities

4. Employment centers for a strong economy

5. An integrated regional transportation network of walkways, bikeways, transit, roadways, and freeways that efficiently link communities and villages to each other and to employment centers

6. High quality, affordable, and well-maintained public facilities to serve the City’s population, workers, and visitors

7. Historic districts and sites that respect our heritage

8. Balanced communities that offer opportunities for all San Diegans and share citywide responsibilities

9. A clean and sustainable environment

10. A high aesthetic standard

The General Plan’s policies are designed to promote smart growth, sustainability, and environmentally responsible development. It has a strong sustainability focus through policies addressing transit/land use coordination; climate change; healthy, walkable communities; green buildings; clean technology industries; resource conservation and management; and urban forestry. In addition, the General Plan features protections for key industrial lands; strategies for providing urban parks; “toolboxes” to implement mobility strategies; and policies designed to preserve San Diego’s historical and cultural resources.

The General Plan update is a program of citywide significance that elicited a great deal of public comment. The comprehensive update public process consisted of televised public forums, ongoing direct email communications with over 2,700 contacts, and over 250 public meetings and workshops with input from decision makers, stakeholders, and the general public. In addition, many letters of comments were received over the course of the update. Staff made numerous edits to the General Plan as a result of this public process. To view the General Plan online visit: http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/genplan/index.shtml

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Mini High Rise Coming to your neighborhood? How would you like to have lived in your home for 25 years and all of a sudden see this “house remodel” being built next door or down the street. Your view, gone, living in a shadow, and being built without regard for the neighborhood “Character, bulk and scale guide lines developed by CEQA (California Environment Quality Act)and Peninsula Community Planning Board. Well it’s happening all over.

Our city Council and the Development Department do not care about the residents of San Diego. The Senior Planner stated that the development department does not look at the neighborhood or CEQA guide lines as a guide for planning. “You can build anything if under 30 feed and the proper setbacks”. When will the people of San Diego wake up and stand up for what is right, and not let developers use the San Diego landscape for their profit and quality of life determent. This project is a “remodel” so was approved at Level 1, “ministerially”. Level one is remodeling, additions, accessory structures, pools, retaining walls, and small projects. They are approved over the counter without neighbor notification. Level 2,3,4,5 require in-depth review and noticing to neighbors within 300 feet.

This project was not done according to plans originally and has not been constructed to the plans as of this date. Under the 50% rule, “remodel”, 50% of the exterior structural walls need to be retained as exterior structural walls. You can see from the pictures and plans that this project has not conformed to the code. J.P. GENERAL CONTRACTOR, CA. LIC. # 870849 should have their license sanctioned or revoked because they cannot follow plans. From the pictures #56 is before and 8, 10 are current construction and #29 is South West corner showing old wall and new steel place for new construction outer wall. Picts. 26 & 05 #56 # Regards, Bill Ingram, Resident

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Kudos to the Port District for putting the wheels in motion to artistically light the Coronado bridge.

This bridge is an icon of San Diego. It's time to treat it with the same esteem as the Golden Gate bridge or Sydney's Harbor bridge.

By launching an international call for artists and by putting in place a selection panel of respected artists, architects and lighting designers, the Port is off to a good start.

The attached image is not a proposal, but a possible what if scenario. 

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The California Independent Voter Project has put together an outstanding proposal for San Diego's Waterfront and Airport problems.

I believe O+O should review the proposal for the Grand Orchid.

Please see the following links for detailed information on CAIVP's proposals.

http://www.caivp.net/waterfront/resources.php

http://www.caivp.net/files/waterfront/Airport%20Presentation%20Final%20July%205%202007.pdf

http://www.caivp.net/files/waterfront/Lindbergh%20ITC%20Overview.pdf

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It is time to recognize the Port of San Diego Commissioners for their continued efforts to wall off another portion of the North Embarcadero from the heart of the downtown districts.

The proposed hotels will block visual access to the waterfront and take up one of few remaining areas that could address our open space needs in the downtown area. This venture by Port District effectively discounts the needs of the downtown residents and employs poor urban planning principles in developing our waterfront.

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