Sandy Lippe hit the nail on the head when she wrote that residents living in what has been described as South University City don’t share a common vision of their community (“Three wish lists for change in UC,” University CityGolden Triangle News, Nov. 23, page 7). Vision is a flexible word. It can describe what one actually sees, what can be safely predicted or what one wishes something to become. Sharing a vision can be a powerful tool for responsible citizens to use in defining, shaping and protecting the place they call home.
Using the boundaries of Highway 52 on the south, Interstates 805 and 5 on the east and west and University City High School on the north, some have come to call our community South University City. Anyone can see that we live in single-dwelling homes on quiet streets in small neighborhoods in South University City. We can brag about our fine community schools, our recreation center with a beautiful swimming facility and excellent tennis courts. Our public-use parks and recreation fields are in constant athletic use. Our community parks are popular during the summer months for Concerts in the Park, U.C. Celebration and other recreational purposes. Some of us have discovered the natural beauty walking along trails in Rose Canyon. We have two shopping centers that cater to our immediate needs. We take for granted the fact that our community has less crime than our neighboring communities to the north and south, allowing our kids to enjoy their bikes and knowing neighbors are looking out for their safety. We see a variety of religious groups enjoying the freedom to practice their beliefs without discrimination. These are the realities of the South University City vision. We have a wonderful place to live.
But do we?
Freeways surround South University City, making our community one of the noisiest in San Diego. We have one major conduit to freeways dissecting our community at Genesee and Governor. Now we want to create another at Regents at Governor, complete with concrete sound walls. Why compound one mistake by creating another?
Our treasured canyons are double-edged swords. We love them; we hate them. They give us space, nature and beauty. They are also potentially dangerous. They house transients. They are fire hazards. So to police these canyons so they can be enjoyed, why don’t we have a ranger station? Or a neighborhood police station? Where is the nearest fire station? Why isn’t one here, right in our community?
We have excellent schools, parks, athletic fields, a swimming pool and recreational centers for our children to use and enjoy. But, children need to get there by having their parents drive them because the roads are heavily traveled, increasingly being used by commuters, and dangerous for them to use.
It isn’t difficult to predict the changes that will continue to impact our community as disproportionate growth in the UTC area continues. The quality of life we presently enjoy will certainly be lost as buildings grow taller, shopping centers become multiple-use centers and the university irresponsibly accepts ever-increasing numbers of students, causing a tsunami of displaced students seeking rentals in our quiet neighborhoods without proper university direction and support. Student rentals negatively impact property values. Student rentals without proper supervision are inconsistent to the values and lifestyles of family-centered neighborhoods.
Population density will congest the roads that cut through South University at both Genesee and the proposed Regents Road extension. We can already see how divisive arterial Genesee Road has made our community. We can already see how unsafe crossing Genesee Road at Governor has made the commute for our community’s schoolchildren. We can already see four gas stations at the intersection of Genesee and Governor. Consider the infrastructure that will be necessary to support increased density, namely: sewage treatment facilities that are planned to run through beautiful Rose Canyon, the fragile resources of water and electrical power.
Sharing a vision can be a daydream of what residents can create in South University City. That which is happening in the northern part of University City doesn’t necessarily need to happen to us, if we don’t allow it. In order to recognize the truth of this statement, we have to recognize the fact that they are not us. How can the integrity of our community, namely the quality of life that attracted us here to raise our families, be protected in order to attract young families here?
First of all, when University City was created, the community was planned to service the university. Now we service the massive housing needs of the University of California and developers’ whims as well. Frankly, it is not necessary for us to have to support the needs of any other community than our own. South University City could be re-created not as an extension of UTC but as a self-directed community of the City of San Diego. It’s not as difficult to do this as it would appear. But ” first you need to have a vision.
Change the name of our community. Create our own community plan. Make it an entity of its own. Take back our roads for our own usage. Make them safe for our citizens. Make them attractive.
Sandy Lippe has tried to beautify Governor Drive with trees, flags and flowers. She mentioned the three ramps at 805 and 52 and how they need to reflect our community in a positive way, with landscaping and landscaping maintenance. These seem simple things to do; where is the support in getting them done? Where is the shared vision of beautification of our community?
My husband and I have lived in this community for more than 30 years. We chose this community in which to raise our children because it had the quality of life we wanted for our family. When situations arose that we considered moving to another location, we always decided our home here was the best place to live. Here were our friends, our children’s friends. Here were their schools. Here were the merchants who knew us by name. So we stayed. We have loved University City.
But we can predict what is going to happen to this community as it gives up its integrity to the big bucks up north.
It is the responsibility of those of us who have enjoyed this wonderful quality of life to protect it so that young couples will buy homes here to raise their families. As neighbors, they will support the schools, send their children to recreate in parks and athletic fields without fear, and enjoy this community as we did.