By JEFF CLEMETSON

After 20 years serving as the local entity for discussing and improving life in Del Cerro, the Del Cerro Action Council has officially ended.

In a statement to the Mission Times Courier announcing the end of the council, DCAC touted its two decades of providing “Del Cerro and the surrounding communities with outstanding, in-depth, informative, and provocative Town Hall sessions.”

The Del Cerro Action Council (DCAC) formed in 1999 to address a problem of speeding cars on Madra Avenue. The council was envisioned as a “forum to share ideas and connect with the City of San Diego and other agencies on how to improve the quality of Del Cerro,” according to an article by DCAC secretary Jay Wilson in the February 2021 issue of Mission Times Courier.

Over the years, DCAC has helped the city install stop signs and other safety precautions at needed locations throughout Del Cerro, including Adobe Falls; helped with funding playground updates at Princess Del Cerro Park; helped secure funds for a “Welcome to Del Cerro” sign; successfully fought an SDSU housing project proposed for 38 acres in Adobe Falls; and organized local cleanups, brushfire prevention and regular town hall meetings.

In recent years, DCAC had reduced its community involvement, moving its once monthly town hall meetings to only meeting quarterly. In February, DCAC chair Mark Rawlins stepped down from the board because he was moving out of state.

DCAC also faced criticism recently from the Save Del Cerro group, whose members felt the council should have taken a hardline position against the proposed All Peoples Church. Following the announcement of DCAC disbanding, members of Save Del Cerro are now in the process of organizing an official entity to replace DCAC.

Despite the sometimes contentious criticism of the DCAC board, Wilson said he wishes the new group nothing but luck.

“For over two decades, the Del Cerro Action Council successfully worked on a great variety of issues and projects for this community,” he said. “Now we have an opportunity to pass the baton to a new group of enthusiastic Del Cerro residents who are ready and willing to roll up their sleeves and volunteer their time and energy for the benefit of our community.”

In a statement to the Mission Times Courier, Save Del Cerro spokesperson Michael Livingston described the new Voice of Del Cerro (VODC) group as “a new community group dedicated to keeping all Del Cerro residents informed on important issues affecting the community” and will strive “to increase transparency and be inclusive to all.”

The statement went on to say that VODC has already initiated an organizing drive to form a successor organization to the DCAC and is seeking interested residents to participate in this effort. Livingston said the new organization is “evolving quickly” and that interested Del Cerro residents should email the group at [email protected] for more information. A flyer for the new group invites the public to get involved at an initial meeting scheduled for April 28 at 6:30 p.m. on the Zoom platform.

— Reach editor Jeff Clemetson at [email protected].