City Council member Raul Campillo spoke at our March 23 town hall meeting. We had about 55 participants from the public. This was only one of the several meetings he held throughout District 7.
More has come of those meetings than just what we learned from him and what he learned from us. His contacts with our communities draw more of us to an interest in local government and draw in many of us to the business of local law making.
And drawn in we must be at this time — a time when the State Legislature reaches for more control over local zoning and residential development. They say it is all being done to provide more “affordable housing.”
The state has always had a hand in local real estate development, certainly in matters of environmental controls. But a few years ago, Sacramento took the first step directly into regulating what had always been reserved to the city. That state law requires the city to permit development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on parcels previously limited to single-family homes. The law left some ADU issues to local government, such as the requirement for an owner to reside on the property and the location of the ADU on the parcel, but our city enacted few of those protections.
The State Legislature is considering a proposal for a comprehensive override of the local zoning of our residential communities. Current law allows builders to provide for reduced parking in multiple-unit housing developments along “transit priority zones” (streets with 15-minute intervals of public transit). Under the proposed extension of that law, cities would be required to allow development of “fourplex” units, what the realtors call town houses, along those roadways.
To bring the issue closer to home, consider the development possibilities, townhouse after townhouse, if MTS puts in a 15-minute bus line along Waring Road to the Grantville Trolley Station. We really have to press the question: “Would this sacrifice of our single family residential neighborhood really solve the need for affordable housing or is this it just another profit opportunity for land developers?”
Another issue of immediate concern is the development of the Grantville Trolley Station parking lot for affordable rentals now in the design and funding stage. What will this leave for commuter parking and how much of that parking space will be used by SDSU students?
Our Council member is our voice. Give his voice greater strength by our participation.
Join our Spring Spruce Up Community Cleanup from Saturday, April 17 through Sunday, April 25 in honor of Earth Day. Participate by:
- Picking up trash during your walks
- Properly disposing of pet waste
- Ensuring that trash bins are fully closed
- Replacing trash bins and lids that are damaged or missing
- Cleaning up after using public spaces
- Keeping yards and sidewalks clean and maintained
Post a selfie on social media using #AGGBeautiful for a chance to be featured on our website, Facebook, and Instagram! Ask your neighbors to join in keeping Allied Gardens and Grantville beautiful!
We just heard from the folks who run the First Friday Concerts about this summer. They emailed the following: “We are keeping a close eye on city and county regulations. We would love nothing more than to get a few concerts in this season but it is all contingent on securing proper permits.” Let’s hope that this great tradition can continue.
Use the “Contact Us” page at aggccouncil.org to get on our email contact list, to receive notices of the activities of our community council and the Navajo Community Planning Group, Inc., and to let us know how we can help you support our neighborhood. Our next board meeting will be on Monday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. by Zoom. The public is encouraged to attend.
— By Allied Gardens/Grantville Community Council president Shain Haug
