Por Ken Williams | Editor
The North Park Planning Committee on Tuesday night, April 19, reelected its four officers and the chair reappointed all the subcommittee chairs, then the board members continued work on updating the North Park Community Plan.
This followed meetings on March 21 and 22 in which the committee conducted a public recount of the March 15 annual election after the results were challenged by five voters. The dispute centered around which candidate won the No. 7 slot. Rachel Levin had been announced as the winner at the March 15 meeting, but the next day committee chair Vicki Granowitz emailed San Diego Uptown News and said a review of the ballots found that Daniel Gebreselassie had one more vote than Levin, and was thus elected.
The new results triggered protests about irregularities from five voters, including Levin. The Elections Subcommittee and the officers met on March 21 to discuss the challenges and recommended at the March 22 meeting of the full board to recount the ballots — with public observation — instead of conducting another election.
The official results and vote totals are listed below, as the top seven vote-getters won election.
ELECTED
- Robert Barry (incumbent), 77
- Sarah McAlear (incumbent), 74
- Roger Morrison (incumbent), 72
- Melissa Stayner, 71
- Brandon Hilpert (incumbent), 69
- Robert Gettinger, 53
- Daniel Gebreselassie (incumbent), 34
NOT ELECTED
- Rachel Levin (incumbent), 33
- Lucky Morrison (incumbent), 30
- Don Leichtling, 18
- John Paul Iacoangelo, 16
- Danielle Knauff, 8
At the April 19 meeting, chair Granowitz, vice-chair René Vidales, secretary McAlear and treasurer Hilpert were unanimously reelected to their posts.
Granowitz reappointed all the chairs of the subcommittees, including herself as chair of the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Area (BIA). The other chairs are: Rob Steppke, Balboa Park Committee; Peter Hill, Maintenance Assessment District; Steve Codraro, North Park Main Street; Daniel Gebreselassie, North Park Mid-City Regional Bike Corridors; Dionne Carlson, Adams Avenue BIA.
The board members had a full docket, including action items involving the ongoing update to the North Park Community Plan. They voted to:
- Prioritize four historical districts —Valle Vista Terrace (Panorama Drive), Spaulding Place, Shirley Ann Place Expansion 4 and Park Boulevard Apartment (East) — in the update document. Voted 12-0.
- Approve the draft of the update plan’s Implementation Element that allows a transit-oriented development enhancement program (TOD) along El Cajon Boulevard, particularly near transit stops at 30th, Utah, Oregon, Texas and Florida streets. The vote also requires developers of such projects to undergo a Process 3 review, so the planning committee reviews the projects. Voted 12-0.
- Approve pedestrian-oriented infill development enhancement program, designed to target the so-called Huffman multifamily units. The goal is to encourage owners/developers to rebuild by allowing increased density on those lots, require parking to be moved from the front of the buildings to the alleys, and reorient the buildings so they don’t face neighbor’s single-family homes. Board member Gebreselassie warned this would eliminate much of the affordable housing in North Park, but fellow member Howard Blackson said state policy is now encouraging cities to build more affordable housing. Voted 9-3, with Gebreselassie, Codraro and Staynor against the action.
- Approve center and corridor development transition areas, to make sure larger developments fit into residential neighborhoods. Voted 12-0.
The next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. May 17 at 2901 North Park Way, on the second floor. SANDAG will make a presentation on the Pershing Bike Corridor Plan, which affects the lower portion of Utah Street and Pershing Avenue from North Park to Downtown.
—Ken Williams is editor of Uptown News and Mission Valley News and can be reached at [email protected] o al 619-961-1952. Síguelo en Twitter en KenSanDiego, cuenta de Instagram en KenSD o Facebook en KenWilliamsSanDiego.
