Yes, the winds have changed. But it doesn’t mean the race is over.
It is sad to note that elected members of the Planning Boards make decisions demonstrating a conflict of interest in evaluating projects submitted to the Board. The “constituents” who elected the Board members question the actions of those they have elected. Do they represent the majority of the residents on the Peninsula?
Board members new to the area often do not understand that “infill” and “affordable housing” are Orwellian-type, misleading terms used by developers to get special building benefits in violation of the building codes protecting property rights and the community lifestyle.
Examples are permits to build higher than 30 feet, exemption from adequate parking requirements and building to the edges of the property.
Exemptions permit builders to combine two lots to build seven small residences, a violation of the intent of San Diego County’s building code. These special political exemptions generate high profits for a few developers while lowering the quality of life for over a million San Diegans.
Do we need a modified Lindbergh Field airport with 10 more gates and 818 projected flights per day? Permitting building the Nickelodeon Resort Hotel at 80 feet high along with other hotels in the area? Permitting cramped condos on the old Kettenberg lot? All of these projects will more than double the amount of traffic in the Peninsula area.
Were these zoning exemptions in our community interest or in the financial interest of developers and politicians?
Having mortgage brokers, real estate developers, architects, employees of “Mac Million” or some other developers as Board members can be of great assistance in an advisory capacity, but the final decisions of the Board members should be in a fiduciary capacity representing the “quality of life” of the residents on the Peninsula and surrounding areas, not to guarantee exorbitant profits for business “friends.”
Would Board members have fewer Board-member conflicts if they would be responsible for protecting the “quality of life” of the residents living on the Peninsula and surrounding area? Only pressure from the electorate can obtain true democratic benefits.