A seemingly innocuous proposal to raze a single-family home and replace it with four condominiums turned into an unexpected debate over the future course of other developments during the Pacific Beach Planning Group’s (PBPG) Sept. 24 meeting.
In a separate matter, community planners also approved a proposal by the city to locate a limited number of electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations as part of a pilot program at the Pacific Beach/Taylor Branch Library. A couple of planners, however, expressed misgivings about losing public parking to EV users.
On the development issue, planners voted 6-4-2 against the condo conversion at 4055 Lamont St. after neighbors gave an impassioned plea opposing the proposal. Some neighbors argued such transformations are already irrevocably altering the character of the community for the worse.
Developers gave a brief presentation on the condo conversion, noting it would improve landscaping and trees.
But some audience members weren’t buying it.
“This property is right behind the house our family has lived in since 1955, and there’s another condo property nearby that has a three-story panoply of opera-box balconies overlooking our house, giving us no privacy, no ocean breeze and no sunsets,” complained one neighbor. “This is going to directly impact the quality of life, and you’re worrying about fan palms.”
Two other neighbors also spoke out against the project, one saying she had a small child and a pool in her backyard, adding the redevelopment would be “a huge invasion of my privacy.”
The other longtime neighbor chided the planning group for not opposing requests for changing single-family homes to condominiums, asking, “What about changing the zoning code?”
She even went so far as to invite board members to her residence to see in person how much the next-door condo has invaded her space.
“You have the ability to appeal (the conversion),” replied board member Curtis Patterson.
Board member Scott Chipman said the planning group is advisory only and that it’s fighting an uphill battle in resisting such change.
“We’re talking about a huge process, millions, maybe billions of dollars against our pennies in downzoning Pacific Beach,” Chipman said. “We might not agree with these condo conversions, but they’re perfectly legal by the (building) codes … Some of us (planners) are opposed to increased density.”
The opposition arguments continued.
“We’re losing our single-family homes in PB,” warned one neighbor. “The only way it can stop from being that way is changing the zoning.”
Board member Larry Emlaw agreed that condo conversions have been a “stealth issue” in Pacific Beach for some time, arguing the issue ought to top the group’s agenda.
“In my opinion, this is the most important issue we face in PB,” Emlaw said. “We’re reaching a tipping point where people are going to begin moving out because they have three-story condos next door. We need a committee that does nothing but this (condo conversion issues), and it should take precedence. This is what we need to do now.”
Moving on in the agenda, Jacques Chirazi, program manager for the clean-tech initiative for the city, a program that promotes environmentally sustainable transportation, gave a presentation on a pilot electrical vehicle (EV) program.
Chirazi said San Diego has one of the highest per-capita rates of EV ownership and usage in the state. He said the city has gotten a grant to begin a pilot project involving seeding of EV charging stations in anticipation of their growing popularity.
He said the charging ports would only be available to EVs being charged.
Asked about taking away public parking to accommodate the stations, Chirazi replied the proposed library spaces are all on city-owned property.
“We’re not losing (parking) spaces. They’re just spaces for EVs,” said group chairman Brian Curry. “We should consider in our ecodistrict concept if we want to be promoting electric vehicles in PB.”
Board member Joe Wilding asked Chirazi if there was a sunset clause to the pilot program.
“Three years,” replied Chirazi, noting the charging stations could and would be moved if the program weren’t to pan out. The group voted 7-5-1 in favor of allowing electric vehicle charging stations at the PB Library.