It was very disappointing to read the story “UCPG votes against UTC expansion” that ran recently (June 19, page B·1). Instead of focusing on the most timely news that the San Diego Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the project, the newspaper chose to trumpet the irrational denial of the project by the University City Planning Group that happened two days earlier.
Reports that the community members spoke against the plan at the most recent UCPG and Planning Commission meetings omitted any mention of the scores of community members who spoke in favor of the project. I know because I was at both meetings and I was surrounded by fellow supporters.
It has become very clear that the UCPG does not represent the interests of the broader community when it comes to the UTC project. Key businesses, educators and local homeowners have supported the project publicly, including Amylin Pharmaceuticals, the Nierman School at the Jewish Community Center and La Jolla Towers, which is right across the street from UTC, just to name a few.
I have lived in University City for 16 years, and during that time I have watched with interest while the community has evolved into a sophisticated hub for academics and high-tech and biotech companies. But during that time, the now-30-year-old UTC has stayed largely the same.
Today, UTC stands as a monument to 1970s-era land-use planning principles that focused almost exclusively on the automobile. It is a sprawling suburban-style mall surrounded by a massive parking lot. Almost everyone who visits UTC comes by car, regardless of whether their home is three blocks or three miles away.
Anyone who lives or drives through University City knows that what worked 30 years ago doesn’t necessarily work today nor will it work for the future. Communities change as do the needs of the people in the communities. Today it’s all about smart growth and mixed-use. The UTC shopping center needs to be brought into the 21st century.
That is why I was encouraged when Westfield announced plans for a mall makeover five years ago. I’ve been to several public meetings, and so have many of my neighbors. We believe that UTC can be the catalyst to making University City a model urban village.
As many people know by now, Westfield wants to spend $900 million to transform UTC into a cutting-edge, smart-growth center that provides shopping, dining, entertainment, housing and transit opportunities all on one site ” their existing site. That includes 150 new shops, new anchor stores, new restaurants and 250 residential units. If approved by the City Council, Westfield plans to begin construction next year and complete it by 2013.
Of course, some people are actively opposing the project. I try to be sympathetic to their concerns, but I just can’t understand them. If traffic is an issue, then they ought to consider how this smart-growth project will ultimately be a major benefit.
What’s needed is a paradigm shift in the way people view development. By throwing out the old notion that everybody has to drive everywhere, Westfield has drafted a comprehensive neighborhood plan where homes are placed near employment, shopping and entertainment options, and everything is linked by a transit system and supported by wide, safe sidewalks and bike lanes.
Once the project is complete, my neighbors and I will be able to walk, bike or take a shuttle to the center. And perhaps more importantly, we will have less reason to drive out of the UTC area for shopping, dining or entertainment as we often do now, which further exacerbates traffic. That will help take cars off the roads and keep us in our own community.
Smart-growth planning goes hand-in-hand with green building principles. The new center will serve as a nationwide model for green development, being the first in the U.S. to achieve a Stage 1 Gold level LEED-ND approval from the United States Green Building Council.
If the new UTC is done right, it will help University City continue its evolution into a world-class business and research center, not to mention the best neighborhood in San Diego. In much the same way, the UTC project is not simply smart growth. It is just plain smart. Leaving it as it is, as a reminder of the old technology of resource usage of the ’70s and to not allow Westfield to make it the model of community and conservation coexistence we know it will be, is a mistake for our community and the future generations of the community. Now is our moment in time to make this happen.
” Mrs. Deady and her husband have been residents of University City for 16 years. She and her husband own three businesses in San Diego and the surrounding area.