Por JAY WILSON

The first 2020 quarterly meeting of the Del Cerro Action Council (DCAC) met the evening of Jan. 23 at Temple Emanu-El.

Police update: John Steffen, our police department’s community relations officer, reported on the crime stats. The majority of property crimes continue to be in the area of Adobe Falls Road accessed off of Waring Road. The new police academy will increase staffing for the police department.

SDSU Police update: Corporal Mark Peterson, the community relations officer for San Diego State, announced Melissa Link will be taking his place in working with the residents adjacent to SDSU.

“We are working on improving the coverage of Adobe Falls,” he said. “Trespassing on the SDSU property is a low priority response for the SDSU Police Department.”

SDSU update: Rachael Gregg, the Government and Community Relations manager for SDSU, reminded everyone SDSU is back in session.

Answering a question about the All Peoples Church, she said SDSU will not take a position on the project. She was also asked about Adobe Falls.

“We know it is a challenge,” she said. “We do not want people on the property and we are aware of the trespassing and the impact on the community. Mill Peak is the major problem at the moment.”

DCAC chair report: Mark Rawlins stated, “I have been working with the maintenance assessment district staff at the city. We are still waiting for the petition to be approved so we can begin collecting the required signatures which will lead to a vote among the Del Cerro property owners.”

DCAC secretary report: Jay Wilson announced elections for two vacancies for Del Cerro on the Navajo Community Planners, Inc. board will be held in March. Go to navajoplanner.org. Scroll down to “elections.”

All Peoples Church (APC): Robert Herber, pastor of APC, stated, “We are about ready to submit to the city of San Diego for the second time. We are still working with Caltrans regarding their property at the south end of our property. The parking structure is going to be closer to College Avenue than next to the homes.

Kathi Riser, the senior land use consultant from The Atlantis Group stated, “We are working through a number of complex issues with the city.” She showed the diagram of the first submittal. With the new plan, the parking structure will be almost level with College Avenue. We are working on the driveway into the facility and continuing to work with Caltrans.

“The submittal will include environmental, biological and traffic study update,” she added. “There will be another meeting with residents adjacent to our property. We are proposing a traffic signal at the main entrance to the church parking lot.”

Answering questions about the project, Herber said traffic signals around the church will be green during the week, that the church will not run a daycare, and that the purpose of the gym is to “help keep kids off the street.”

This is a long process and the public can provide comments at four different steps: environmental review, the public review period, at Navajo Community Planners Inc., at the Planning Commission and City Council.

SDSU West Park: Rachel Gregg showed the planning process and introduced Glenn Schmidt, president of GSC, the firm designing the park at SDSU West.

A community advisory group has been involved in designing the SDSU park and there have been several community workshops. The park is approximately 60 acres within the 80 acres of open space that is part of the entire SDSU West complex. Glenn discussed how important public input has been in designing the park. The site is designed to accommodate the 100-year flood. The 2-mile walk/bike path will loop around the park. There are all types of trails throughout the park complex and we have the San Diego River Trail. There are 83 parking spaces plus a drop-off area for the park.

The new 35,000-seat stadium is to open in the fall of 2022. There are 100-foot buffers along Murphy Canyon Creek. There is also connection with the San Diego River.

“We are creating about 1 acre of wetlands,” he said. “There will be a native vegetation edge on the south and east ends of the park. There is also interest in a community garden. We will be planting a variety of food-producing plants. There will be six large sports fields, each about the size of a football field. There will be two public restroom buildings. We looked for shade opportunities. The area underneath the overhead trolley tracks will be used for part of the shade area. There will a skate area underneath the overhead trolley tracks — not a skateboard park, but an area where skateboarding will be allowed. By 2023, the park should be done.”

For more information about the entire SDSU West project, go to https://missionvalley.sdsu.edu.

The next meeting of the Del Cerro Action Council will be Thursday, April 23, 7 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El.

— Jay Wilson is secretary of the Del Cerro Action Council.