por Jay Wilson

By the time you read this article, the city of San Diego’s Planning Commission will most likely have voted to approve or disapprove the ColRich Development on College Avenue.  The agenda was posted Thursday afternoon, Sept. 7. The results of the Planning Commission meeting will be posted at delcerroactioncouncil.org.

Mark Rawlins, the chair of the Del Cerro Action Council (DCAC) and I met with Rachel Gregg, the new community relations manager for SDSU to discuss concerns and moving forward regarding solving the issue of Adobe Falls.

Rawlins and I both agree there is a new, and positive, spirit of cooperation on the campus of SDSU. Sally Rosch, the interim president of SDSU for at least another year, has made overtures to the residents of College View Estates regarding the proposed 2,700 beds initially to be constructed across the street from Tony Gwynn Stadium and behind the multi-story dorm, Chapultepec Hall.

This was a project the university began working on two years before they announced the project last December to the residents of College View Estates. President Rosch has already significantly reduced the number of beds that could be built.

We explained that former SDSU president Elliot Hirshmann certainly extended an olive branch to Del Cerro at a reception at a home in Del Cerro, but when we followed up, we were told it was not the time to meet and they would be working with Councilmember Sherman and his office. We told Rachel we felt the olive branch was offered as part of his effort to encourage people to financially support the university.

Rawlins emphasized we are very willing to work with the university to hold another clean-up of the Adobe Falls area; something we did about this time three years ago.

Our major emphasis was Adobe Falls and the negative impact it continues to have on our community. We presented a letter for President Rosch. The letter proposes a number of possibilities for SDSU to consider in solving the never-ending problems caused by Adobe Falls and the on-going negative significance it has on the residents adjacent to Adobe Falls. One is turning the property to the San Diego River Conservancy; a state agency.

The Del Cerro Action Council meets quarterly and our next meeting is Thursday, 7 p.m. on Oct. 28 at Temple Emanu-El.  And a big thank you to Temple Emanu-El for their continued support of DCAC by offering their meeting room to us.

—Jay Wilson is secretary of the Del Cerro Action Council. Reach him at [email protected].