–CORRECTON APPENDED–
San Diego City Council President and District 1 Councilman Scott Peters faced a series of questions Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the University City Planning Group (UCPG) meeting, when both residents and planning group members requested his response to several community-wide issues.
A main concern of the board, which was voiced by UCPG chair Linda Colley and backed by several other group members, was the lack of a Facilities Benefit Assessment (FBA) audit. The FBA fees are charged to land owners who propose new permits for land use, and costs are determined from Average Daily Trips (ADT) generated by the project. Fees are put in a special fund that is controlled by the city.
“For four years, since I have been a member of this board, we have been asking for an audit of the FBA to see line by line where the money is going,” Colley said to Peters, as he stood in front of a crowd of about 50 residents.
A public record that Colley obtained indicated that money from the FBA fund was being used to conduct additional studies for the North-South Corridor Study for Regents Road and other design alternatives for that project, according to Colley.
She questioned Peters about why money was continuing to be spent when the project, which was approved by City Council but is still under litigation because of a lawsuit filed by the Friends of Rose Canyon, could not be immediately acted upon. The public document also indicated that the same consulting firm that had inadequately produced the first environmental impact report (EIR) would be in charge of compiling a second one, according to Colley.
“It is fiscally irresponsible to move ahead designing a bridge and designing alternatives and designing a new EIR when it is in litigation, because nobody knows how that litigation is going to turn out,” Colley said after the meeting.
Peters pointed out during the meeting that his priority was to make sure the project would not impact North University City and the surrounding communities in a negative way.
“I’m as interested as you are about where the money is going with the FBA,” Peters said. “I will check and follow up with you and get an answer to you directly.”
UCPG board member George Lattimer commented that it may be difficult for the city to arrange an audit for University City when it had trouble executing audits on its own staff. North University City is classified as a “planned urbanizing” area and is one of nine communities in the city of San Diego that are subject to FBA fees. North UC is the only community that has FBA fees determined by project ADT “” all other community projects are billed by project square footage.
“We have had FBA fees since 1987 and never have had an audit,” Colley said. “There has to be checks and balances with this money and there has to be oversight, and right now we have a pot of money and no oversight.”
Four residents also spoke out against the Monte Verde project, which proposes two 32-story towers and two 35-story towers on a 4.46-acre parcel of land at the corner of Genesee Avenue and La Jolla Village Drive, stating that it would ruin the overall feel of the community and cause increased density in an already overly dense area.
Peters told residents that he would not get involved and form an opinion on the issue until the UCPG had finished reviewing the final EIR, which should be available during the first part of the New Year.