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Flooding has been a problem for businesses along the Alvarado Creek for years and in 2017, the city took steps to address the issue when it produced the Grantville Trolley Station\/Alvarado Creek Revitalization Study \u2014 a $500,000 Transnet grant funded project that produced a plan to widen Alvarado Creek and fix the flooding problem. The plan was adopted by the Navajo Community Planners in May 2017 but has yet to be adopted by the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause this report is only a study, it bears no legal requirement for developers to adhere to,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt has not been adopted by development services, nor was it included as part of the community plan update.\u201d<\/p>\n
This creates an immediate problem, Smith argued, because current plans to develop housing on MTS property at Grantville Trolley Station allows the developers to obtain building permits without requirements to contribute to the costs and implement final flooding solutions for the study.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe strongly ask the City Council to endorse and close this loophole forever and adopt the study before our community loses the opportunity to build approximately 4,000 units around a major transit corridor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Smith is one of a group of property owners along Alvarado Creek who hopes to one day redevelop their light industrial use properties into dense housing \u2014 a goal that matches the city\u2019s climate action plan as well as SANDAG\u2019s regional plan for transportation.<\/p>\n
Grantville Trolley Station housing projects<\/strong><\/p>\n Smith\u2019s urgency for the city to take action on the Alvarado Creek study is spurned by proposed housing projects at the Grantville Trolley Station. Two developers, Greystar and Affirmed Housing, have plans to build 261 student housing units and 182 affordable housing units, respectively.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is important to note is the total density of the two projects is only 47.4 dwelling units per acre,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThe problem is, that is an incredibly low number. The focus plan amendment allows up to 109 dwelling units per acre on that site.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith said that the low density is understandable considering the high cost of building high-rise housing units.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make much sense for the developer to go any more than that because once you go more than that amount of density, construction costs change and you can\u2019t get the rents from the students to subsidize the steal construction,\u201d he said \u201cThe issue is, you only get to build around a trolley station one time. This is a one-time shot.\u201d<\/p>\n In mid-January, Smith and other stakeholders along Alvarado Creek met with MTS to discuss the projects and how the developers and MTS plan on handling the Alvarado Creek study.<\/p>\n MTS, Smith said, plans on respecting the study by not building on any of the land marked for widening the creek and developing the structures needed to avert the flooding, which is good news for the other property owners along the creek who hope that the flood plan is someday implemented. But it was not all good news. Although the housing developments will not encroach on the land needed for the flood plan, MTS is looking to give the creek land to the city through the use of an IOD (irrevocable offer of dedication). This would essentially put the burden of financing the flood plan on the city.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat essentially that does is it stalls, kicks the can down the road, it sheds liability to the city and it negatively impacts all the property owners around the trolley station, except for MTS,\u201d Smith said. \u201cBecause their unwillingness to contribute and do their portion and push it to somebody else, that means that the rest of us that are in the flood plain will not be able to develop.\u201d<\/p>\n MTS Director of Marketing and Communications Rob Schupp said that MTS doesn\u2019t have a \u201cstrong position\u201d on the IOD yet. That plan was presented as one way the Grantville Trolley Station housing projects could move forward, while at the same time recognizing that the flooding mitigation needs to happen.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to move forward with the project, so we\u2019re doing the project in a way that doesn\u2019t preclude mitigation. But who pays for it, who\u2019s responsible, how it involves all the other property owners around there \u2014 I think that needs further discussion and we\u2019re kind of waiting for an official project by the city,\u201d Schupp said. \u201cUntil the city comes up with an official project that identifies all this stuff, it\u2019s hard to respond to a non-project.\u201d<\/p>\n Other options<\/strong><\/p>\n If the city does not officially adopt the Alvarado Creek study and turn it from a non-project to an official one, there could be repercussions for other property owners along Alvarado Creek. According to Smith, allowing MTS to pass on the cost of fixing the flooding to the city is an unnecessary burden on taxpayers and the other property owners. MTS, he argues, will be leasing the land for a sizeable sum of money \u2014 money that can be used in other ways, or not collected at all so developers have more leeway in building more density.<\/p>\n \u201cMTS is not a landlord, not a for-profit entity, they are a public agency,\u201d he said. \u201cSo if they are to do what\u2019s best for the housing crisis in San Diego, and what their mission statement is, [MTS] president Gomez should be more concerned about allowing the developers to build as much as they possibly can. And they shouldn\u2019t care if MTS even makes a dollar on their rental.\u201d<\/p>\n That would be one option. Another option for the property \u2014 one preferred by Smith \u2014 would be to allow the lower density projects to be built, but have the city reject the IOD and force MTS to eventually build its portion of the flood project. This would create a path toward finishing the Alvarado Creek flood plan and spurring redevelopment in Grantville that would bring thousands more housing units and increase ridership on the trolley.<\/p>\n \u201cThat would be a homerun for the community,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n