{"id":249776,"date":"2016-01-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/letters-to-the-editor-jan-29\/"},"modified":"2016-01-29T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-01-29T08:00:00","slug":"letters-to-the-editor-jan-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/letters-to-the-editor-jan-29\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters to the editor \u2013 Jan. 29"},"content":{"rendered":"

About affordable housing<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Re: \u201cAffordable housing: Is the city about to get serious about the problem?\u201d [Volume 8, Issue 2 or <\/em>bit.ly\/236SRhU<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank you for publishing this piece on affordable housing, and highlighting the efforts of the North Park Planning Committee to address the problem. Adding density along the El Cajon Boulevard transit corridor makes sense, considering SANDAG\u2019s Rapid Bus (and future trolley line) investments there.<\/p>\n

What a contrast between the planning chairs of the North Park and KenTal community planning groups. As a resident of Kensington, I was embarrassed to read why our planning chair opposes new housing. Mr. Moty mentions a lack of \u201cinfrastructure\u201d four times, yet never explains what that means. Do the huge public transit infrastructure investments in the El Cajon Boulevard and SR-15 Rapid Buses not count?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m afraid that for Mr. Moty, only widening and adding more roads count as infrastructure. This just creates more traffic, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, which contradict the city\u2019s Climate Action Plan. And how do we widen roads without tearing down existing housing?<\/p>\n

\u2014Paul Jamason via our website,<\/em> sduptownnews.com<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rent control is the only practical solution, there is no way in our region to build our way out of this crisis. Demand will always exceed supply in our little slice of paradise.<\/p>\n

\u2014Bruce Coons via our website<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank you for\u00a0the article about San Diego’s high housing costs.\u00a0Why, however, is there no mention at City Hall\/City Council about rent control?<\/p>\n

I lived in Los Angeles 1979-1988. If it hadn’t been for rent control, I would have been even hungrier than I already was, since jobs in the entertainment field were sporadic.<\/p>\n

With rent control, landlords can raise the rent periodically, using a certain percentage rate.\u00a0After the tenant moves out they can raise the base rent.<\/p>\n

Rent control has the benefit of encouraging long-term tenants, which saves landlords from expensive turnovers.\u00a0Plus, we got to know our neighbors! People stayed long enough to get acquainted and feel a sense of community \u2014 a big plus in a huge city.<\/p>\n

\u2014C. L. Morgan ?of San Diego, via email<\/em><\/p>\n

I find Ms. Granowitz\u2019s comments disingenuous. At its meeting on Jan. 19, the North Park Planning Committee \u201capproved in concept\u201d the city\u2019s proposal for increasing the base density along El Cajon and Park boulevards to 109 dwellings per acre with a density bonus of up 145 dwellings per acre. The proposal does not include any requirements for affordable housing. For more information, visit bit.ly\/1SIzyrC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/em>Kristin Harms via our website<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Doing this just right<\/strong><\/p>\n

My name is Tom Barb.\u00a0I am a 19-year resident of Talmadge, living on Adams Avenue. I just wanted to give you some personal feedback.<\/p>\n

I truly enjoy seeing the Uptown News when it gets delivered to our front yard. \u00a0I like the paper and its contents everything from the local news, opinion, politics, dining, classifieds, fitness, and community voices.<\/p>\n

It is nice to see truly local neighborhood news in a format that is easy to follow and interesting to many different readers here in the \u201cuptown\u201d area of San Diego. It\u2019s not too much and it\u2019s not too little. \u00a0Just right in my opinion.<\/p>\n

Keep up the great work!<\/p>\n

\u2014Tom Barb, chair of Talmadge Community Council, via email<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reaction to\u00a0opinion column<\/strong><\/p>\n

Re: \u201cBuy small, build big, hold for the return\u201d [Volume 8, Issue 2, <\/em>bit.ly\/1T9imuK<\/a>]<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Uptown News is always full of useful information and we look forward to reading the news of local politics and the neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

In the January 15-28 edition, I was surprised to read an editorial brazenly titled \u201cBuy small, build big, hold for the return\u201d calling on investors to buy and demolish single family homes in City Heights for replacement with apartment buildings.<\/p>\n

Accompanying the article was a photo of a charming, smallish Craftsman house, perhaps needing paint, but certainly with a century of beloved use by San Diego families in its past, remaining a handsome, character-filled and desirable house today. Such houses and neighborhoods have served San Diegans well for nearly a century. Older housing and walkable commercial districts make our neighborhoods beautiful, historic, unique and increasingly desirable.<\/p>\n

Author Eric Domeier says such older housing stock represents an \u201copportunity\u201d for the small investor to cash in by taking advantage of zoning to put four units on a lot currently occupied by a single older house. The consequences of such greed and shortsighted opportunism are familiar and on display already in neighborhoods throughout the city. Investors cash in but future blight beckons.<\/p>\n

San Diego\u2019s mid-city neighborhoods have been down this road before in the 1970s and 1980s when thousands of perfectly livable houses were demolished to make way for the ubiquitous, ugly box apartment buildings with parking on what had once been front yards. These buildings replaced modest Craftsman and Spanish-style houses that, had they survived, would now sell for upwards of $500,000 in North Park, Normal Heights and Talmadge. Instead, the neighborhoods are permanently blighted by ugly apartment buildings that are widely recognized to have been disastrous for the livability, beauty and long-term value of our neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Architectural critics have derided these structures as \u201cHuffman six-packs.\u201d If developers want to build infill, why not replace the ugly apartment buildings of the 1970s, instead of destroying the original houses of the 1920s?<\/p>\n

San Diegans should stand together to preserve and protect the long-term public value of our vulnerable neighborhoods from the blight and greed of short-term private opportunism. Once our charming neighborhoods are gone, they are gone for good.<\/p>\n

\u2014Michael Provence of South Park, via email to <\/em>ken@sdcnn.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

[Editor\u2019s note: The final draft of the North Park Community Plan update specifically encourages developers to target the \u201cHuffman six-packs\u201d in North Park, many of which were built between University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard. Read the cover story about the update plan for more details on the incentive program called Pedestrian-Oriented Infill Development Density Bonus.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Excellent article and a true motivator to the small developer. Thank you I look forward to reading more from Eric.<\/p>\n

\u2014Ed Badrak via our website<\/em><\/p>\n

These properties may be zoned for more density than they are currently utilizing. But, that doesn\u2019t make them necessarily good candidates for residential makeovers. Isn\u2019t there a need for a critical mass of commercial services and goods? Not to mention public areas for recreation and open spaces for relaxation? Just building up without partnering in these other requirements for habitation is the equivalent of building rows and rows of suburban tract homes that have no civic center. Potential needs to be aligned with reality.<\/p>\n

Some of what you might consider denser housing has been done before in the form of \u201cHuffman six-packs.\u201d Obviously, these are a scourge and just look ugly. Developers took the small lots and went for the greatest gross square footage possible.<\/p>\n

This kind of blight might not happen again, but I sincerely doubt the selflessness of the newest form of developer and devotee of the pro forma model of housing. Just because something looks good on paper doesn\u2019t mean that it will be realized in the third dimension as quality construction. We live in a capitalist society that sees dollar signs in just about every human endeavor including the built environment.<\/p>\n

\u2014reisubrocel via our website<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spreading the love <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Re: \u201cBehind the imperial fa\u00e7ade\u201d [Volume 9, Issue 2 <\/em>o <\/em>bit.ly\/1TdtE0Z<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

Love this restaurant [Chop Suey | Peking Restaurant in North Park]. I have friends that have gone there for lunch every Friday for more than 30 years.<\/p>\n

\u2014Char-Lou Benedict via our website<\/em><\/p>\n

Against massive project<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Re: \u201cHillcrest Town Council opposes televangelist\u2019s project\u201d [Volume 8, Issue 2 or <\/em>bit.ly\/1OLLaUz<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

This project [Morris Cerullo International Legacy Center] will have a detrimental impact on Mission Valley! Also, this type of ministry that does not believe in equality for all people is not welcome in San Diego!<\/p>\n

\u2014Benny Cartwright via our website<\/em><\/p>\n

Against North Park store<\/strong><\/p>\n

Re: \u201cSmart & Final Extra! concept explained\u201d <\/em>[Volume 7, Issue 26, or at bit.ly\/1QX2R9b<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

If they aren\u2019t going to offer a bakery, deli or meat department what good will it be to the neighborhood? Too many grocery stores have been closed recently. This deal should be squashed.<\/p>\n

\u2014Mark Dahl via our website<\/em><\/p>\n

Comments on bicycling<\/strong><\/p>\n

Re: Comments made on \u201cMetro San Diego CDC supports separated bicycle lanes\u201d <\/em>[<\/em>Volume 7, Issue 22 or bit.ly\/1P3rzSK<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Great comments W.D. Snell!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve commuted by bicycle to work daily for the past eight years.<\/p>\n

I fully agree with all your four suggestions.<\/p>\n

I moved here from Washington and at first I was surprised at the number of cyclist flagrantly breaking laws. I\u2019ve almost had two collisions with cyclists that failed to stop at four-way stop signs. It\u2019s time to start aggressively citing dangerous cyclists.<\/p>\n

Likewise, there is a non-trivial percentage of aggressive drivers that endanger cyclists \u2014 trying to \u201cbeat cyclists\u201d when making right turns; turning left in front of oncoming cyclists, bike lane violations; failure to provide 3 feet when passing \u2014 that I experience daily. I would add a fifth suggestion \u2014 issuing citations to drivers needlessly endangering cyclists.<\/p>\n

\u2014J. Cherry via our website<\/em><\/p>\n

Missing a piece of history<\/strong><\/p>\n

Re: \u201cHip and historic North Park\u201d [Volume 6, Issue 20 or bit.ly\/1VejxYd<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

A well-known and historically significant business that seems to be missing from the recent history books is Zumwalt\u2019s North Park Cyclery. The bicycle shop operated in the heart of North Park for 66 years at 2811 University Ave., across from the old Palisade Skating Rink.<\/p>\n

It originally opened in 1930 as a small lawn mower and bicycle repair shop a few blocks to the west. My dad Bob Zumwalt Sr. and his father Leslie Zumwalt relocated to the much larger permanent location on Sept. 1, 1931 \u2014 just one day before my father\u2019s 18th birthday. In the late 1940s, my Dad bought my grandfather\u2019s share of the business and renamed it Zumwalt\u2019s North Park Bicycle Co.<\/p>\n

From that day forward, our entire family worked in the shop \u2014 my mother, my uncle Bob Haynes, my brother Bob Jr., my sister Donna, and myself (Shirlee). As children, we literally grew up in that shop. We all have great memories of Zumwalt\u2019s, the location, the schools and all of the other businesses in that area.<\/p>\n

In 1982, my brother Bob and I bought the business from my father. We ran it together until 1989, when I bought my brother\u2019s share of the store. My brother and his wife moved to Oregon, where they still live. I ran the shop, mostly with the help of my sons Todd and Brian. In 1995, Todd opened his own shop, Zumwalt\u2019s College Cyclery on the 6400 block of El Cajon Blvd. He is still in business there \u2014 doing very well. My other son, Brian, is also still in the bicycle business working at Haro Bicycle Co. in Vista, California. I closed the North Park store in 1996.<\/p>\n

There is so much history surrounding the shop and the family. My Dad was a prime mover in constructing San Diego\u2019s first velodrome in Balboa Park. He sponsored many bicycle riders and events for many years. My brother Bob was a national junior racing champion. His memorabilia is still in the San Diego Hall of Champions. At 78 years old, he still rides centuries and competes in races. He can still outride a lot of younger men.<\/p>\n

My question is: Why is Zumwalt\u2019s missing from then current history books and articles about North Park? It is such a well-known name to many thousands of San Diegoans. Many generations remember Zumwalt\u2019s as where they got their first bicycle. Very few family businesses have a longer local history \u2014 86 years old in September. And yet, I don\u2019t see it mentioned in past or current North Park history books. Yes, that hurts, a tad. Nevertheless, I am proud to say that through my family and my son Todd, Zumwalt\u2019s is in their fourth generation of bicycling and serving San Diego and plan to continue to for years to come. Thank you for your time and interest.<\/p>\n

\u2014Shirlee (Zumwalt) Geiger via our website<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014Send letters to the editor to <\/em>ken@sdcnn.com<\/em><\/a> or via the San Diego Uptown News website or our Facebook page.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About affordable housing\u00a0 Re: \u201cAffordable housing: Is the city about to get serious about the problem?\u201d [Volume 8, Issue 2 or bit.ly\/236SRhU] Thank you for publishing this piece on affordable housing, and highlighting the efforts of the North Park Planning Committee to address the problem. Adding density along the El Cajon Boulevard transit corridor makes […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":248987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Letters to the editor \u2013 Jan. 29","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11593,11552,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-no-images","category-opinion","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}