{"id":251098,"date":"2016-12-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-16T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/letters-to-the-editor-dec-16\/"},"modified":"2016-12-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-12-16T08:00:00","slug":"letters-to-the-editor-dec-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/letters-to-the-editor-dec-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters to the editor \u2013 Dec. 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

Excellent coverage of CPUs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks for providing timely and factual news on the Community Plan Updates for Uptown, North Park and Greater Golden Hill.<\/p>\n

Thanks, too, for publishing so many opinions and letters. They provided a diverse range of ideas on the plans. \u00a0<\/p>\n

I would love to see you interview a rational participant in each community plan and have them compare and contrast the process and outcomes.<\/p>\n

I’ve been involved in Uptown issues since moving here in 1984. Nothing much has changed, but fewer people can afford to live here and Hillcrest has gone straight downhill. The 1988 plan update included a downzone but protected canyons and open space. The proposed 2016 update was a downzone but gave us a greater possibility of mixed uses.<\/p>\n

We wasted seven years and more than $2 million arguing.<\/p>\n

The endless arguments rarely produced a millimeter of movement one way or the other between the no-growth\/historic preservation crowd and those who want sustainable growth. Every meeting I attended was split 50\/50 \u2014 if there were 12 people there or 200. Zero consensus.\u00a0That’s what Todd Gloria saw and he acted on it to get something done. He has more political and citywide experience than anybody else involved (aide, council member, interim mayor, council member, now elected to the Assembly). He was the right person to break the logjam.<\/p>\n

San Diego needs architectural review. We cannot write plans that produce good design or keep up with change.<\/p>\n

The community planning groups should be reconstituted as the review boards.<\/p>\n

This process works incredibly well in Santa Barbara, California. We laugh about Santa Barbara and the time it takes to get approvals and the cost of construction. But it\u2019s faster and cheaper than San Diego! And they actually create a community fabric of which most people are proud \u2014 and agree that infrastructure (transit, parks, open space, fire\/police, schools) is pretty good.<\/p>\n

I’d love to see architectural review in San Diego. I think it would address most of the concerns people have about density and height.<\/p>\n

It drives architects nuts.<\/p>\n

But there would be so much more work for architects I think they might handle the criticisms.<\/p>\n

\u2014Peter H. St. Clair of Mission Hills via email<\/em><\/p>\n

More on Uptown CPU<\/strong><\/p>\n

Re: Uptown Community Plan Update coverage at <\/em>bit.ly\/2h3NgGg<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Experience teaches us what to expect from developers in the Hillcrest core:<\/p>\n