{"id":314994,"date":"2022-09-09T13:27:54","date_gmt":"2022-09-09T20:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/?p=314994"},"modified":"2022-09-09T13:28:50","modified_gmt":"2022-09-09T20:28:50","slug":"residents-map-plan-update-recommendations-for-city-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/residents-map-plan-update-recommendations-for-city-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents map Plan Update recommendations for City officials"},"content":{"rendered":"

The College Area Community Plan Update (CACPU) has remained a hot topic throughout 2022. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After community members overwhelmingly rejected two housing development scenarios proposed by the City in an online survey last May, they spent the late spring and summer advocating their own plan for the future of the College Area.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Their plan, which they call the 7 Visions, resulted from years of community engagement in the planning process. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Foremost, the 7 Visions plan preserves single-family homes in College Area neighborhoods. It also focuses future development along main corridors and at key intersections, referred to as nodes. It\u2019s a plan the community stands behind, but is yet to be embraced by City staff.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than give up or give in, residents showed up en masse at two in-person meetings to share their ideas and preferences for College Area development through 2050. On June 6, more than 100 community members met at Faith Presbyterian Church to attend a planning meeting co-hosted by the College Area Community Council (CACC), and Neighbors for a Better San Diego (NFABSD). They worked in groups to make recommendations for future development on maps of the College Area, aiming to balance the needs of both current and future residents. These maps were based on anticipated population growth and housing needs in 2050, as projected by SANDAG Series 14 forecasts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On June 29, about 125 community members attended an open house convened by City planning staff at College Avenue Baptist Church. Participants read informational poster boards which described planning elements and then attached Post-it Notes to give feedback to questions about things like land use, mobility, urban design and parks. Participants also had the chance to complete a mapping exercise, using colored highlighters to indicate their preferences for the type, height and placement of future housing, as well as parks.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A month later, Planning Department staff used the July 27 meeting of the Plan Update Subcommittee to share a summary of what was drawn on the maps and written on the Post-it Notes, which they received during the June 29 open house. Held via Zoom,103 people took time to attend the meeting. One person logged on between 1:30 and 3:30 a.m. during a family vacation abroad. When asked why taking part in the meeting was so important to this College Area resident, Danna Givot stated, \u201cBecause it is of the utmost importance to the future of my community. I\u2019ve been attending Zoom policy meetings about the College Area Community Plan, internationally, all summer. When your home and community are being threatened with unjustified upzoning, there is no such thing as vacation. I cannot afford to take time off while the Planning Department quietly plans to double, triple or even quadruple the density of our community.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Nathen Causman, a city planner and the project manager for the CACPU, informed participants that he digitized the feedback from the maps and notes, and summarized responses into broad themes. He noted that 68 maps were completed at the meeting and one was returned by email. He went on to describe the maps, acknowledging that 16 maps reflected a desire for no change. Another 15 maps suggested a preference for low to medium-scale housing on El Cajon Boulevard (ECB), while 22 maps indicated support for medium to high-scale future development along ECB. Beyond ECB, Causman said 20 more maps looked to \u201cAlvarado Canyon and corridors near SDSU to accommodate more homes in the community.\u201d The last few maps showed interest in \u201cactivity centers\u201d and \u201ccampus town\u201d developments, with 5 and 7 maps, respectively. Only three maps indicated support for townhouse-style infill in existing single-family neighborhoods.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With regard to handwritten input, Causman said he summarized 269 comments, again grouping them by theme. The top themes were: infrastructure and services (96), housing and mixed-use corridors (33), preserve single-family homes (33), and other things on Post-its that didn\u2019t fit the themes, like questions (24), low-scale development (15), prioritize parking (11), auto congestion (10), green streets (7), Soria Drive (7), and roundabouts (5). A few outliers mentioned preserving historic resources, SDSU access, and concerns about eminent domain.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The top themes seemingly paint a picture of what participants most favor: a community with active parks and amenities, mixed-use development on existing transit routes like ECB, neighborhoods of single-family homes, more parking, and less auto congestion.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After sharing the key themes, Causman said, \u201cWe are trying to take all of the feedback and incorporate it into refined land use scenarios.\u201d While that sounds supportive, community members know it hasn\u2019t been their ideas that are guiding the scenarios; it\u2019s been state-mandated housing and climate and equity goals.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When asked, Nancy Graham, a city planner who co-hosted the July 27 meeting, told participants about some of these factors that are driving the degree of rezoning necessary to yield a yet-to-be-determined target number of housing units. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She informed them that, \u201cHousing goals are based on a series of policy objectives, including examples, like RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Assessment) requirements, creating enough building capacity to make redevelopment feasible, and creating housing to meet different price points and social equity goals.\u201d She went on to say, \u201cThe state holds us to targets of building housing, and the city is massively behind on those targets. But, the City in and of itself, we don\u2019t build housing, so we have to create enough viable sites to yield that building housing growth.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hearing that the city is massively behind on its housing targets, prompted Givot to say, \u201cThat is no excuse to punish the communities that happen to be working on community plan updates, with excessive upzoning. The College Area should plan for the growth it is anticipated to experience by 2050, not for the shortfall the City as a whole is experiencing in achieving its RHNA goals.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jim Jennings, Chair of the College Area Community Planning Board, said he understood the role of the RHNA policy goals, but circled back to the community\u2019s own goal to not have its single-family neighborhoods upzoned for high-rises. He stated, \u201cWe are not NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard- objection to undesired building in one\u2019s neighborhood), we know there\u2019s going to have to be growth, but we want smart growth, not a growth at any expense. The 7 Visions accommodated that with the nodes along El Cajon (Blvd.), Montezuma, and such.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jennings\u2019 statement and other comments that questioned the City\u2019s lack of support for the 7 Visions plan, led Nancy Graham to say that if the community wants a community plan that reflects the \u201c7 Visions,\u201d the community will have to produce it themselves. She further stated, \u201cWe are open to allowing this group to draw another map that we can bring into the environmental process for analysis. The same way we would be analyzing the alternatives brought forward by the Planning Department, so it can be considered by the City Council or Planning Commission through the decision-making process.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And, so the College Area community did just that.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

During a specially-convened August 27 community meeting at the College Area\/Rolando Library, the housing aspect of the 7 Visions plan was actualized on a map. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Robert Montana, Chair of the Plan Update Subcommittee of the College Area Community Planning Board and Geoff Hueter, Chair of Neighbors for a Better San Diego, a grassroots advocacy group, adeptly assisted community members to draw their recommended placement and scale for the development of 5,500 future housing units. This estimated target number is based on current SANDAG Series 14 population data, persons per household calculations, RHNA requirements, housing yield in progress, and other factors. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Community members recommend these areas for 5,500 units of additional housing:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1. Alvarado Road from College Avenue to 70th Street (2,000 additional units)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2. North side of El Cajon Blvd. from Collwood Blvd. to 73rd Street (2,000)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

3. Montezuma Road from College Avenue to El Cajon Blvd. (500)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

4. East side of College Avenue from College Avenue Baptist Church to Mesita Drive (500)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

5. Montezuma Road from 55th Street to Campanile (500) to be 5-7 stories, stepping down to 3 stories on the north side of Mary Lane Drive.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Each area on the map reflects the community\u2019s 7 Visions, which preserve single-family homes while zoning for high-density housing development along the major corridors and at the intersecting nodes. Currently being digitized, the map will be shared during several upcoming meetings.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

September Meetings<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Three meetings about the Plan Update are scheduled in September and all community members are encouraged to participate. The Planning Board will meet in-person on Sept. 14. The community\u2019s map will be presented to board members for adoption during this meeting. On Sept. 28, the Plan Update Subcommittee will meet by Zoom to further discuss Land Use & Urban Design and view a presentation of the City\u2019s refined development scenarios, based on all the community input. The next day, City staff will make the same presentation during an informational workshop for the Planning Commission during its Sept. 29 meeting, which typically starts at 9 a.m. The community expects their 7 Vision plan to be presented alongside City-generated scenarios.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

See these websites for meeting announcements and other information:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

plancollegearea.org<\/a> (Plan Update information, meeting announcement, documents)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Collegearea.org<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

nfabsd.org<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

sandiego.gov\/planning-commission<\/a> (public hearing)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

sandag.org<\/a> (RHNA, data)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

City staff remind community members that this plan will develop over the course of some 30 years; properties are not at risk of development through eminent domain (the power of government to take private property and convert it into public use).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span><\/span><\/span>Karen Austin is a College Area resident and new member of the College Area Community Council, not the Planning Board<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(Photos by Karen Austin)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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The College Area Community Plan Update (CACPU) has remained a hot topic throughout 2022. After community members overwhelmingly rejected two housing development scenarios proposed by the City in an online survey last May, they spent the late spring and summer advocating their own plan for the future of the College Area. Their plan, which they […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1115,"featured_media":314997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11550","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"The College Area Community Plan Update (CACPU) has remained a hot topic throughout 2022.","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"3","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"1","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":""},"jnews_social_meta":{"fb_title":"","fb_description":"","fb_image":"","twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[11562,11550],"tags":[12437,13100,12513,13278,14084],"class_list":["post-314994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-times-courier","category-top-stories","tag-college-area","tag-community","tag-homes","tag-neighborhoods","tag-plan-update"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314994","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\/1115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/314997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}