Fourteen candidates vying for five open spots on the Peninsula Community Planning Board talked about themselves, their community and why they should represent it at a March 3 forum. The advisory group election will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 17 at Point Loma/Hervey Library, 3701 Voltaire St. The terms for the five vacancies will run through March of 2019. Forum moderator Jon Linney thanked attendees, introduced the candidates and asked the questions. Candidate Michael Haeggquist said he’s seen a lot of change in the community in the five years he’s been there. “I want to get my feet wet and get more involved in the community,” Haeggquist said, adding, “I want to see it change for the better.” He said his 30 years’ experience in construction and his architectural degree will help him judge projects coming before the board. Retired Navy pilot Jerry Lohla, who spearheaded opposition against the Plum Street “perpetual remodel,” said that “My wife and I moved here because of the quality of life, and we want to help preserve that.”
Brad Herrin, a real estate agent and third-generation Point Loman, said he’s seen changes in the community “both good and bad.” An empty-nester, he said he’d like an opportunity to “give back to the community I grew up in and help it go forward.”
Laura Miller said she likes the “charm” of Point Loma. She said she got engaged civically when a house built near her was oversize. “The Point Loma Community Plan, which needs to be updated, is my Bible,” she said.
A Point Loma Nazarene University grad student, Samantha Stockton said she’d “fallen in love with this community,” adding she’d like the chance to promote it. Stockton said she and other students were very much in favor of a grocery store, not a pharmacy, replacing the old Fresh & Easy on Catalina Boulevard. “Students want to have some say on topics like that,” she said.
Incumbent Nicole Burgess, a bicycling enthusiast who represents Council District 2, which includes Point Loma, grew up in Ocean Beach and has three teenage daughters. “I want to improve public health and safety and increase our transportation options for everyone on the Peninsula and around San Diego,” she said.
A Navy veteran and Roseville resident, Don Costello said he was most concerned about growing density, noting, “I don’t want to see us continue to see how many people we can squeeze into Roseville with zero setbacks and buildings 45 feet tall.”
James Davisson, who lives in Liberty Station and whose wife is active duty military, said he’d like to promote alternative modes of travel other than cars, adding, “I’d like to help get people out moving alternatively.”
Joe Holasek said he came to San Diego out of architectural school in Arizona and got a job out here and couldn’t leave. “I’d like to bring an architect’s perspective to (building) design in the community with development that is sensibly placed and appropriate,” he said.
Incumbent Jarvis Ross said the most important thing about being an advisory board member is “representing the people that live here. I’m supportive of projects that conform with the community plan,” he said. “But we have to be respectful of the people that live here and protect against the projects that don’t belong here.”
Geoff Page, who grew up in a Navy family and has previously been on the board, took issue with projects using “liberal” measurements to calculate the 30-foot height limit building restriction. “Somebody has to watch the city giving variances,” he said, adding he also doesn’t like the “50 percent rule” that allows builders to do mostly new construction if they just leave the bare bones of existing development.”
Sam Laub, a Roseville resident with an engineering degree, said, “I want to be active to help seniors in the community” while noting population projections indicated “there will be 40 percent population growth here by 2050. We have to watch very carefully the structures being built.”
Incumbent Patricia Clark, a Liberty Station resident, has been on the board six years. “I want to serve the community and their concerns about building and parking,” Clark said. “We need a cohesive board that will address issues in a professional and thoughtful manner.”
City planner Geoffrey Plagemann said he wants to see building done that’s “environmentally sustainable. I’ve done a lot of urban design,” he said. “I want the community to have a voice and use my experience to give back to the community.”