Planning Committee says ‘super deck’ over SR 94 is high priority

By Dave Schwab | SDUN Reporter

At a June 26 special meeting, the Greater Golden Hill Planning Committee (GGHPC) evaluated numerous candidate park sites as part of the Golden Hill and Sherman Heights community plan updates, as well as discussed the need to include a “super deck” over state Route 94 as an update priority.

San Diego is embarking on an update to the 1988 Golden Hill Community Plan concurrently with updates to similar plans for North Park and Uptown. The Greater Golden Hill plan area is bounded by Interstate 5 on the west, SR 94 on the south and state Route 15 on the east. The area also includes South Park.

GGHPC chair Ruchell Alvarez led community planners in a spirited discussion of the region’s potential park inventory, debating the merits of likely – and not so likely – park-site candidates.

GGHPC’s review followed San Diego staff’s assessment of future park opportunities identified in previous public workshops, said Lynda Pfeifer, a senior public information officer for the City.

“The sites were ranked loosely in categories by park planning staff based upon a set of criteria and presented to the Planning Committee at previous meetings,” Pfeifer said. “At last Wednesday’s meeting, the Planning Committee made some adjustments to the rankings of several sites.”

Pfeifer said the information was provided to park planning staff in order to assist with drafting the Recreation Element for the update to the Golden Hill Community Plan, which will be released at a later date.

One potential GGHPC park site – the Gala Supermarket at 3030 Grape St. between 31st and Fern streets – did not make the grade. In fact, some GGHPC planners objected to its being included on the potential park list at all.

“It’s sort of an asphalt wasteland,” said GGHPC planner Susan Bugbee about the location, which includes the supermarket, a paved parking lot, recycling center, coffee cart and food wagon.

One community planner pointed out the privately owned supermarket site would have to be acquired by the City before any consideration could even be given to turning it into a park.

For that and other reasons, planner Pat Shield questioned the Gala site’s inclusion on the park list.

“In the past, the owners have been hounded by various special interests who’ve wanted to develop it,” she said. “I think it taints the property if we target it. By considering it as a park, this community is saying, ‘Get out. Move out.’”

But most other potential park sites considered by the group met with a great deal less opposition.

Community planners pointed out many of the sites being considered are already being used informally as such. Other potential sites that might be amenable to being turned into parks were eventually given lower priority by the group because of geographic constraints like small or uneven size, or lack of accessibility.

A notice sent out by Alvarez encouraging local residents to attend the special planning group meeting said “residents along the SR 94 corridor are overwhelmingly in support of a super deck,” or lid over the existing highway. Alvarez was citing a June 1 public meeting held by transportation officials to discuss the expansion of the highway.

The super-deck concept envisions creation of park space built over the highway, which could offer recreational alternatives in the Golden Hill area. Some believe the neighborhood presently suffers from a lack of adequate park space.

Such development, besides providing additional recreational space, could also offer views of San Diego’s Downtown, with some saying it has the potential to become a future tourist destination.

“The super deck over SR 94 was presented [by the City] as a site to be included in the Plan Update as a moderate priority,” Alvarez wrote in the notice. “To ensure its inclusion in the GGHPC Community Plan Update, the priority for this park site must be elevated to high.”

The GGHPC meets the second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the Balboa Park Golf Clubhouse, 2600 Golf Course Drive. For more information visit sandiego.gov/planning/community/.