By Kaitlin Perry | SDUN Reporter

A series of meetings this month addressing issues in the North and South Park communities has allowed residents to express their views about issues from the area’s thriving bar and restaurant scene to the proliferation of utility boxes in the area.

On April 20, the North Park Community Plan Update Advisory Committee meeting addressed both the positive and negative effects of North Park’s booming bar and restaurant scene.

“What mix [of retail to hospitality] do we want?” was the primary question of the evening—many attendees expressing the view that balance is important.

The more bars and restaurants, the “[m]ore drunk people will be set loose on the residential community,” said one. The “already intrusive” noise level, as well as existing parking issues, will increase, added others.

Last year, the community protested Stone Brewing Co.’s arrival in South Park. Elizabeth Studebaker executive director of North Park Main Street, an organization that promotes community development supporting arts, culture, and entertainment, while preserving the historical integrity of North Park, said crime statistics are used to consider new alcohol licenses in the area.

There’s been closer scrutiny of the licensing process based on crime statistics,” she said. Studebaker also noted that growth of the hospitality industry in North Park is due to the district “catching up” to other areas. “North Park has been a commercial district since the 1930s; the residential areas grew up around it. But there was little hospitality industry,” she said.

North Park residents at the meeting, however, expressed concern—proposing increasing latenight private transit services and extending food-serving hours to offset detrimental effects of the area’s night life, along with turning a designated area into an arts and entertainment district.

David Cohen, owner of West Coast Tavern on University Avenue and North Park Main Street board member, suggested that turning University Avenue and 30th Street into an arts and entertainment district concentrated in a four-block square would be the most effective way of managing the influx of people who visit North Park for entertainment purposes. He emphasized the need to “focus efforts on making [an arts and entertainment district] clean, safe and pedestrian friendly in the evening,” citing Little Italy as an example of what North Park could be if its services were “upped.”

Participants also discussed free parking and using the parking garage on 29th Street. However, Susan Tinsky, executive director of the San Diego Housing Federation, expressed the importance of turning North Park into a car-free community. Calling cars a “detriment to our quality of life,” Tinsky proposed incentives to “get people out of their cars,” thus reducing the strain on parking availability.

While agreeing that reducing car use in North Park would benefit the community, however, one participant noted that people who drive from outside the area would still need a place to park. Still another attendee furthered the discussion by saying that, as technology advances, cars will need a place to “plug in.”

The permit process also arose for discussion. No matter how the area’s night life evolves, the advisory committee acknowledged it is in the city’s best interests to enforce the permit process for businesses. “The laws exist,” committee chair Vicki Granowitz said, “but they aren’t being enforced.”

Fast-food establishments with drive-thrus, the growing popularity of food trucks and the “unsightliness” of utility boxes were next on the agenda, the main complaints about the latter including: their “unsightliness,” “dangers posed to pedestrians” and “negative effect on property values.”

As an alternative to utility boxes, Cheryl Dye, principal of Dye & Associates, proposed underground vaults. She cited goals of reducing the ratio of units to homes, eliminating transformers in front of properties, identifying placing options for underground vaults, reviewing progress on new technology and design standards, expanding easements so as to maintain adequate pedestrian walkways and running SDG&E lateral conduits underground to electrical service panels.

Earlier this week, on April 27, concerned residents presented a series of steps to resolve the utility box issue, including creating a task force with the city, to the Community Planning Committee.

Also on April 27, the North Park Community Association Board of Directors meeting discussed a variety of topics, including: this year’s Summer Concert Series (volunteers are needed); the ALBA/Community Park Security Camera and infrastructure improvements, elections of a new board of directors and president.

For a schedule of community meetings in North Park, visit: northparkmainstreet.com.