A Pacific Beach acupuncture and chiropractic clinic is claiming a citation by the City’s Development Services Department is erroneous and could cost them tens of thousands of dollars in extra permit fees and potentially shut them down.
The businesses in question are Source Empowered Wellness and Habstritt Chiropractic at 4666 Cass St. The unresolved zoning and permitting issues on that property date back to May 13, 2021.
That was when the City issued a citation saying the Cass Street property was in violation of San Diego Municipal Codes and that the following issues needed to be corrected: unpermitted operating medical, chiropractic, yoga, and massage businesses; converting off-street enclosed parking space into office space to include interior partitions and electrical; and reduction of off-street parking.
“Source Empowered Wellness and Habstritt Chiropractic are being told that their use is not allowed where they have been operating for the last six years,” said Larry Michel, business manager for Source Empowered Wellness. “The tenants’ use fits within the designated services listed, specifically, beauty and personal care services. The City’s Code Enforcement Division is citing the proprietors of the businesses as operating medical, chiropractic, yoga, and massage. They do not do yoga, medical, or massage. They do acupuncture, which is not considered medical services or treatments.”
Noting Source Empowered Wellness is a low-cost clinic that has given well over 100,000 treatments to more than 5,000 people in Pacific Beach and La Jolla, Michel added: “It has been a labyrinthian process to get clarity on how to resolve this issue. We are being told we don’t belong where we have been for the last six years. We believe code enforcement has it all wrong. Rather than accept that they (City) made an error, they have told us that we need to apply for a special use permit or close the business down.”
The City of San Diego responded to the claims made by Source Empowered Wellness.
“The City of San Diego Development Services Department Code Enforcement Division does not make ‘discretionary decisions’ to ‘close down’ businesses,” said Scott Robinson, acting program coordinator for the City’s Communications Department. “Instead, Code Enforcement Division inspects properties and identifies applicable zoning and housing codes violations.
“The subject business illegally converted a garage on the property, triggering the first complaint Code Enforcement Division received. Code Enforcement Division confirmed the illegal construction and identified that the chiropractic and acupuncture business is operating in the Cass Street Commercial Planned District, which does list this use as permitted by right under San Diego Municipal Code. Personal services include grooming, which is permitted in the Cass Street Commercial Planned District.
“Business and professional offices may be permitted on the ground floor in accordance with the provisions of the municipal code, which requires a special use permit,” continued Robinson. “Development Services Department’s Land Development Review Division has provided information to the business on obtaining a permit to operate. Code Enforcement Division does have the authority to enforce municipal code violations. If a responsible party disagrees with a determination and does not comply, Code Enforcement Division will schedule an administrative hearing to confirm determination and assess penalties for noncompliance.”
“It has been a dream and honor to serve the Pacific Beach community with more than 100,000 treatments,” said Dr. Simone Ressner of her Cass Street holistic health clinic. “COVID caused needed safety measures, which cut our capacity to treat in half. We scrambled for solutions. We had an unusable garage space. So we built a safe and beautiful addition. Unfortunately, Code Enforcement came by and issued a citation for the build-out, and also one saying we were not zoned properly to do any business on Cass Street.”
Added Ressner: “The citation is not correct and [the City’s] only given ‘solution’ was for us to apply for a special use permit. It took us months to learn that this permit no longer exists. So they told us to apply for another permit that costs up to $30,000, a huge sum for us to pay for an inaccurate and discretionary decision made by the City.
“Locals voiced their support and concern with more than 770 signatures in just one week on our petition. The local community desires and supports having holistic healthcare services in their community and in this location, and we wish to remain that treasured service,” Ressner said.
