In a special meeting held after the regular Bird Rock Community Council meeting July 5, Bird Rock residents voiced their concerns about the ongoing production of MTV’s “The Real World,” being filmed at a house on Chelsea Street. District 1 Councilwoman Sherri Lightner was on hand to field complaints, along with Rob Dunson, president of the San Diego Film Commission (SDFC) and Ed Quinn, an SDFC board member. The majority of concern was for the increased traffic flow through the neighborhood as crowds of curious onlookers stream through the residential streets hoping for a glimpse of the cast and crew of the popular reality show’s 26th season. “The producers have been cooperative, but it’s really the outside people coming in to look,” said Bird Rock resident Milan Dimich, who suggested residential parking permits as one way to control the increased traffic. Residents expressed their frustration of dealing with a sudden influx of spectator traffic in a normally quiet neighborhood. “There is a flow of all sorts of surly people coming through here,” said a resident who lives near the “Real World” house. “I’m concerned about the safety issue.” Another neighbor described numerous incidents in which he saw people sneaking through his backyard in order get close to and throw eggs at the infamous house. The security guards who patrol the grounds, he said, could not catch them soon enough to stop the vandalism, let alone the trespassing. Lightner voiced her own concerns about the neighborhood, and said she was disappointed in the lack of response to residents’ concerns from the production’s leaders. “My prime concern is for your safety and for your children’s safety,” Lightner said. “A single-family residential neighborhood does not seem like a real good place for something like this.” In response to several questions as to why the filming was allowed to take place in the neighborhood in the first place, Dunson said producers had not chosen the spot until after the permit was issued. The independent, nonprofit SDFC is commissioned by the city and county to issue filming permits for individual projects. This project, he said, didn’t include any of the factors — such as excessive equipment — that would have been grounds for denial of the permit. He said the SDFC did not recruit MTV to film in San Diego, and only after the permit was issued did the producers strike a deal with the owner of the house to rent it for filming. Representatives from the San Diego Police Department’s Northern Division were also present to answer citizens’ queries. Capt. Al Guaderrama said that he and his officers had stepped up monitoring efforts in the neighborhood, and were responding to calls as best they could. “Calls [to the police] started when the crew started moving in,” Guaderrama said. “The majority of calls are traffic related, as well as calls about disturbances, such as yelling and noise coming from the house.” Using her expertise from helping to get the neighborhood nuisance “Rancho Relaxo” shut down, Bird Rock Community Council member Michelle Fulks said she thought residents should focus their energy on mitigating the situation as it stands, rather than on shutting the production down. “We can work on changes to the particular process, but we’re not going to change anything right now,” she said. “I think it’s highly unlikely this will be closed down. What we need to focus on is more security in the area.” Echoing Fulks’ call for beefed up security, the room of residents voted to send representatives from the SDFC to the producers to ask for funding for a full-time police officer to be stationed on the street, as well as for a reduction in the rooftop lighting, which, residents say, has been lit at all hours of the night. Guaderrrama said the SDPD retains a certain number of “special events” officers, who are available to be hired for round-the-clock surveillance. They come, however, at a high price. In the meantime, Guaderrama said he and his staff will continue their efforts to patrol the area. “I won’t say it is the safest street, but [Chelsea Street] is one of the most patrolled streets in the city right now,” he said. “We’ll continue to monitor it.” The residents sent their request with the stipulation that it be answered by Friday, July 8. “If [producers] are not willing to comply, we’ll have to take steps to try to stop the intrusion on our neighborhood,” Dimich said.