Balboa Avenue Trolley Station Area – Land Rezoning Hearing @ City Hall
December 13, 2018 - 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
San Diego
Project Name: Balboa Avenue Station Area Specific Plan
Project #: 586601
Hearing Location: Council Chambers, 12th Floor, City Administration Bldg., 202 C Street, San Diego CA 921019.
The hearing takes place on Thursday, December 13 @ 9:00 a.m. The length of the hearing will depend on how many people show up to speak.
The increased housing density being proposed by the City of San Diego in Pacific Beach between Rose Creek and I-5 would increase traffic congestion, reduce air quality, increase noise and any mobility improvements proposed in the plan would be implemented over a thirty year time frame.
The City of San Diego is refusing to consider parkland dedication for Rose Creek as part of this plan. The benefits to the community of parkland dedication include Park & Rec Department oversight, which allows for habitat restoration, trash cans, and other enhancements that would encourage businesses between Garnet Avenue and Rose Creek to open themselves to the creek. Imagine a coffee shop with a patio overlooking a clean and safe Rose Creek. What about a restaurant that takes advantage of the bird watching opportunities? The only way businesses in the area will start facing Rose Creek is if the City of San Diego treats Rose Creek like the incredible park resource this neighborhood deserves. Without the City of San Diego support for Rose Creek, businesses in the area will continue to turn their backs on the creek and allow the problem activities to continue.
Furthermore, this plan does not propose any enhancements to the Rose Creek bike path such as improved ingress/egress, trash cans, or any maintenance beyond what they have done over the last twenty years, which is nothing.
The Friends of Rose Creek pick up approximately three to four tons of trash per year along the creek with the current number of residential units (approximately 670). The City is proposing implementation of a High Density rezone that would add approximately 897 residential dwelling units for a total of 1,500 units in this community increasing the amount of trash to approximately eight plus tons per year. The City also studied a Medium Density alternatives that would only add 657 units or a total of almost 1,300 residential dwelling units and by our estimates lowering the amount of trash to seven tons year year.
None of these alternatives offers any protection for Rose Creek nor addresses how the City will remove the projected seven to nine tons of trash from Rose Creek.
The Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) identifies the Medium Density as the environmentally superior alternative and we strongly recommend that the community support this alternative CONTINGENT on the City of San Diego moving the Pacific Beach portion into Park & Rec oversight by dedicate the land as parkland.
Please come to the hearing. You can cede your time to the Friends of Rose Creek if you wish. We will be providing talking point handouts starting at 8:30 a.m. for those who want to speak on this matter themselves.
If you have questions about this project, visit the Balboa Station Plan.
For more information, contact the Project Manager: Michael Prinz; 619-533-5931 or via email at mprinz@sandiego.gov.