The agenda for the August 17 meeting of the North Park Planning Committee includes an action item regarding a conditional use permit for an alcoholic beverage outlet at the proposed CVS Pharmacy at Park Blvd. and El Cajon Blvd.
The link to the full agenda is: https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/august_2021_nppc_agenda.pdf
The link to register for this Zoom meeting is: https://tinyurl.com/NPPCzoom
U-T Letters Decry “Unused” Bike Lanes
Union-Tribune readers in Mission Hills and Clairemont responded to the paper’s coverage of the Aug. 1 opening of the 30th Street Bike Lanes with questions about usage and impact. Here are excerpts:
“Will this large crowd (of cyclists) be using these lanes daily or just for the photo op? Will they patronize the businesses they are ruining with the loss of 450 parking spaces? ... The mayor is all smiles at ribbon cuttings, but the detrimental effect of these promotional gimmicks, that’s the real conversation we need to have.“
“Since the cycling began being pushed by the city leaders, I have viewed only about 36 cyclists on the Balboa Avenue bike lane that were installed, and the neighborhood bike riders do not obey traffic rules.”
The link to the full letters is: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/story/2021-08-09/opinion-bike-lanes-a-waste-of-money-if-they-go-unused
Rampaging ADUs: The Harsh Reality
San Diegans were sold on the charming idea of modest “Granny flats” to house elderly relatives. What we got instead, according to a recent Presidio Sentinel commentary, were “backyard monstrosities” in the form of “mini-apartment buildings” with no parking or set-backs required.
In “Don’t Wait for the Bulldozer to Tear Up Your Neighbor’s Backyard,” Paul Krueger of Neighbors for a Better San Diego (NFBSD) writes that the City’s radical ADU regulations are “a massive giveaway that enriches developers and land speculators, who are outbidding first-time and move-up buyers ... [and] they’re doing it in an irresponsible fashion that totally undermines the city council’s supposed commitment to clean air [and] alternative transportation.”
Read the entire article at: http://presidiosentinel.com/other/dont-wait-for-the-bulldozer-to-tear-out-your-neighbors-backyard
And learn more about the citywide work of NFBSD at: https://www.neighborsforabettersandiego.org
Rampaging ADUs: The Human Toll
To convey how the proliferation of speculator-built ADUs is inflicting real pain on real people, here is a personal story from a resident who wishes to remain anonymous:
“For 35 years, we have lived in our 110-year-old Craftsman house in an older community, and we have loved our home and our neighborhood. All that changed in 2018 when the house next door was sold to property ‘flippers.’
“First, they spent two years remodeling the original house. Then they began massive earthwork that continues to this day. To prepare the backyard for the construction of a multi-story building, they changed the grade by adding two feet to the entire yard, rendering our six-foot privacy fence useless.”
“In fall 2020, they began installing an underground sewer. It took them six attempts to get it completed by mid-July.
“This week, we finally heard back from the DSD superintendent who oversees the project, and he delivered bad news: The property next door will now have a 4-story building with 9 units total!
“For three years, we have lived next to a massive construction site. Soon our historic home will be dwarfed by a large building that houses numerous people on a single-family lot with no on-site parking.
“This is a nightmare. How did it happen? Where is the compassion? Is there nothing we can do?"
*SoNo Neighborhood Alliance is a non-profit that informs and engages residents of North Park and Golden Hill/South Park about neighborhood quality-of-life issues that include: land use and development, traffic, green space, parking, and code compliance.
