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By Jay Powell
The news this week via the “Utterly-Terrible” news machine (August 6 edition) is, when asked the “push-poll” question: “What story about Filner concerns you more: the charge of sexual misconduct or the charge that he improperly extracted monetary concessions for the city from developers in return for approving their projects?”, the result was a dead heat at 44% for each.
Never mind that in both cases the “story” is about a “charge”. And that the only so-called “extraction” was from the now infamous Sunroad developer for donations to two City sanctioned projects.
Yes, there should have been a nexus to the impacts of that project, so the money was returned. It’s important to bear in mind that all the projects that the current Mayor has questioned or impeded were due to violating either community plans or municipal code provisions and initiated under the previous Mayor’s regime.
So they went with yet another story in the “watch-the-lap-dog section” quoting said previous Mayor: “When you’re seeing the Sunroad fiasco and the Centrepoint fiasco, what you see is businesses not willing to invest if there’s not certainty. Later: “the only certainty is if you start to develop a project, you don’t know if it going to be stopped, even if you’ve got all of the the permits and it’s coming out of the ground.”
This from the guy who induced the first “Sunroad fiasco”.
That was accompanied by the Building Industry Association lobbyist, Matt Adams chiming in that “We’ve heard chatter within our industry that investors are getting a little leery of coming to San Diego with all of the uncertainty that is in play right now.” Then for good measure opining that “the classic examples…certainly contradict the mayor’s statements…where he pledged to promote regulatory certainty.”
Whew. Chatter indeed. Hey guys, the Mayor pledged to the electorate to provide certainty that the General Plan and the community plans and municipal code would be followed. Not certainty that those “regulations” could be manipulated in the back rooms.
What Filner apparently didn’t realize was how much land use abuse had already occurred.
From the ascension of the Development Services Department and stuffing the Planning Department into a figurative basement in said department to the well-known apparatus directing development projects from the 11th floor over the last several years a certain “certainty” became evident to developers on how to get what you wanted regardless of what the General Plan or community plan or municipal code might say.
The U-T goes on to report that Council President Gloria has asked the Chairperson of the Land Use and Housing Committee, Councilmember Lori Zapf to examine the matter of “some highly questionable and potentially illegal interactions between Mayor Filner, his designees and construction project applicants… to ensure that other projects were not similarly tainted.”
Hopefully, this will be a matter brought forward to the entire committee and will include looking at the genesis and early processing of these and other projects during the previous administration to see how they somehow were able to proceed when they were not in compliance with land use regulations, policies and guidelines.
Here’s one I hope they will examine. Last year representatives of organizations that had promoted and helped pass the landmark Prop A: Managed Growth Initiative back in 1985 learned that provisions which limited development in floodplains and specified areas of the city without citywide voter approval were being circumvented for at least one project.
After considerable effort was expended by these citizens to illuminate the legal issues, the department finally issued a letter to the developer reinforcing the provisions of the City General Plan. The letter was dated November 6, 2012 – interestly, the same date that a new Mayor was elected.
There is a lot at stake in land use decisions. Yes, both developers and communities need certainty that the rules will be followed.
One of the brighter lights in the fog of political battle underway right now is the appointment of Bill Fulton to head up the new Planning Department. He participated in a one-on-one discussion with Voice of San Diego CEO Scott Lewis at their Politifest held August 3.
The inevitable question of why he was staying on as head of the new department when others had resigned was proffered. He spoke to the incredible opportunity to bring his extensive knowledge and experience to the people of San Diego. And the challenges and opportunities we have ahead. Regardless of who is Mayor.
Later during a moderated discussion of various elected leaders calling for the Mayor’s resignation, one of the participants, new Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzales took on the charge of taking money from developers. She noted that all politicians including herself do it and it was really irrelevant to the fitness to lead as Mayor issue under discussion as to why the Mayor should resign.
She also pointed out that should a recall qualify for the ballot, the low turnout combined with the winner take all sweepstakes aspect of a recall would probably result in election of a candidate by a significantly small portion of the electorate.
And that would probably result in a complete reversal of the “neighborhoods first” direction signaled by the election of Bob Filner.
The flaws in the recall process and their ramifications are discussed more thoroughly elsewhere and the glow is beginning to come off of that bloom. But the sky is falling, heaven forfend calamities that will befall us all daily pronouncements continue unabated.
The constant “the city is going to implode, investors will shun us, we can’t compete with other cities because the Mayor won’t be able to talk to our friends because we are not able to …or won’t… talk to the Mayor” chorus combined with the guilty just by accusation drumbeat is not only disingenuous, it undermines the credibility of the purveyors and participants.
Jay Powell is a sometime commentator with San Diego Free Press and one of the founders of San Diegans for Managed Growth, the sponsors of the 1985 Managed Growth Initiative referred to in this commentary.
Jay Powell
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The Old Guard and its leader Jerry Sanders are so anxious to get back to the good old days that I’m sure they don’t mind helping the UT and kpBS keep their pages full of new disclosures. The City Council minus two are salivating with glee and are ready to turn back the election clock. Toad Gloria can’t wait to be Mayor, so he just pretends he already is.
When I was a reporter with the original U-T I was assigned to cover
San Diego County back in the mid-70s (don’t stop reading, please?),
which almost always meant, simply, the Supervisors.
One of the experiences I always use to illustrate the difficulties of
reporting planning came on a day that Supervisors were said to be
ready to approve a subdivision for a zone in North County (I’d bet
Jay Powell could even name the subdivision and who built it), thus
poking a big hole in an area the Supervisors had designated as an
open space preserve when they passed a revised Master Plan only
a few years before. In other words, it seemed they were about to
throw away the Master Plan.
I called my editor who himself had covered the County and he asked,
“What’s the story?” and, “they do that all the time.”
The story ran in the interior of the local section with a mild headline,
a burial basically.
If anything, the reconditioned U-T has become even more an
integral part of local government.
Jay- the voices you describe in your article care little about the meaning of uncertainty as it applies to our neighborhoods. The uncertainty of whether the library is open, the uncertainty of making public transit connections on Sundays, the uncertainty of what will be maintained and of what needed public infrastructure investments will be undertaken.
“The elephants fight and the grass suffers.”
My Sunroad Investigation was entered as evidence in the Sunroad lawsuit is linked here:
Justice would include new CEQA review and mitigation including I-163 Freeway on/off ramp improvements, and free transit/tram access through east Kearny Mesa.
Although my Sunroad Investigation was entered as evidence, the issue of violations of the Municipal Code, Master Plan, was not ripe for adjudication. And instead the lawsuit was thrown out by the judge with no legal analysis or follow up on my documents.
A big part of the fraud includes the agenda description and backup documentation prepared by Job Nelson of Lori Zapf’s office to the Council President’s office to schedule the Item for the City Council hearing of April 30, 2013. The form document stated that there would be no financial considerations for waiving the City Council Policy. The word “None” constitutes fraud.
“SUPPORTING INFORMATION:
FISCAL CONSIDERATIONS: None.”
And the restricted easements “:(2) would not be detrimental to the City’s property interests ‘
“ITEM-331: Request for waiver of Council Policy 700-06 regarding encroachments on City Property for the 9’ setback requirement for the Sunroad Centrum Phase II multi-family housing development adjacent to Centrum Park…
Waiving Council Policy 700-06 because the waiver in this instance meets the guidelines established in Council Policy 700-06, because recordation of a nine foot wide building restricted easement along the north and south property lines of the park:… (2) would not be detrimental to the City’s property interests;
SUPPORTING INFORMATION:
FISCAL CONSIDERATIONS: None.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL AND/OR COMMITTEE ACTION:
This item was heard at the Land Use and Housing Committee meeting on March 27, 2013.”
Sunroad’s ongoing Substantial Conformance Review (SCR) approvals are still illegal without CEQA analysis and mitigation.
This article clearly shows why the City of San Diego cannot afford to return to the dark days of corrupt, Republican rule. I believe Mayor Filner is sincere when he states that he wants to make amends with anyone he has offended. I think his alleged transgressions are probably quite minor, but afford him due process , and we shall see. I know I do not want all our bloated “betters” lining up at the public trough again. My wallet is closed!
I’m wondering when former Mayor and Col. Jerry Sanders will offer some apologies.
Oh, right, Bob!! Your wasting your time wondering about something that will never, ever happen.
I know, I know… it should say “You’re….”
In full agreement with you Douglas. What organized way could a choir of such mindsets get the word out to the uninformed, commercial media fed, or misled public?
I see it as a responsibility to fellow citizens that (purposely or from ignorance) rely on SDUtterlyTerrible, kpBS and other commercial media to redirect them back to articles such as Mr. Powell’s, and those at SDFP & SDReader. A courteous but catching line of info and a pasted link to truthful, insightful, articles is a service to consider engaging in. WE MUST GET THE TRUTH OUT. Every single individual that is reached and begins to question the propaganda machine creates a ripple effect in communities across SD. Please, let’s all “go fish” as a service to our community.
Doug, these forces that spend their energies and city staff time to restore the city back to the nobility, don’t care whether your wallet is open or closed. . .they just take it as is.
Yes,the Sanders Administration worked hand in hand with developers, even when they were in violation of the municipal plans in place,and Council members like Todd Gloria usually voted to go along with these plan violations. It was the Filner administration’s over riding the lay down for developers on the part of the City Council that has gotten him in trouble with the powers that be in San Diego. This is much more of the reason why they are using the Sexual Scandals to ruin him and making sure that no future Mayor will dare to cross them again!
There’s a lot to be said about Filner’s policies; his appointment of Bill Fulton is a highlight of his nascent administration. Sadly, Filner’s long-rumored personal flaws has incapacitated him and prevents him from serving as an effective mayor. I knew when I voted for him last year that he was a deeply flawed human being and am sad that his ghosts are now haunting him. We have to accept that Mr. Filner no longer has the moral aptitude to administer his vision for San Diego. The recall process will likely succeed and we need to be thinking about someone who can preserve Filner’s “Neighborhood First” policies into the future.
Think again, Michael. We have had a long time to come up with someone electable but also hard-headed enough to get his or her program through. There isn’t anyone else. He’s the one, for now. Maybe if he breaks the ties that bind downtown, the road ahead will be easier for others. I say let him keep fighting, if willing, until his term expires.
No one really cares what you think Michael because
you lost your credibility awhile ago.
Oh whats that you say? You were tried in the press and none of it was true, false accusers? Ohhh. I see.
Filner was everywhere in his first 6 months in office, a whirlwind of activity. He came and marched (or rode in an open car) in the Pacific Beach Holiday parade. It was sad to see that first press conference where self-appointed worthies tried to make him resign over acts unnamed. That really did was a judgement without evidence or due process.
Now it’s even sadder to see the gloating and the digging further and further to bring forth women from the past.
Bob has all the right ideas for this politically moribund city. Increasing library hours is just one of them.
I just read that there is a Facebook page for signing to say Filner should resign (with the ironic title “San Diego Deserves Better”.)
Why isn’t there an alternative Facebook page for us to say we the people want Bob to remain and govern with the kind of ideas he has brought to City Hall? Careful language would be needed to accord dignity to the current lawsuit but still show we support Bob as mayor.
Judith: Try this one
Comments at Facebook or at news sources with journalistic integrity are good. Also, commenting at sites which the masses visit to redirect them back here so they may become aware of facts, figures, goodwill and common sense is better.
Let’s inform the public about the best news sources in San Diego. Maybe, that will be the silver lining.
Judith:
I do not, alas, go on FB but I know I am in the minority. I joined three years ago and with an hour or two had upwards of 300 friends. Whoops. Never went back.
I think your idea is a good one!