By Doug Porter
More than four decades ago a grass roots movement arose in Ocean Beach in response to development plans that would have destroyed the essential nature of the community. Now the city planning commission is seeking to override sensible conditions for development included in the latest up date of the Ocean Beach community plan.
At issue is a change in the formula used to determine floor area ratio restrictions. Currently development in OB is regulated in size and scope by a requirement that can limit the size of the building on a lot. The change being insisted upon by downtown will allow development similar to that in place in Mission Beach, where sprawling buildings sit cheek by jowl in a soulless wasteland.
The grand plans drawn up back in the 1960s by the spawn of the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce for high rise hotels, apartment complexes and a yacht harbor may not be possible these days thanks to the 30 foot high limit and environmental concerns. However, the desire to over-develop with little or no regard for the consequences continues to exist.
The current community plan up for consideration was written over a 12 year period by community members and has the support of every community group. There are, however, several landlords with clout who have made their opposition known.
A showdown with the San Diego Planning Commission looms on June 30th at the City Council. Members of the Ocean Beach Planning Board are circulating petitions to preserve the language in the original version of the Community Plan that keeps the tool of floor-area ration restrictions intact.
The tactics being used here are different than the big money campaign used to overturn the Barrio Logan Community Plan. In the case of OB, language crafted by the City Attorney at the request of the community is suddenly no longer valid and has been summarily replaced with loopholes big enough to destroy the very fabric of the community.
The OB Rag (our sister publication) has posted the following notice:
A special meeting has been called for tonight, Monday, June 16th, as part of the campaign by OB planners to galvanize the community in support of the OB Community Plan.
All OB villagers are invited – and especially OBceans who are highly concerned about what is coming down from the San Diego Planning Commission in terms of recommending that the OB Plan be de-clawed.
The meeting is at 6 pm and will be held at Dog Beach Dog Wash, located at 4933 Voltaire Street.
It will be run by the Sub-committee of the OB Community Plan Update, a subgroup of the OB Planning Board. The co-chairs of that group are Mindy Pellessier and Gio Ingolia.
The sub-committee has sponsored a Petition that is being circulated throughout OB – and everyone is urged to sign it, basically pledging support for the OB Community Plan. There’s a website and meetings with politicos going on, as the Petition is out at Farmers’ Markets and community businesses.
Volunteers are needed to circulate the petition at the weekly Wed. markets and at the final push for signatures during the OB Street Fair near the end of the month. OB residents are also urged to attend the June 30th City Council meeting, wear blue to signify support for the campaign.
Here’s the website to indicate that you’re attending the meeting on the 30th. Petition to Support the OB Community Plan.
Additional OB Rag coverage of this issue is available here, here and here.
Tony Gwynn Passes On
San Diego baseball great Tony Gwynn passed on this morning at age 54 at Pomerado Hospital in Poway. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, and underwent repeated surgeries. In recent months Gwynn has been on medical leave from his coaching position at San Diego State.
Mayor Faulconer ordered all flags on City facilities to be flown at half-mast Monday and Tuesday in honor of Gwynn. Two mayoral events scheduled for Monday were cancelled.
According to the Sporting News:
Gwynn played college baseball at San Diego State and went on to a 20-season Hall of Fame career with the Padres from 1982 to 2001. In the process, he racked up 3,141 hits (19th all time), 319 stolen bases and a lifetime batting average of .338. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2007, his first year of eligibility.
Known as ‘Mr. Padre,’ he holds the franchise record for games, hits and a score of other categories. His sunny disposition and community involvement made him a fan favorite.
A five-time Gold Glove winner, Gwynn finished in the top 10 in National League MVP voting seven times. He played on both of San Diego’s NL pennant winners (1984 and 1998) and was named to the Sporting News NL All-Star team in 1984, 1986,1987, 1989, 1994 and 1997.
We are terribly sad to say goodbye to our teammate, our friend and a legend, Tony Gwynn. Rest in peace, Mr. Padre.
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 16, 2014
Weekend Koch Bros Confab Seeks to Keep It Dirty
Two reporters with inewsource.com shelled out over $1200 for rooms at a chic resort an hour north of San Diego on Friday, hoping to sneak a peak in the world of dark money and conservative political intrigue.
Via KPBS:
Last weekend and into today, the billionaire Koch brothers and supporters converged on the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. This columned, luxury compound, little more than an hour north of San Diego, has 400 rooms, a spa, a golf course, a private beach and six restaurants. Staff confirmed the entire hotel — including food and beverage service — had been bought out for a special event.
An event so secret it had a code name on the schedule: “T&R Sales Meeting.” Hotel guests who weren’t part of the conference — including two inewsource reporters who stayed the night Friday — were escorted out of the hotel by security on Saturday afternoon.
But over 24 hours at the St. Regis, they got a glimpse of what lay ahead at the conference entitled American Courage, Our Commitment to a Free Society.
The fact that the reporters got in –however briefly– was much of the story.
The Daily Beast had more details as to the agenda for the weekend:
In the face of expanding energy regulations, stepped-up Democratic attacks and the ongoing fight over Obamacare, the billionaire Koch brothers and scores of wealthy allies have set an initial 2014 fundraising target of $290 million which should boost GOP candidates and support dozens of conservative groups—including a new energy initiative with what looks like a deregulatory, pro-consumer spin, The Daily Beast has learned.
This weekend, at a posh California resort near Laguna Beach, energy is expected to be among the topics as Charles and David Koch and their extensive donor network hold a semiannual fundraising and policy seminar. Political allies including Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and libertarian political scientist Charles Murray are slated to speak, according to conservatives familiar with the Koch network.
The energy initiative is being created under the umbrella of the largest Koch network nonprofit in apparent response to a number of developments: the commitment by liberal billionaire Tom Steyer to steer $100 million into ads in several states to make climate change a priority issue in the elections; numerous setbacks at the state level where Koch network backed advocacy groups have been fighting against renewable energy standards; and the new EPA regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
No Go for UT CEO
I was really bummed when Voice of San Diego announced they’d landed UT-San Diego CEO John Lynch for a “One Voice at a Time” event. I already had (non-refundable) plans for that evening and would have loved to attend just to watch Manchester’s Main Minion in action.
Lynch, however, has now bailed on the event. Combined with the letter to readers from “Papa Doug” last week announcing the paper wasn’t for sale, the collapse of UT-TV and the paper’s continuing hemorrhaging of readership, I have to wonder just how bad things really are in Mission Valley.
On This Day: 1918- Railroad union leader and socialist Eugene V. Debs spokes in Canton, Ohio, on the relation between capitalism and war. Ten days later he was arrested under the Espionage Act and eventually sentenced to 10 years in jail. 1963 – 26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova went into orbit aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft for three days. She was the first woman space traveler. 1980 – The movie “The Blues Brothers” opened in Chicago.
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Doug Porter
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Thanks Doug, an excellent summary of what’s going down in OB in terms of its Community Plan. A more detailed account is promised for tomorrow. –
Tony Gwynn, a great ball-player and fine human being. BUT … that’s not what flags at half-staff is about.
All the insanity and outrageous exploitation of resources that occurred elsewhere around the water’s edge in San Diego will be repeated by Faulconer and Company (more correctly, Companies and Faulconer) if this beachfront coup takes place. And the details of it — how high and how wide may be the permitted insults will appear pale in comparison to the audacity of this establishment of boodlers coming in now, immediately after engineering the downfall of Barrio Logan’s community plan.
Faulconer can point to bike paths and filled potholes until he drops dead, but he won’t be able to sell himself as a responsible people’s rep after he and his bankrollers are forced to live through what’s coming for them.
Corporate developer BULLYING on all coastal fronts…They have pretty promises and pushy agendas… and paid professionals to attend every public meeting…