… Attendance Boundary Debate Still Rages, and Townhomes Replace RVs in Imperial Beach
Chula Vista Political Roundup: District 4 Up For Grabs
Last year, a seven member commission created four districts in Chula Vista. Prior to that, elections for all 5 of the city council seats were determined at large. In this election cycle, three council members are not up for re-election: Mayor Mary Salas, Councilman John McCann of District 1 and Councilwoman Patricia Aguilar of District 2.
District 4, or Southwest Chula Vista, is often considered the most underserved part of the city. Four men are running for the position: Mike Diaz, Rudy Ramirez, Eduardo Reyes and Emanuel Soto. The Chula Vista Star News posted their bios. Only residents of District 4 will be able to vote for the candidates in the June 7, 2016 elections. If you are a Chula Vista resident, you can find out more about the candidates and register to vote here.
Pending CV City Council Approval, the city clerk this week said that District 3 elections will be moved to November. That’s because only two candidates qualified for the ballot: Steve Padilla (a former Mayor of Chula Vista) and Jason Paguio (a small business owner and policy advisor for appointed Councilman Steve Miesen).
The Mayor’s position will continue to be elected at large. Councilwoman Pat Aguilar holds regular District 2 Forum meetings where she welcomes community input — something particularly important as the Bayfront Project moves forward. Seats not up for election this year will be due in 2018.
Attendance Boundary Debate in the SUHSD Still Rages
Joe Little at 10 News continued to report about the new attendance boundaries voted on by the Sweetwater Union High School District Board Members in January. Parents West of the I-125 will now have to send their children to Bonita Vista Middle & High Schools. Those parents, however, say they paid Mello-Roos for the higher quality facilities at Eastlake Middle & High Schools.
Discussion continued on the website Nextdoor, with petitions and Facebook announcements. A meeting was announced as taking place at San Miguel Ranch HOA on March 23rd to discuss the situation. Then, a real estate agent noticed the issue and became concerned that housing prices will decline and many realtors might be affected. They began a petition on Facebook against the boundary changes.
Yesterday, the SUSHD posted the date of their next school board meeting on Tuesday, March 29th. The attendance boundary issue, however, was not on the agenda.
Chula Vista’s Eastlake III HOA Asks SD Court for Temporary Restraining Order & Injunction
ECHO, the Eastlake III Concerned Home Owners posted on their Facebook page that their HOA Board attorney filed legal action against them, requesting a restraining order and injunction. The injunction hearing was scheduled for Thursday, March 24th at San Diego Superior Court.
The complaint, filed by the Eastlake III Community Association explains that “A dispute has emerged within the Association between the current board majority.. and the ECHO Group, which staunchly supports the re-hiring of the Association’s former management company. The ECHO Group currently lacks voting power to effect a return of original management.” The complaint goes on to explain that “holding an election under disputed election rules while a Petition to determine proper election rules in pending, is a ridiculous waste of Association funds.”
ECHO posted the complaint and their response.
Woman Must Pay Councilmember McCann Almost $100,000
The Chula Vista Star News reported that the woman who filed a civil lawsuit against Councilman John McCann, challenging the legality of the election, must now pay McCann $99,918 in attorney fees. The Chula Vista resident sued because she felt that not every vote had been counted.
Mountain Bikers & Equestrians Share Space in the TRV
The San Diego Reader reported that the Tijuana River Valley is a place where mountain bikers and equestrians coalesce to enjoy mostly unmapped trails. Horses, however, are often scared by the bikes and there has been negotiations over restricting bikes from horse trails.
Otay Mesa Opens A New Highway
According to The Times of San Diego: State Route 11, a four-lane highway along the U.S.-Mexico border, opened this week. The $103.4 million road is meant to decrease congestion in Otay Mesa and reduce wait times at border crossings. It also means trucks that have relied on local roads will now have a freeway.
This is the first of three segments that will eventually lead to an additional Port of Entry in Otay Mesa.
Imperial Beach Continues Its Uppity Renaissance
The Imperial Beach Patch reported that the 124-unit Bernardo Shores RV park will be demolished and replaced by 184 townhouses and single-family homes. The California Coastal Commission approved the proposal. The development will be next to a pond and the Bayshore Bikeway, a 24-mile bicycle route connecting the South Bay to downtown San Diego.
Also, for those who are fishing aficionados, the fairly new Dig Imperial Beach has a “Friday Fish Report” from Alex Piña.
Barbara, every time you write about the trucks at the border crossing in Otay Mesa, I’m reminded of the time when I got caught amongst about a thousand big rigs because I took a wrong turn on Siempre Viva Road. They were going nowhere and I had an appointment at the office for a Sentri Pass which I couldn’t find. It was a total nightmare. Everywhere I turned there was another big rig coming at me. Finally I got there though and found about 20 other people had an appointment for the same time. I guess being a few minutes late wouldn’t have been a big deal.
That’s my experience in Otay too. When I drive around there, my car gets swallowed by the trucks.
Only four city council seats in Chula Vista.
4 council seats, plus the Mayor = 5. Five people total sit on the Chula Vista City Council.
Did I write that phrase unclearly?
Regarding boundary changes in the Sweetwater District, it’s too bad those parents were not paying attention sooner. Boundaries have been an issue since 2011 when prior Supt Ed Brand opened boundaries and created chaos and overcrowding at Eastlake Schools. Many families outside of Eastlake pay Mello Roos, including Bonita, San Ysidro, San Diego and Chula Vista. These areas are all services by SUHSD for middle and high school. Mello Roos don’t entitle you to attend a particular school either. SUHSD had to make changes to attempt to balance out attendance. Some people where going to be affected, this choice affected the least number of families.
Moral to the story-pay closer attention to what is happening LOCALLY in your City AND schools!!