Peninsula Planners: Carleton Mixed-Use Project Too High; Election Results

By Geoff Page

The Peninsula Community Planning Board’s yearly election to fill five seats had a large turnout on Thursday, at the March 16 regular monthly meeting.  The final tally was 553 votes.

The winners were incumbents Jon Linney, Don Sevrens, and David Dick along with newcomers Fred Kosmo and Margaret Virissimo.  A “slate” of five candidates that circulated before the election, contrary to the election rules, had four of the winners on it.   Incumbent David Dick, who did not appear on the slate, defeated one of the five people shown on the slate.  The new members will be seated at the regular monthly meeting in April.

There were only two action items for projects on the agenda.

2930 Carleton Street

Carleton Street Project

The first was a proposal for a mixed-use project at 2930 Carleton Street.  The PCPB’s Project Review subcommittee voted 7 – 0 to deny the project based on several factors.  The most controversial factor was that the height was measured from the inside of a 70-square foot planter causing the building to be almost 34 feet high, which was over the required 30-foot height limit.

The Development Services Department approved the design because the DSD believes a builder can raise the grade in the 30-foot height limit area and then measure height.  This interpretation is being challenged by members of the community.

There were other problems with the project including the plainness of the design, access to the business space, and tandem parking.  The full board voted unanimously to deny the project.

One of the common criticisms, voiced by board member David Dick, was that the developer was attempting to cram too much development onto a 5,000-square foot lot.  The height issue was a major concern as well.

Cell phone towers for Verizon wireless

The other project that came before the board involved cell phone towers for Verizon wireless.  Verizon’s representative explained that the company had moved its facilities to temporary locations while the water tank work was done on Catalina Blvd. south of the fire station.  The water tank construction was completed and Verizon was applying for permanent facilities located on a “30-foot tall mono-eucalyptus tree” and four additional antennas on a 30-foot tall utility pole.  The mono-eucalyptus tree is an artificial telecommunications pole that is built to look like a eucalyptus tree.

The board had no problem with the designs and unanimously approved the project.

Other Actions

The only other action items were two letters.

Support for the Point Loma Summer Concert series

The first was a letter to show support for the Point Loma Summer Concert series, something the concert organizers seek every year.  The five concerts take place during the summer at the Catalina Blvd. Little League fields behind the fire station.

Board Wants 3 Bus Routes to Continue

The second letter was generated by the PCPB and was addressed to the Metropolitan Transit Authority.  The subjects of the letter were three bus routes, 28, 84, and 923 that the board wants to see continued.  The letter also expressed misgivings about the recent MTA and Uber partnership objecting to MTA’s reliance on Uber to get people to various transportation points rather than having the MTA do that.

Presentation by the San Diego Housing Commission on affordable housing

There was a half hour informational presentation by the San Diego Housing Commission on affordable housing.  The representatives explained the history of the housing commission and all that the commission does.  This included issuing loans to first time home buyers, issuing bonds for construction, owning and operating housing stock, and other assistance.  A family of four would have to have an income of $58,000 or less to qualify for some of the affordable housing programs.

One of the sources of funds for the housing commission was developer fees paid in lieu of building affordable units in projects.  The presenters used a set of data about the city that was from 2010, it was not clear why information that was seven years old was used instead of more current information.

Non-Agenda Public Comment

During non-agenda public comment, two people spoke up about future street vacations they were in opposition to.  One was on Locust Street where it meets Sterne Street.  The other was at the end of Qualtrough Street.  Street vacation requests come before the PCPB but these two had yet to be proposed.

Left Turn Lanes at Chatsworth and Catalina Blvd.

Two items of interest were mentioned in the subcommittee reports.  The new left turn lanes at Chatsworth and Catalina Blvd. were mentioned by Peter Nystrom, chair of the Traffic and Transportation subcommittee.  Nystrom said the striping laid out at this time appeared to show the new lanes.  As he mentioned in the last meeting, if the turn lanes do not relieve the congestion, the city may try a traffic circle at this location.

Presentation on Harbor View on Kellogg Beach postponed

Mark Krencik, chair of the Project Review subcommittee, said that presentation of the controversial project, Harbor View, on Kellogg Beach was postponed until next month.  For those interested in following this project,  the subcommittee agendas are published on the PCPB’s website, www.pcpb.net, under the Committees tab.