Report of the Ocean Beach Planning Board March 6th Meeting

The OB Planning Board meets at the OB Rec Center first Wed of every month. (Photo by Sane Finneran)

By Brittany Bailey

Wednesday night’s meeting (March 6) of the Ocean Beach Planning Board met with a short agenda; issues included updates from Councilmember Faulconer’s office, a presentation on the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan, and the renewal of a Conditional Use Permit for a Verizon Wireless Antennae site.

The only discussion item on the agenda was a presentation by Angie Jamison from the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority on the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan. The purpose of the plan is to provide policy guidance for land around the airport. Policy recommendations are implemented by local agencies and apply only to new development and redevelopment. Currently the Environmental Impact Review is in the scoping period with a draft available for public review starting March 13h. For more info, contact Angie Jamison at ajamison@san.org.

The Board also reviewed the renewal of the Conditional Use Permit for the Verizon Wireless antennae site at Sunset Cliffs and Pt. Loma Avenue. As part of the permit renewal, the site will be upgraded with a bank of shrubs and two live palms. The Board approved the permit renewal.

Annual Planning Board Elections:  The OBPB elections are coming up on Tuesday, March 12th. Currently there are no candidates for Districts 1 and 3; write-ins are accepted until today Monday, March 11th. More information is found on the Board’s website: oceanbeachpb.com.

Duoma Residence: City Council will be reviewing the CEQA appeal on April 15th.

Michael Patton from Councilmember Faulconer’s office was present to give his report, and reported the City currently has a $5 million budget surplus, but there is still a $40 million deficit projected for next year. Faulconer recently contributed $22,00 from his office budget to the Parks & Recs department for landscaping in Mission Bay Park, which will include boosting the health of the grass in preparation for tourist season.

Patton reported that on Tuesday, March 5, the City Council approved a resolution for cycling improvements and infrastructure. Faulconer’s office has also been working on an oversized vehicle ordinance, which will be reviewed by Land Use & Housing on March 27. If it is approved, it will go to a full council vote.The OBPB requested to see the language of the ordinance to review, as Ocean Beach will be the projected pilot area for the ordinance.

Roberto Alcantar, Field Representative from State Senator Marty Block’s office was also present to announce their new office location at 701 B St, Ste.1840, and welcomed constituents to stop by anytime during offices hours.

Other Announcements

Veteran’s Plaza: The first workshop to discuss the design was held two weeks ago; the possibility of moving the location of the memorial was brought up. The next workshop will be held in May.

Precise Plan Subcommittee: The Precise Plan is currently in the final stages of a ten year process to update it; the subcommittee met Thursday night to discuss and review.

Committee of Planning Committees Meeting: They are currently working on making a permanent process by which capital improvement projects are reviewed by a committee.

OB Historical Society: The Annual Wisteria Party is coming up on March 23rd. The event will be held at Pat James’ house at 4761 Niagara.

OB Town Council: This Saturday – March 16 – will be a clean up at Dog Beach sponsored by the Dog Beach Dog Wash. The Annual Chili Cook Off will be held on the March 29th. The next meeting will be held on March 21st where Councilmember Kevin Faulconer will speak. The OBTC soon will be voting on designs for the new Ocean Beach entryway sign; votes will be taken the first week of April and is only open to OBTC members.

OB Rec Council: David Wells and the Padres are donating money to revitalize one of the baseball fields at Dana Middle School, but they want the ownership to be exclusive of the City, so they are currently looking into splitting ownership of the baseball fields between San Diego Unified School District and the City.

OB CDC: The Annual Street Fair is scheduled for June 22nd; mark your calendars!