According to Dorian Hargrove – a blogger for the San Diego Reader – Ocean Beach will see an increase of 1,400 dwelling units if the City’s Update for the OB Community Plan goes through.
OBcians will have an opportunity to comment on the new proposed draft plan Update Tuesday, August 9th, at a meeting at the Rec Center from 7 to 9 pm.
Back on July 26, the City announced that it will prepare the draft EIR (environmental impact report) for the OB Community Plan Update. And in Hargrove’s article, it was stated:
The proposed community plan update would allow additional dwelling units on 99 parcels, or 121 acres, in the small coastal community. Current zoning in that area calls for 9 dwelling units per acre. The proposed changes would change that to 15 dwelling units per acre, a net increase of 126 units.
That’s just in one area of Ocean Beach. In all, if the proposed zoning amendments remain, the community will see an increase of 1,399 dwelling units. (our emphasis).
The draft EIR by the city is supposed to address potential land use issues, impacts to quality of life, economic viability, and the preservation of historical beach cottages.
Come out to the “scoping meeting” which will be at the OB Recreation Center from 7pm to 9pm on Tuesday, August 9th. The Rec Center is located at 4726 Santa Monica Avenue. The meeting will be run by City officials.
These changes are from the City of San Diego’s over-all plan of “City Villages” which is has been trying to implement for years. And this by a city that doesn’t even have a planning department any longer.
1400 new housing units in Ocean Beach is way over the top, to say the least. Where would they go? Can you imagine so many new apartments, condos and housing units any where in Ocean Beach, which is already considered very dense by any standard?
The City Village concept promotes “mixed use” residential and commercial, which encourages housing units on top of commercial establishments on the bottom floor. This would allow, for example, plans to move ahead and change Newport Avenue by tearing down old, existing businesses and installing housing units above newly constructed businesses.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
There is one way to go to fit in 1400 new housing units, and thats UP. I don’t live in OB any more but from 1950 to 1974 I did, it’s my home town. When I go home to visit I love walking the streets and seeing all the places I lived, they are still there. Know I live very close to Canada and have been with a lady who grew up there. She lives in a town called White Rock, and it’s the OB of Canada, the farthest south you can get in there country. When we go for walks we pass theses cool houses that are being nocked down and 18 story condos being put up. As most know it is a socialist government and the people don’t have a say. When I say how sad this is she says…yes, I know but the way our government looks at it the more people living on a acre the more tax $ they get. I hope so mush this doesn’t happen to OB.
That is why maintaining the current 30 foot coastal height limit is TOP PRIORITY!
As long as the 30 foot height limit is the law, OB will be safe from high rise development. MAKE NO MISTAKE-THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY WOULD LOVE TO GET RID OF THE 30 FOOT HEIGHT LIMIT.
In ’59 orb ’60, sometime around then, we lived on Newport above a bar called “The Hat Box”. When I was last there “The Sunshine Company” It’s name now I can only guess. But to the point. All we had to do was go down stairs to the bar to get our mom’s(sisters) to come home and fix us something to eat. Maybe they want to bring up another generation of drug addict kids of drunks to populate(perpetuate) the Ocean Beach “Ghetto” Or perhaps drunk kids of dopers.
No, no, no! I have a hard time wrapping my head around this, and all I can picture is people cramming into OB like little rats. Can you imagine the hellish parking issues? The trend as of late is for cities to make room where there is none for those who want an ocean or coastal residence. But at some point it seems like they should say, “Sorry, first come, first served,” and let people move in when others move out or die. Is that extreme? For what it’s worth, San Fran is experiencing something similar: http://bit.ly/n9VKVQ
they are packed into OB like Rats already !
No worries about the parking Annie, it will be under ground….Sorry
It not about a “village” it’s all about tax revenue.
The elected leaders of this city are the ones to blame because they are feed $$$ from developers that guide city employees on what changes to make in our city.
Meeting tonight…..I hope people will attend.
look at the statistics here … this alone will show that there is no room in OB for denser growth.
I found the transportation stats especially interesting…
2% bicycle to work in 92107, 2% by bus, 3% walk, and 79% drive a car by themselves….I forget the car pool number.
We need to find out why the bus is such a failure. More people walk than bike to work?? Maybe we need to be more bicycle friendly?? And maybe 79% of people drive to work here, because many employers can’t or won’t hire locals. I don’t see how building more apartments will make us more of a village. Even increasing the number of businesses and jobs runs the risk of bringing more outsiders that drive to get here.
From my perch here as a political analyst sniper, I can target individuals responsible for impacting OB in this irresponsible manner. Time to vote out the slugs. First, we need to build that damn bathroom over on Brighton. Then we need a planetary comprehensive plan to educate the humans regarding overpopulation. Or we can build, wait, then riot like the people of London. I can hear the call now, “Dude, do you want to riot this afternoon or tomorrow?” Other dude, “Dude, what the hell you smokin’?” “I was just wonderin’ where I was going to park next week. I had to park on Friars Road & walk home last night.” “Dude, I parked in El Centro & hitched home one day.” “Dude, we’re talkin’ about a riot about all the overcrowding east of pier, not parking.” “Oh.”
You see, overdevelopment causes strife in OB.
Oopsies, Frank. I sent you an email about the outcome of the meeting and it isn’t until 7 tonight. I would go but deadlines rule.
So, I agree that this is too much density. As other people have said, wherever would they go. Up?
While this situation, if it passes, won’t cause me to move out of OB, just imagine this many more people (thinking one per unit, but we know that there will probably be at least 2 per unit) at the Farmer’s Market, at the restuarants and bars, etc., etc., etc.
argh!
I have owned my home in OB for 20 years. This sounds good to me. I love OB and want to see it grow up. Those old buildings, while charming, are frankly crap and old crap at that. Time to upgrade.
Common theme of the night: “No one got a copy of the plan, what the heck are we supposed to comment on?!?”
I’m sure Frank will have more tomorrow, as will I…
How about lowering the height limit to 29 feet? 28 feet? A typical ceiling will be 96″ with half inch drywall, 10″ ceiling joists, 3/4″ subfloor, then start again. Triple that number & you get a bit over 26′. If you have a flat roof, you may have just enough for waterproofing & a teeny weeny railing for short people to congregate on a deck, depending on code of course. Now, the developers could bribe the inspectors & plan check to allow them to start measuring the height from the HIGH side of a hill; that way they could cram in another apartment on the low side. Or the height limit could be graduated. As the buildings encroach upon a hill, each one could be a bit taller, & the ones at the very top could be five or six stories! Wow, that could solve the housing shortage just in OB! OB’s density could actually approach that of a third world nation/city. How about Bogota? When a tsunami hits OB, everyone could just run up the hill streets to be safe, according to the city’s tsunami evacuation plan. Yep.