OBceans Mobilize Against Project at Ebers and Greene – Town Hall Meeting Planned Soon

Screen capture from Ch8News, just prior to the rally, Sat. Oct. 15, 2016.

Sixty OB residents rallied on Saturday, October 15th against the Nelco Property’s project at Ebers and Greene Streets. With signs, speakers and spirit, OBceans showed their displeasure with the troubled project.

Several TV stations showed up at the protest organized by local residents and the OB Rag. Allison and Mick Rush were introduced by MC Frank Gormlie to the crowd as the couple that got the ball rolling in standing up to the project.

Gormlie called on Mayor Faulconer to order a “Work Stoppage” as was done at the Emerson-Evergreen project in Point Loma.

Geoff Page – a veteran of the Peninsula’s planning wars, and former chair of the Peninsula Community Planning Board, spoke of problems with the construction.

John Ambert, head of the OB Planners, and Jon Linney, head of the Peninsula planners, both spoke against the project. Kris Schlech of Friends of Peninsula Trees talked about the Torrey Pine right across the street from the project that has been damaged by construction equipment.

One of the immediate upshots of the protest was the planning for a Town Hall meeting on the project – to be organized this week – the week Oct. 17 to Oct. 21 probably at the Masonic Center. (Details will be announced here.) Both planning board chairs committed to organizing the meeting – where it is hoped that city representatives would be present with answers.

Numerous media sources reported on the event and controversy.

Here’s Dave Rice at San Diego Reader.  Allison Rush told Dave:

“This has been a nightmare since day one, about a year ago. The owner, who’s from up in Vista, came in and told us he’s going to knock our wall down, he’s going to do this, do that, build this monstrous building.

“He hires people to work for a day and doesn’t pay them, every day it’s an ongoing saga with something new. OSHA [Occupational Health and Safety Administration] has shut them down because of asbestos they tried to take out in the middle of the night. They didn’t have scaffolding.”

Here’s more coverage:

Channel 8News

Times of San Diego

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