Reader’s Rant: Peninsula Planning Board Chair Prevented Community from Important Questioning of City Development Director

Original poster from the 1972 battle for Proposition D – the 30-foot height limit citizens’ initiative.

Lost Opportunity to “Grill” Director Vacchi Over 30-Foot Height Enforcement

By Geoff Page

I want to relate some observations and opinions about the 30-foot height discussion and the sorry appearance of Robert Vacchi, Director of the Development Services Department (DSD), at the January 19 monthly meeting of the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB).  I wrote a report of the meeting that appeared in the OB Rag last week but that report was an attempt at an objective account of the meeting; my opinions, and I have a few, were held in check.

Let me start my piece with a little background.  Recently, the editor of the OB Rag drafted me into his informal and diverse staff to provide regular reporting on the Midway and Peninsula monthly planning board meetings. To his credit, the editor is making a real effort to provide as much news as he can about the community around us, if he can manage to cajole enough folks to help.  The main focus is OB, of course, and Point Loma, but also beyond.  (I also wrote a report about the Midway Community Planning Board meeting that does not figure in this story.)

Despite what some critics might say about the editor’s bias, which is clear, I have to say also that he strives for objectivity when it comes to straight reporting.  I was a big fan of Hunter Thompson and Gonzo journalism appealed to me.  When I wrote my first two reports, I did a little of that and editor dude cleaned it up.  I was a bit surprised but I got it.  I actually have a dusty, little-used journalism degree.  So, when I wrote this recent report on the PCPB, I wrote an objective report, but it was a struggle.  I had more I wanted to say.

The most important item discussed at the PCPB meeting was the 30-foot height limit, a subject that is dear to anyone who lives within the area of Proposition D, the initiative that was passed by the citizens of San Diego in 1972.  Vacchi was scheduled to be at the meeting to give a presentation of the DSD’s interpretation of the 30-foot height limit.  His twisted opinion of how the height of a building is determined is the subject of a great deal of anger within this community.

In a meeting that lasted two and a half hours, only 15 minutes were devoted to this.  The room was full of people.  I’ve been on this board twice and have attended many meetings so when I say there was a much larger than normal crowd, I know what I’m talking about.  Whenever a hot button issue came before the board, the room was full, but normally, the audience was only a few people.

There was a crowd for the January 19 meeting because some of us had put out the word that this discussion with Vacchi would be happening.  The crowd was very disappointed and I am here to point my finger at the chair of the PCPB, Jon Linney, for deliberately limiting this discussion.

The chair of a planning board sets the agenda.  The agenda is voted on at the very beginning of each meeting.  The meeting is supposed to follow that agenda.   There is usually a portion of time devoted to Government Reports;  in the PCPB’s case the reports are from Lori Zapf’s office and the Planning Department. Zapf’s representative did his thing and the Planning Department was a no show.

Then, to my surprise, the chair introduced a representative from the San Diego Police Department.  This was not on the agenda.  I wondered if something had come up and this was added because of some urgency but that was not the case.  I’m only relating this to frame a picture of the time that could have been devoted to the DSD issue that was stolen.  The SDPD representative gave a general informational presentation and when it was over it was clear there was no issue of any urgency.  This took up about 15 to 20 minutes.

Another chunk of time was stolen next.  After Government Reports, there were Information Items, one of which was Vacchi’s appearance.  The first information item, however, was a new project in the La Playa area.  The problem for me was that this presentation was completely out of order and a waste of time.  New projects that come before the board go first to the Project Review Subcommittee and then to the full board for action.  Giving this kind of special time to any one project is highly questionable but at the very least wasted another 20 to 25 minutes of time.

Vacchi was next.  The chair announced there would be 15 minutes for the matter.  Vacchi spoke for eight minutes and the chair announced there would be 7 minutes for questions – he was very clear about that and he timed it.  For the rare opportunity when the head of the DSD came out and faced a community, the chair allowed 7 minutes of questions in a meeting that was 150 minutes long.  The 30 to 40 minutes lost to an unscheduled appearance by the SDPD and an unusual, out of normal process presentation of a project – that wasn’t ready for the board to even review yet – could have been devoted to the far more serious issue of the 30-foot height limit – and the assault on it by the very city that is supposed to be enforcing it.  In fact, the chair ended the meeting a half hour early, more time that could have been used.

What happened?  As Richard Pryor’s Mudbone character said “It’s the politics, baby.”  The chair of the PCPB is a 23-year-old young man with grand political aspirations and it has become increasingly clear he is cozying up to the city.  This is not good for the community, and, unfortunately, the rest of the board is letting him run wild.  The chair did not want Vacchi to face the crowd that night, he handled the agenda the way he did to ensure there was no time for the biggest issue. He was protecting Vacchi, – hell – he allowed more questioning of the SDPD and the La Playa project than he did of Vacchi.

This is the same fellow who is taking large credit for a recent change to the Municipal Code – which I believe is a sham – that was generated by a big community protest over a building on Emerson and Evergreen in Roseville.  He arranged two secret and closed meetings with the city that included two other board members and one other person.  The meeting was not sanctioned by the PCPB.  The chair said to all of the media, as he was delightfully interviewed multiple times, that although he and the other two men were members of the PCPB, they were there as private citizens.  Some of us heard about these meetings at the last minute and wanted to attend but were barred.  When the cameras were rolling, this guy was there smiling.

So, what’s my point?  My biggest point is that the 30-foot height limit is under real assault by the city. We had a chance to grill the city and it was a joke.

How do we defend it?  We will get nowhere with Zapf, Vacchi, or the mayor. These people are all of a like mind and if we don’t fight back at the grassroots level, where the planning boards are, we have nowhere to go.  We can’t let the planning boards be co-opted by the city as the PCPB has, in my opinion.  There will be elections in March for five of the board seats.  I encourage people to volunteer and run for a seat and be a voice, not just for the 30-foot height limit but for anything that affects the Peninsula.