District 7 – the South End of Ocean Beach

See our review of District 7 from March of 2016. This is an updated and slightly edited version.

The OB Planning Board is holding its 2019 General Election on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Polls will be open 4-7 p.m. at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center at 4726 Santa Monica Avenue.

As we complete our romping review of Ocean Beach’s planning districts, we round out our visit with District 7 – the South End of OB.

The 2 seats on the Board for District 7are currently held by Andrea Schlageter, the Chair of the Board, and by Richard Aguirre. Andrea’s seat is good until 2010, and Richard doesn’t appear to be running for re-election. Another current member of the Board, Andrew Waltz, has jumped over to this district and is the candidate for the open seat.

Andrea Schlageter

(From bio at OBPB website:) Andrea Schlageter was born and raised in the Ocean Beach Point Loma area. A graduate of Point Loma High School Class of 2009, she went on to study Political Science and International Relations at Boston University (’13). She is thrilled to be back in America’s finest city and working on the Planning Board to help ensure that Ocean Beach maintains it’s unique neighborhood. She is also excited to be able to represent the needs of the younger and up and coming generations.

Richard Aguirre

Richard has been on the Board since April 2017 and is the owner of a small eatery at the corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd and Pt Loma Avenue. (No bio available.)

Andrew Waltz – Candidate for District 7

(Edited bio from OBPB website) Andrew Waltz has a BFA degree from the University of Delaware, and manages marketing and program developments for the Arts District Liberty Station. A champion of the arts, Andrew worked for The Old Globe Theatre supporting marketing and PR campaigns.

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Looking down and west on the district’s main drag – Point Loma Avenue.

District 7 – Southend Ocean Beach

Here in south OB, there is a different feel in the air;  ubiquitous airplanes are off in the distance, as are the other attributes of living in a highly packed urban beach area, the noise, the traffic, the parking problems, the congestion, the tourists and other visitors. One can almost feel part of a different neighborhood than the raucous community to the north, the loud OB.

With nearly a dozen blocks as residential within its area, District 7 does have a slice of a business district along or right off its main east-west artery – Point Loma Avenue.

Other than that, it’s all quiet streets bordered on the west by the beautiful Sunset Cliffs, on the east by Froude Street, on its north by the alley between Coronado and Del Mar Avenues, and on its south by a dirt alley that runs between Adair and Tivioli streets.

The entire southern rump of OB is included in District 7, with the east-west avenues of Del Mar, Orchard, Pescadero, Bermuda, Point Loma and Adair adding their flair to the overall community. North-south, it includes Sunset Cliffs Boulevard of course and Ebers and Froude.

District 7 is geographically one of the larger districts within the OB Planning Area, but it’s probably one of the least dense in terms of residents. Except for the high-rises on the cliffs, there are hardly any apartments or multi-unit complexes in this district. Like District 6, this district has some of the higher economic strata of OB – and you can see that in the new 2 and 3 story rehabs. And like District 6, views and view corridors are important issues.

Based on a windshield informal survey, District 7 does not have the same variety of housing stock as the more north and western districts have. This is probably due to the abilities of the higher economic levels to finance rehabs and new construction of large single family mansions. There is no mystery here.

Point Loma Avenue

The commercial corridor of District 7 is along Point Loma Avenue, primarily.

It includes the Warren Walker private school, a gas station, a liquor store, a pizza place, a Mexican breakfast cafe, a prominent church, a wash and dry, some professional offices – and some very new mixed commercial and residential. Also some new restaurants have moved in of late, bringing the weekend breakfast crowd to south OB.

It’s a very quiet business zone, hardly anyone on the street. Some like it that way.

However, the vacant buildings on Point Loma Avenue just cannot get a new life and have remained vacant for a long while.

The Sea Trader has been here for ions.

Last gas. Always there, always more expensive.

What’s part of the mural and what’s real?

The laundry-mat has a very large mural on its exterior wall – looks like it needs repair, though.

Paintings for sale at the frame store, with reflections of the street.

This district has some wonderful pocket beaches – particularly at the end of Bermuda.

It also includes a section of the Sunset Cliffs Nature Park.

Other Issues

Other issues of this district include the city’s efforts to shore up the cliffs with massive boulder drops over the side, destroying the bluffs in order to save them.

Other issues include a local hotel holding weddings on its fabulous clifftop, with neighbors complaining of all the parking being gobbled up by the wedding guests.

Along with the other districts that front the ocean, there’s always the twin challenges from gentrification and short-term vacation rentals. Each challenge can lead to a loss of community.

Each dot is a short term rental of Airbnb – and there are many in southern OB.

And then there’s the beauty and dangers of Sunset Cliffs themselves.

Yet, another issue for the southern end of OB is the exact boundary of the district: is it the middle of Adair Street as some would say or does it go down the middle of the alley to the south of Adair?

High-Rise

District 7 has the largest high-rise apartment and condo complexes in OB – and they’re right on the cliffs themselves. The massive buildings at the end of Orchard and the one at the end of Pescadero helped give rise to the grassroots movement that passed the thirty-foot height limit.

For awhile a local OB group, the OB Ecology Action Committee organized picket lines and other lobbying efforts in the mid and early Seventies in attempts to tamp down any enthusiasm for these massive cliff invaders.

The exercise of some “property rights” can be detrimental to the community over-all. Here, back in the Seventies, developers installed this massive complex – and sparked a revolution against unbridled construction.

Where Is the District 7’s Southern Boundary

Is this the boundary? Looking east up the hill.

There has been some confusion over just where the southern boundary of the district lays, and since it is the last district in OB going south, it’s also an issue for the entire Planning Board. At a late 2013 planning board meeting, the board reconfirmed that the border is the alley between Adair and Tivoli, and not Adair itself. Some old maps show the line goes down the street.

The alley in question is a dirt one. Imagine – dirt allies in Ocean Beach.

Take a Tour of the District

Warren Walker private school on Point Loma Ave.

Beautiful but expensive rehabs.

An older cliff house.

The “Hippie House” of Sunset Cliffs

This is District 7.