It has been confirmed that the City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee will discuss the proposed “Sustainability Development Areas” zoning change at its Thursday, January 12, 2023 meeting.
This ill-conceived proposal would allow high-density, high rise, and multi-unit ADU projects within one mile of an existing or planned bus or trolley stop. The planning department claims — without any evidence and in the face of contradictory facts — one mile is a reasonable “walking, riding, rolling” distance from a residence to a transit stop. (The widely accepted definition of “transit-friendly” development is one-half mile from a major transit stop.)
The common-sense, well-researched opposition to the city’s proposed policy change is detailed here.
And here’s a link to Land Use and Housing Committee’s January 12, 1 pm agenda (it’s Item 1).
Neighbors for a Better San Diego are urging residents to share this information with friends, neighbors, and colleagues, and asking that people express their opposition to this new, convoluted, and most importantly, utterly unrealistic definition of “access to transit,” which is really just a fig-leaf for continued overdevelopment of our residential neighborhoods.
You can speak out in person at this committee meeting, which will be held in the Council Chambers on the 12th Floor of the City Administration Building, or you can call-in to the meeting, or submit your comments via the link on the committee’s agenda.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
It is not just distance that is a flawed metric here but also “major transit stop”. Take a look at the current 1/2 mile map, see if you are in the current overlay (you most likely are), and then look up time/directions to your workplace via transit via Google Maps. It is not pretty for most who live in the current overlay and now they want to expand it further.
https://webmaps.sandiego.gov/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=4efd01a2e06246adb36122fcf136f95d
Good point Greg. Also some of these “transit stops” won’t be built until the 2030s.
Advocates for these developer incentives also like to claim that making it a hardship for car commuters will promote more transit use and demand for new transit.
Which is bullshit. Parking in OB at least has been miserable for decades and we still don’t have transit options. We had better transit in the early 1900s than we do now. My commute by car to a major employment hub is 25-40 minutes each way depending on traffic.
By bus it’s 2.5 hours each way with 2-3 transfers and 2+ miles of walking.
Not that it’s an option anyways for most people with children.
Agreed kh.
While it is true that personal vehicles are over-subsidized by current policy, it is also true that no reasonable alternatives are being provided. So everything is just getting shittier.
“Over-subsidized” how?