By Lynne Miller
ZEN
My Dad’s leather covered portable radio is on the porch playing the background to my summer days. Luke Easter just hit a homerun, and I hear my Dad shout softly, “That’s my boys.” The 6’4” first baseman ran the bases at Lane Field and the Padres, circa 1954, took the lead. That year, with Lefty O’dule as their manager Padres were first place in their league.
My summer days were quiet and I was often alone. I loved to wander the many vacant lots that sat at the top of Santa Cruz Avenue. The lot to the east of our house was owned by a friend. My dad, who was a transplanted Missouri farmer, grew turnips, blackberries, a variety of tomatoes, and corn, not quite as high as an elephant’s eye.
Those slow summer days when there was mostly sunshine, when the ocean turquoise touched blue sky, are part of my OBcean DNA. Bright silent butterflies played with me as the radio announcers play by play droned on and small birds cheered with trills.
House by house empty lots disappeared, but not completely. The single-home zoning allowed small cottages to sit inside of 50’ X 130’ lots. Locals watched as the changes happened naturally. People want to live here. Of course.
NOW
If you fly a drone around OB and Point Loma you will see many apartments and condos that are part of OB. You will also see that OB is literally surrounded by apartments and condos that circle the OB Cottage Emerging Historic District.
A little history lesson for people who are dropping NIMBY pejoratives on people who live here. OB has been for years and years an affordable beach community, populated by small houses, apartments and condos. Ocean Beach with its tiny houses, duplexes, 4-plexes and small apartments has been an affordable seaside village for renters and first time home owners for decades.
The fact that San Diego is the most expensive Real Estate in the US is not the fault of local residents. What has changed and why is it hard to find housing, affordable or not? The rise in property value, particularly in coastal zoned San Diego is as real as the rising sea levels. People are competing for rental properties, and the closer renters get to the beaches the higher the cost. That is true from OB to Calamazoo.
The old Zen saying, ‘less is more’ is worth contemplating. What makes Ocean Beach in San Diego a dream zone? Visitors dream of living in OB, travelers dream of visiting, and locals are living the dream! Just like condos and 3 story apartments are circling OB like land sharks, the edges of our dreams have emerging shadows instead of emerging cottages.
Who and what are in the shadows?
More and More of everything. More people, more cars, more pollution, more corporate greed, more Big money, and more builders. Hiding in the sand dunes are government policies that pave the way for destroying the dream. Name calling, labeling and word lashings are tools in their corrupt arsenal. Like hermit crabs wearing shells to hide their true nature, state and local policy makers fling arrows of guilt into the dream. SB9, SB10, Complete Communities, High Density Housing, NIMBY, are arrows that land in the consciousness of local residents.
Now, some Zen Advice.
Pay no attention to the arrows. Less is More. Your intuitive dream of preserving the OB life style is right on. Building up, packing more people into smaller spaces, is not a solution. The state and local mandates serve government and large corporations, not quality of life for anyone. Once again, history is repeating itself. OB locals are called to fight for our village by the sea.
The long term – vote out the land sharks who are ignoring laws and executing mandates. Short term: appeal APPEAL APPEAL!!. Slow down the process of building by appealing every ADU that pops up as an apartment rather than a single granny flat.
And that dream, don’t forget it. Strengthen it. Take a barefoot walk along the shore, or a swim, or surf in the waves. Do that now and zen to remember what it is that you love about OB.
Too many of those wonderful dreams are being taken over by horrific nightmares without a second thought. The greed of others without a thought for the consequences is shattering. It’s time to wake up and smell the roses – but be careful. At this rate they may not be here for long
I arrived here in January 1977. I was a construction worker for the next 12 years and I worked all over the county. Every time I told someone where I lived, I got a negative reaction. Planes. Bikers. Hippies. Lawlessness. Each time I would vociferously agree. I’d lie and say, yea, it’s pretty bad, you don’t want to come to OB, it’s just like you said. I did my best to keep this paradise free of people like that. But, I knew that one day, OB would be “discovered” and that day arrived some time ago. There is still a lot of good OB in OB but the economic pressure on our beach town is eroding the OB in OB. Really a shame but I still love it here.
Heck, there was a very strong anti-OB prejudice throughout San Diego up into the early Nineties.
GREAT WRITING – good summary.. and thanx Judi for the supportive comments … It is so true that changes have occurred beneath our noses, even as shocks to our senses …. but we do love our OB … and I’m aware of the community support for preservation of this historical beach town … it is wonderful …blessings Lynne and Judi and Craig and Julie and all who supported our appeal …
Let us not worry but be alert and grateful … PEACE and HOPE are one … pal
Love this – thanks for writing. Less is more – maybe that’s why I was attracted to OB in the first place :)
Great piece, Lynne! We bought a house in OB because of its single-family home neighborhoods. We know and love all of our neighbors. We will enjoy it while it lasts!
How many houses could the mayor build on one city-owned golf course? Probably more than even he would approve in OB. But would that happen? NEVER. A thousand reasons to destroy OB instead. The recent win at the Planning Commission gave other communities a gift also: the gift of hope. But our own battle is not over. The City does not give up.
When I tell folks I am from OB, they are envious.
We lived in the OB “heights” which borders point loma.
How boring to tell folks you are from point loma, back in the day that was where the old money people lived.
OB was my home, and always will be in my heart.
Good friends and surf.
As a native OBcean I appreciate this wonderful diverse community which has adapted well to the pressures of change. My mother fought for the integrity of R1 zoning in the 80’s with good results as the City Council listened to the residents of Ocean Beach. Thanks, Lynne for this poignant reminder of our past as well as the need to be aware of how we can act together to impact the type of changes coming.