There’s a four-story apartment building being planned for a busy corner on a major street in Point Loma, but neither neighbors nor the local Peninsula Planning Board can get any details on the project out of the City of San Diego. It’s coming in at the former site of the San Diego County Credit Union building.
Residents are very concerned about impacts on the community from the project at 1400 Rosecrans, at the intersection with Talbot. For instance, the 56-unit complex would be built literally next door to the Cabrillo Elementary School.
Point Loma resident, Mark Cervantes spoke to CBS8:
“We’re skeptical that this thing can really fit into our community here and not have real impacts that’ll be long-lasting.”
Yet, residents’ concerns are not being met with details from the city. Neighbors are so concerned, they are forming an organized group and are demanding answers. Chair of the Peninsula Community Planning Board’s Project Review Committee, Eric Law, has been down to the City and cannot get any info on the project nor will they allow him to see the plans. Law told the TV station:
“This is part of Mayor Gloria’s program to destroy our neighborhoods, especially along the coast. This is the heart of our community, and he wants to put this huge building on the corner here.”
Not only are neighbors concerned about the project, they claim that there has been no public input or discussion with community groups about the project. Issues that stand out are impacts of traffic congestion for Cabrillo Elementary School next door and the Point Loma Assembly across the street. Mark Cervantes:
“The project’s entirely out of keeping with what the community has here. We just feel like there should be a tremendous amount more communication with the community that’s going to be impacted by buildings like this.”
The planners are meeting this Thursday, October 17, and the project is on their agenda as an informational item only. The developer may appear and may give some kind of presentation. (Here are more details of the meeting, the agenda and the Board.)
To their credit, CBS 8 checked with the City of San Diego’s Development Services regarding the details of the project, and a spokesperson told them “a building permit application has been under review since August 7, 2024, for a 4-story, 56-unit housing project with 1,770 square feet of commercial space along with 45 parking spaces in a basement garage.”
Sally Bixler, President of the Point Loma Assembly, was not impressed. She told CBS8:
“The fact that they’re only allowing 45 parking places, they think everybody is going to ride their bicycle and take the bus to and from this area is ludicrous. It’s going to create a lot of congestion.”
The property was purchased for more than $3.7 million on April 12, 2023, and the property is owned by Northstar Homes, LP.
If approved, the mixed-use building could begin construction in a few months. CBS8 also found:
According to the permit application, the developer is using the City’s Complete Communities density bonus program by including a percentage of affordable housing units that would be built close to public transit. The builder is planning to include 8 affordable units (3 very low-income, 2 low-income, and 3 moderate-income).
The City of San Diego told CBS 8 the building permit application is still under review.
And the building is violating the 30-foot height limit.
… Oh, that. In some quarters, it doesn’t appear that the voter-driven initiative to keep the height limit at 30 amounts to a hill of beans.
You can thank Todd Gloria.
Simple solution…DEFEAT GLORIA! All neighborhoods fighting these monstrosities! Pepto Bismo building in Mission Hills. Disasters in Clairemont. O.B.Bay Park. Hillcrest, etc., etc. All kept quiet until AFTER the election.
The pushback (against the pushback) is happening; a bunch of influential progressives have been giving Gloria full-throated endorsements and the Rag is receiving criticism for backing Turner (“Turner’s a Republican!’ — No, he’s not.)
Well, at least the Rag has been consistent. We opposed Gloria 4 years ago — and guess what? Nothing has happened to change our minds about the guy. And some of the liberals and progressives who supported him in 2020 still do — not all, but some. There is such a lock on local politics by the mainstream Democratic Party that any criticism of, say a so-called Democratic mayor, is forbidden and those who place city above party, eat it.
Is it possible it is on a Talbot Street Address? Is it Rosecrans St or Rosecrans Ave? If they have opened a project, it has to have a number. Using a different address is the first step in staying out of sight for as long as possible. They may have multiple addresses and multiple project numbers. Once you have the project number and the exact address, more information pops up. You are right; hard to see this one on the website.
The site has two addresses, 1400 and 1004 Rosecrans. Seems very odd to me but Google Maps takes you to the same place. The permit information on the city site only shows up under 1004.
The next step is the project number. If you have the permit information, can you provide the Project Number? Anyone who responds will need it. Are you also seeing Rosecrans St and Rosecrans Ave?
Record PMT-3306333:
Building Permit
Record Status: Opened
Work Location
1004 Rosecrans St
San Diego CA *
Record Details
Description:
Building Permit:1004/Rosecrans
CollapseMore Details
Collapse Application Information
PROJECT INFORMATIONDSD Defined Scope:PENINSULA; Building, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits for a (N) (4)-story mixed-use MDU. Work to include (56) residential units including (8) affordable units, (3) very low income, (2) low income, and 3 moderate income, a commercial suite, and (45) parking spaces in a basement parking garage. Application Opened Date:07/31/2024Application Expiration Date:02/05/2026
STRUCTURE SIZE Commercial School Charge:1584Residential School Charge:44802
Collapse Parcel Information
Parcel Number:531-380-1000 *
Block:380
Lot:–
Subdivision:–
DSD_PARCELOWNERSHIP_ID: 221684
DWELL_UNITS_NUM: 1
MPR_MAIL_ADDRESS: 2249 ULRIC ST*SAN DIEGO CA\
MPR_MAP_NUMBER: 000476
MPR_OWNER_NAME: #NORTHSTAR HOMES LP\
MPR_PROP_DESC_CHAR: BLK 10*LOTS 6 7 & 8*ST CLSD ADJ & POR*
RECORDED_DOC_CD: 1
RECORDED_DOC_DT: 04/12/2023
RECORDED_DOC_NUM: 094728
NAD83_EASTING: 6259309.43995
NAD83_NORTHING: 1843363.48512
SANGIS_APN_10: 5313801000
SANGIS_PARCEL_ID: 5388036
This is great! Thank you. I am still looking for the project manager’s name. If you can find that, then the next step is to email him. I am not there. Everything is under the radar.
Heres the link to all of the permit info. I havent found a PM per se yet
Hi Cindy – commenters cannot leave long long strings of link data, please.
My apologies, thank you for fixing it! :^)
Please note what Cindy Page’s post tells us: Is this permit a Ministerial (No possibility of Appeal) by “Defined Scope: PENINSULA; Building, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits…” Ministerial permits do not permit appeal. It is a done deal once it is issued. This is being used by DSD to guarantee construction. And who was the DSD Project Manager again?
It’s my understanding you can file a lawsuit for a ministerial permit within a short period after a permit is issued. But an attorney would need to confirm. My sense is that moving these discussions from elected officials, or those working in the City under the direction of elected officials, to the courts is the only pathway to fight. Gloria, our Councilmembers, and DSD has decided ridiculously favorable to developer interpretation of the codes/laws — to the point of being illegal — is acceptable. It seems these dialogs need to be moved into the courts if there is any hope of stopping what appears to be not only a complete disregard of communities but also the law.
According to the DSD Record PMT-3306333:
Company Name: NORTH STAR HOMES, LP
Entity Type: CALIFORNIA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP – CA
File Number: 201621400018
Filing State: California (CA)
Filing Status: Active
Filing Date: July 26, 2016
Company Age: 8 Years, 3 Months
Registered Agent: Michael Contreras
2249 Ulric St San Diego, CA 92111
Principal Address: 2249 Ulrich St
San Diego, CA 92111
Mailing Address: 2249 Ulrich St
San Diego, CA 92111
Governing Agency: California Secretary of State
This situation is outrageous! It’s unbelievable. And it’s what city councilmembers are for! Please contact Jen Campbell’s office about this. If she hears from a lot of residents and businesses, she might sit up and take note.
Contact info for City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell
202 “C” Street, 10th Floor
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 619-236-6622
Email: Contact Councilmember Jennifer Campbell
Contact the Staff
View email addresses of Council District 2 staff.
Media Inquiries
Meeting Requests
To schedule an appointment with Councilmember Campbell, please submit a written request to Ruth Torres at torresra@sandiego.gov.
Frank, what exactly is the outrage? Not trolling … just struggling to understand … is it the sacredness of the 30′ height limit? I just do not understand what is so monstrous about some new neighbors.
Tanner, for 2 years now, you’ve disparaged every post on, every effort of trying to save the 30-foot height limit and the opposition to huge apartment complexes that negatively impact neighborhoods that haven’t been afforded the infrastructure to support them. So, in a sense, you are trolling – you haven’t struggled to understand anything we’ve said or posted. Here, for instance, you just can’t “understand” how 56 new units without adequate parking will disrupt this particular central neighborhood, literally right next door to an elementary school.
I would say at its core, the issue is the developer is not acting in good-faith with the proposal as it relates to the community. The 30 foot limit is certainly at the tip of the spear here, because they’re essentially being antagonistic to the community by saying we’re just going to build something higher than all the surrounding buildings, and using unpopular (within the local community) density loopholes to get around staying within the character of the buildings around it. They are all 90% of residents of these condos will not be in the business of taking the bus.
Thanks for the replies, Frank and Rational. I guess we just see things differently. I just, yeah, don’t get how new homes destroy communities. We gotta share this lovely space. I welcome our future neighbors.
“Tanner” – A new home would not destroy our neighborhood, a new home would have been welcomed with open arms, a new home would have been a blessing to the community, the community would have benefited from a new home. But this isn’t a new home.
THIS IS A FREAKIN HOTEL.
You would think, the mayor and DSD would have learned from the uproar of North Park, Miramesa, and Hillcrest, not to try to hide what they were doing, but noooo, I guess they’re not smart enough to listen and learn. What’s the big deal mayor and dsd? Why the secrecy and hidden actions? Transparency and communication is key. With the “strong mayor form of government”, you can be fired with a snap of his fingers.
45 parking spaces in a basement garage! This sounds like a repeat, but it’s worse than the “Laberdi pool garage” next to the OB Life Gauard parking lot!
How many times have the Talbot retaining walls on the hillside been redone from water coming down the hillside onto Talbot Street, along with a lot of other water flowing down to the bottom of the hill? The garage should advertised as a future swimming pool, not an underground 45 car parking garage! This is one of many reasons why it is important to listen to residents and planning boards! Put something that is under 30 feet and fits in with the neighborhood. Maybe bring the SD County Credit Union back before the building is torn down!
Excellent point. I wonder if the planning department checks for flooding from above and also from the bay. Water level rise is real and getting worse.
Vote Gloria out. He’s destroying our communities.
The reason the DSD Project Manager is important is because you need to register as a “Party of Interest” with him/her. This gives you certain rights during the DSD process. This can be done (or used to be possible) with an email.
We need to put the “Kibash” on this eyesore!!!
The Peninsula Community Planning Board is now holding in-person AND Zoom meetings. If you can’t attend, you can tune in: https://www.pcpb.net/agendas.html
The Zoom link is included at the above link.
Geoff, this was just published today by Peninsula Newsletter from PLA:
Caution!
There is some confusion.
The PCPB website states that there will be a meeting at the Point Loma Library tonight. However, we have been assured that information is incorrect. The library is not available. The meeting will be virtual, available only on ZOOM.
Well, I think I see the confusion. The website says:
“All PCPB meetings will be either held in-person or via Zoom.”
It didn’t say “and” Zoom, it said “or” Zoom. This could have been much clearer. There is nothing on the website saying there would only be a Zoom meeting tonight. Hopefully, not too many people waste a trip to the library.
Parking around that school is a disaster. I’m sure this project will help.
The submitted plans are public record and they should be allowing them to be viewed at the records department. Also CA state law exempts drawings from copyright protections when they are part of the approval process, so legally they could provide copies. Seems like another easy one for Cory Briggs. Has anyone tried a PRR?
The planning groups have virtually no power over these, so why is the city bothering to hide the ball? It’s just insulting.
Before that site was the Credit Union, it was a gas station. I am sure there is still remediation that needs to be done at the site. As a former resident of Point Loma, and specifically on Armada Terrace, what a shame the greedy developers are not looking for more appropriately sized buildings.
Has anyone contacted Cabrillo ES and/or the adjacent businesses & residents?
Surely they’d gotten a notice from the city of sd at some point.
How to find out for any project: If you have the Developer’s name, Google the name, and browse a little. You will be AMAZED! Hint: There are people out there who are profit-motivated.
Looking more closely, the owner is NORTHSTAR HOMES LP. There is no registered NorthStar Homes, LP, but there is a NORTHSTAR HOMES LLC. It is registered in Sacramento. Others with that name at various times have been terminated. There are also National Companies with that name. I am sure some professional can find it and correct me. The conclusion is not hard: Whoever Northstar homes is, It is not easy for an amateur with limited time to track them down. Maybe somebody with more time will have more luck.
https://www.bizapedia.com/ca/north-star-homes-lp.html
Vern – and other readers – please don’t leave just a link but add text to your comment and then the link.
Will do.