By Kate Callen
Neighborhood activists from across San Diego came together April 12 to launch a San Diego Community Coalition that will be a platform for coordinated citywide action on two interwoven issues: massive overbuilding in residential areas and City Hall’s disrespect for the public.
Leaders from 14 communities, many meeting in person for the first time, were already active in pushing back against predatory development and elected officials’ dismissive treatment of their constituents.
The new Coalition will empower them to join forces, mobilize residents and business owners in their individual communities, turn out large numbers at public meetings, and flood city offices with constituent messages.
Communities represented were:
- Bay Ho,
- City Heights,
- Clairemont,
- College Area,
- Encanto,
- Golden Hill,
- Middletown,
- Mission Hills,
- North Park,
- Ocean Beach,
- Point Loma,
- Pacific Beach,
- Talmadge, and
- University City.
The OB Rag will serve as the Coalition’s communications infrastructure, posting event notices, publishing updates, and providing a venue for feedback.
An early Coalition focus will be filling the chamber at a May 1 meeting where the San Diego Planning Commission is slated to discuss proposed reforms to the controversial Bonus ADU program.
In advance of the meeting, the Coalition will orchestrate a campaign of emails and phone calls to Councilmembers.
The group’s plans include large public rallies at the sites of gigantic projects that exemplify how politicians, developers, and corporate investors are colluding to plunder San Diego neighborhoods.
Two issues were selected as areas that will be a special Coalition focus:
Family Housing: The worst housing crisis in San Diego by far is the appalling lack of housing that can accommodate families, especially working families with limited resources. Almost all the units produced by the Complete Communities program have been small and market-rate.
Fire Safety: Rampant construction of multi-unit complexes with no setbacks in high-fire zones have put San Diegans at risk for wildfire disasters when residents in saturated housing areas cannot evacuate safely.
The demographic reach of the coalition is bracketed by the two communities that have energized the rest of San Diego.
In 2021, residents of Talmadge who were alarmed over a monstrous ADU complex formed Neighbors for a Better San Diego. Four years later, the non-profit group has become a powerful engine for educating the public about ADU excesses and for rallying support for sustainable land use policies.
This year, residents of Encanto fought back against the notorious Footnote 7 that sought to cram harmful density into their underserved community. At a remarkable March 4 Council meeting, Neighbors for Encanto were joined by hundreds of activists from across the city.
Faced with the collective anger of a consolidated public and prompted by the courageous stand by D4 Councilmember Henry L. Foster 111, the Council took the surprise step of considering serious reform to the Bonus ADU program.
That was a turning point. The new Coalition will build on that momentum.
As current elected officials serve out their lame duck terms, and as candidates emerge to run for their seats, the Coalition will demonstrate that when the people of San Diego join forces, they can be more powerful than big donors, lobbyists, and special interest groups.
Editordude: If you or any group that you’re part of wish to be included in future meetings, emails, etc,., please contact the Community Coalition via the OB Rag — obragblog@gmail.com
Although I was camera shy, I attended the meeting and was impressed with the tenacity, enthusiasm and determination of those in attendance.
By joining forces with all districts, we are on the march to city hall in our fight to take back our communities.
I was proud to attend the kickoff meeting of this San Diego Community Coalition as the founding member of UC PEEPS in University City and want to express my sincere gratitude to the OB Rag for agreeing to serve as the platform for our communications. It’s been a long time coming, but uniting as we have will put us in a much stronger position to push back against poorly planned development and city officials’ complete lack of respect of their constituents. I’m looking forward to what we can achieve together to save our city’s future.
“Pictured: 17 people whose homes are valued at a collective $25 million dollars while paying a total of $15 thousand a year in property taxes continue to be mad about the idea that San Diego should be a place their kids and grandkids can live in.”
Our kids and grandkids can’t afford to live in the market-rate ADUs and mid-rise studios sprouting up everywhere thanks to the Complete Communities shell game. Politicians and developers promised us affordable housing. Where is it? Tiny percentages in large projects are a joke. We don’t want the next generation to have to leave San Diego. And we don’t like being lied to. That’s why we’re organizing.
Shelly OB likes to disparage elders in her community and now she’s heaping a whole lot of BS on her plate to digest. She likes to make huge assumptions and then runs with her narrative, despite evidence to the contrary. And rightly so, Shelly is probably a YIMBY Democrat.
All of you are so fantastically incorrect about housing that arguing with you is like talking to climate change deniers. And much like those people you’re leaving the next generation far worse off than you all had it. Boomers will go down as perhaps the worst generation in the history of the world so congrats, you’re number one.
Shelly, you’re sounding idiotic.
Wow if what you’re saying is true, I’m sure glad I’m a boomer and not in your generation having to deal with what what my generation inflicted on the generations that came after. Cheers and good luck Shelly lol.
I know that trolling feels good sometimes, but have you considered reading the room?
Wow Shelly. Talk about being incorrect.
Why the quotation marks on your comment? Is it yours or someone else’s?
While it could be possible that 17 people (in various areas of SD) could have an average of 66% more property value than the city average, there’s no way $25 million of property would be only $15K of total property taxes. More likely three times that amount in taxes and that’s assuming the average property has been held well over 30 years under Prop 13.
Dan, the fact is transit here sucks and transit works when it can get you there in roughly the same amount of time as driving and saves you substantial money with parking, congestion fees, tolls, etc.
While SD is 5th ranked in the nation for healthiest cities. How could this be if no one walks to the store or bus and SD doesn’t make the top 50 cities in transit use? NYC, Newark, Chicago, Boston plus many others have high transit use and are rated as less healthy than San Diego.
Where did you get the information for this comment?
The average home price is $990k, $25M divided by 17 is $1.47 million, or 67% more than the average home.
I won’t divulge my value and taxes, but its multiple more than 0.06% of the value Shelly’s numbers show.
Shelly, it’s obvious that you are a woman who likes facts. I do too. California legislators write the housing laws that allow developers to build, the state HCD & RHNA give cities new housing quotas every 8 years, divided into 4 income categories: above affordable income, affordable/moderate, low, very low income. Cities must give permits to developers in order to reach their quota, or get fined by the state. Repeat: Cities must give permits. Developers DON’T have to build. Cities give incentives to make it less expensive and easier for developers to build bigger=more units=meet quota. The state gave the City of San Diego a quota of 40% for above affordable= >$3K/mo rent. That’s ridiculous because we have more than enough expensive housing. I’m sure you will agree. The current 8 year cycle is April 2021-April 2029. The city is 50% through this state-mandated timeframe to meet its housing quotas. It has reached 173% of quota for above affordable income units, it is below 50% on the other 3 income levels.
When people say that we need more housing in San Diego, what they are saying is that there is not enough housing for people who need to pay under $3,000 mo. In fact, I’ve done a deep dive into the numbers and what I found will curl your hair. 72% of housing in the City of San Diego is priced for the wealthiest 28%. Meanwhile 28% of the housing is priced for what the 72% majority can afford. Is this backwards, or what?
Now, let’s talk about first responders. I have done a deep dive on this too. Los Angeles has 1 firefighter for every 1,000 residents. SFO has 1:500. Dallas, TX is the same size as City of San Diego in square miles & population. Dallas has 1:500, and in 2025 plan to hire more and reduce the ratio to 1:250. What is the ratio in the City of San Diego? 1 firefighter: 1,400 residents. Not very good, is it? Fires are not the big issue. 85% of the 911 calls for firefighters in this city are health related, including accidents. Due to staffing shortages and distance to travel in traffic, SDFD response time is 8+ minutes. The national standard is 5 minutes. Our firefighter salaries put them in the low income housing category. If you have a sudden health issue or accident, I hope you survive. Until the city and state adjust the ratio of housing to what people can afford, we won’t ever have enough firefighters (or healthcare workers, etc) because they don’t love commuting 35 miles from Alpine, which is where many live (I’ve talked to them).
Shelly, I used my brain, worked by butt off in plain English, putting in 60, 80 hour weeks to achieve my home. I am not a member of the Silver Spoon Club. My dad was a Teamster and a school teacher. I’m a proud member of the San Diego Community Coalition because we are working to provide more affordable housing in this city. I hope you will join us. We could use a vociferous woman like you helping the cause to help others. April 16, 2025
Hey Shelly, I think you were describing another meeting that you attended. We weren’t means-testing in order to join our community coalition meeting.
If you had attended our meeting, you would have learned something: like facts matter; which helps your credibility, if that matters to you.
Thank you Kate
This is an excellent start to what will be a very important vehicle for expressing neighborhood concerns about overbuilding and the disregard for community input by our mayor and city council.
This is great! Our neighborhood efforts need an organized coalition to support responsible development and affordable housing. Current developer / politician coordination has failed on both aspects and ignores the increasing opposition volume of the citizenry across all neighborhoods and demographics.
San Diego’s Big Lie: The Belief that Residents will Take the Bus and Walk for Transportation
It’s the story of San Diego resident’s hypocrisy and their cowering behind shame that fuels the fire of a maddening contradiction. How is it possible for the well-educated including lawyers, doctors, teachers and law enforcement to not accept the truth? Well, it’s very simple. They are ashamed to admit the truth. So, they form a society in which the falsity of their folly goes on and on like father time.
My name is Dan Smiechowski and I have been taking the bus and walking for transportation since 1967 in San Diego. Everyday I witness cars bumper to bumper for miles in my home of Clairemont. This is organized public insanity. It is not normal. Outside of a few local homeless folks, I am the only citizen lugging thirty pounds of groceries from Trader Joes in Pacific Beach up Balboa Ave to my home in Bay Ho. Is it a coincidence that only a few 71-year-old men my age maintains any reasonable health and fitness? Meanwhile, society is screaming at everyone to preserve their God given health.
Ten years ago, while on the Clairemont Community Planning Group, I implored local leaders to ditch the idiocy of Vision Zero and Circulate San Diego, two agencies with good intentions but failed results. Only when the government recognizes the truth of human nature will public policy reflect realty. Otherwise, we are doomed. San Diegans will not take the bus or walk for transportation and the reason is simple. It is beneath them. It is second class. And their misguided sick society says so. We elect leaders who take away your rights and these leaders are reelected. No one will admit the truth.
Instead of telling citizens what they want to hear, I tell them what they ought to hear, not a wise choice to be elected. Next month, the San Diego City Council will hear proposals for further restricting parking in the downtown area. There is a great public denial in this double pronged public policy. Why can’t residents take the bus and trolley downtown? Why can’t they walk? Why do some households have two cars? We must rethink our antiquated ways and in the words of the Chambers Brothers, “The time has come today.”
In conclusion, know thyself, sacrifice for the good of our city and stop pretending to elect leaders who espouse to your beliefs. They do not.
TRI WORLD i has been a resident of San Diego since 1967, is a former Clairemont Town Council and Clairemont Planning Group Director and dubbed the “Million Mile Man.”
Here’s another truth. If too many San Diegans are unwilling to take public transit because it’s “below” them, then perhaps we deserve our doom.
I am not completely opposed to taking the bus (Aka looser cruiser) or the trolly when it is convenient for me to do so. As most will tell you however, there is plenty of mental illness on display while taking public transportation, and the buses and trolly’s aren’t always the cleanest.. In addition, I live about 15 miles from downtown San Diego. In order for me to get to downtown, I have to take a minimum of three buses, or two buses and a trolly, takes a minimum of an hour and a half. Until they resolve the convenience and mental health issues, I’ll keep my car. Thank you very much.
This is the 2nd time I’ve seen you use the term “looser cruiser” and it drives home the point you are in no position to call others “elitist. Yeah there are some shifty characters that take the bus/trolley I admit but plenty of others who aren’t. Those who are don’t bother me. I’ll keep my truck and drive it when necessary but I use public transit when possible and I’ve found it to become more and more possible with a little planning. But yes I agree it needs to be improved but until then I’ve been able to make it work.
I took a survey of the residents around my nieghbrhood… 50 of them , including me. 4 of them said they took the bus “occasionally” This includes me. If it’s convenient, I’ll take it. If it goes downtown (i live .54 miles from El Cajon bl), sans ones that board with a “mental illness”. I just put in my airpods, and sometimes open a book.
I hate driving around here, and trying to find premium parking in the Gaslamp/East Village/downtown, and with one bus that gets me “near there”, I’ll take the bus.
Let’s see, I can have a choice of, walking to a bus stop a half mile away, to then wait for that bus, and maybe transfer a time or two, to get to another point, to walk to complete the trip, and turn around and reverse that in 2 to 4 times the time, vs just taking the vehicle I have out front. Hmmm. I wonder if I can get the 2×4’s from depot in the bus? Construction workers travel all over to get to the job. Pack up your tools and lug them to the bus? LOL. More than 1 worker in the family, kids going to school, a car in the shop, renters in the house, yes many households have 2 or more cars. Nothing to do with our perception of status, and more to do with time usage and efficiency related to destination connectivity. Tax dollars would be saved if the city wasn’t busy trying to reinvent the wheel in the name of affordable housing and climate change while putting RFID chips in trash cans?
“Hmmm. I wonder if I can get the 2×4’s from depot in the bus?”
” Construction workers travel all over to get to the job. Pack up your tools and lug them to the bus? ”
What made you bring those examples up? No one is saying all people should take public transit all the time for all occasions. I myself drove to work today and will be driving to buy groceries later. This weekend I’ll be driving to pick up a new coffee table.
My response was to someone who DID imply the most people won’t take public transit because they feel it’s below them.
Applying real world situations, to the implied notion, public transit is the answer to what ails us.. Secondly, my response was to the champion election loser that seems to scatter the blame everywhere except? After so many attempts, you’d think something might be learned. Not to the bike lane guy who’s fine with sporadic use creating idling cars in gridlock. So your response feels directed at you, that’s not the case.
I agree with your every word, Chris Schultz. ??
There are some who want ADUs in Mission Beach, a violation of our unique zoning for this area. And while there are some who argue that ADUs help with housing and homelessness, there are other approaches that should be first considered, including banning whole home short term rentals. But, as a minimum, these corporate owners should contribute more to the homeless solution.
Whole home short-term rentals (STRs) in San Diego’s coastal zone are lucrative yet highly seasonal, with occupancy rates fluctuating between less than 50% in April and 95% in July. AirDNA reports an average April monthly revenue exceeding $60K and an Average Daily Rate (ADR) of $435 in Mission Beach. In addition to generating cash flow, these rentals significantly accelerate property appreciation.
However, STRs drive up rents citywide, contributing to increased homelessness—a cost shouldered by taxpayers. The San Diego Housing Commission has already allocated $46.9M to create 850 permanent supportive housing units. Yet, these costs were absent from the 2018 STR NEXUS study, which determined STR license fees. To ensure fairness, STR license fees should cover homelessness-related costs. An additional $2,500 per Tier 3 and 4 STR licensee, beyond the $1,000 administrative fee, would total $3,500 annually—helping offset these taxpayer-borne expenses. It’s time for a more equitable solution and I would hope this coalition would consider this issue as well.
Excellent article Kate, and I am really happy to see so many communities involved in the coalition concept. Reminds me of the 60’s, and Power to the People. SD Mayor and Council has become way out of touch in the reality of the living negatives on what they’re dumping on the people/residents/taxpayers. Too bad those who voted for Gloria and the Council incumbents have caused this destruction of SD by giving them another four years, to get further in debt, and take away important community perks, to try to plug the financial holes in the politicians mismanagement.
This new coalition will join Neighbors for a Better California and Neighbors for a Better San Diego in this noble and necessary effort. All of these organizations are well run and well supported. I hope they will either combine or at least coordinate their efforts to maximize their impact.
Chaz, Neighbors for a Better San Diego, which has an impressive record of mentoring community activist groups, played a key role in launching the coalition and will continue to guide and support it. Neighbors for a Better California is very welcome to join this effort.
Excellent desired motives notwithstanding the elephant in the room being campaign finance and out of controlled, corrupt spending by special interests and the two major political parties. Wise readers understand the folly of running without a war chest of a half million dollars for SDCC and triple that for mayor. A few ignorant pesky flies will lament on a candidate’s perennial losses without a shred of context because they have no context. Harold Stassen holds the record for futility in running for President of the United States. In reality he lost. In theory he won. Mister Gormlie, Mr. Krueger and Miss Kallen know this speech. I would bet my last dollar on it. Most of the other commenters are bottom dwellers scapegoating history, truth, reality and using double jeopardy as a weapon of cowardice. For the love of God, most of these flies cannot even read for context. Well read this:
The famous Theodore Roosevelt quote about striving valiantly and daring greatly
“It is not the critic who counts not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” Sir Winston Churchill famously said, “Never, never, never give up” My condolences to the pesky flies who have no wings to fly.
A shred of context. And you’re running for D2? Homelessness is made a crime, the offenders are removed. Then what? They go where? What does that cost? Who pays to implement? Just another political clown with different makeup and not a defense of Toad either. Easy to say. Feels good for some. Dan, million mile, tri world man wants to jail the homeless. Accountability has been lost at the local, state, and federal level. Coalitions, like in this article, are trying to restore that to the taxpayers, the people who foot the bill, who are disenfranchised by the financial political tribalism. We can have all the ideals we want, but many elections are decided by pocketbook.
https://voiceofsandiego.org/2025/04/15/midway-shelter-caught-in-city-county-funding-dispute/
Million Mile Man says:
2 hours ago
Make it a crime to live on the street. Enact laws to remove drug users, criminals and the mentally insane from our public streets. That’s it! Et Voila!
Thanks Chris Schultz for bringing some context.
Here is more context. The City of San Diego despite what you believe has enough resources to house the sober, competent and willing if desired. Except almost all these people choose willingly to live like animals. Society cannot allow this mayhem to persist. We have empty buildings either owned or leased which can house these people. Using drugs is illegal. Being mentally incompetent is not a crime but requires government incarceration. It’s all common sense. It’s more expedient in the long run to get these people off the streets and eliminate the strain on local hospitals, neighborhoods and police fire. Not to mention crime.
Nice tripe – a candidate for city council calls homeless people “animals” who cause “mayhem.’ Yeah, get those people off the streets — they’re ruining our neighborhoods — How dare they!
I’m sure there’s a cognitive test you could pass too.
Dan likes to show off his 71 year old schlong on IG:
https://www.instagram.com/danielsmiechowski9/?hl=en
OMG! Dan Smiechowski has been earlier banned from posting his racist and misogynistic comments, even though the UT and Times of SD often post his letters / comments for some reason. Time to do it again.
LMAO, I was wondering myself, but was, OK, I guess he’s allowed back.
JHC! I can’t get that out of my head! It wasn’t that big either.
When people ask me why I’m not on social media, I’m going to send them this IG link.
As long as it is accomplished with compassion and understanding, I agree whole heartedly. There is nothing compassionate about allowing human beings who are incapable of caring for themselves either due to mental illness or substance abuse, to remain living in a carboard box under a bridge on the 805, in the San Diego river basin, Balboa park, your front lawn, or elsewhere.
It is also unfathomable, as some have suggested, that we GIVE housing to the mentally ill and/or substance abusers. If housing is guaranteed to everyone regardless of their situation, it would undermine people’s incentives to improve their economic standing or contribute to society. It would also create a dependency on the state, beyond our already stretched expansive welfare systems (Particularly in California).
Good going people of SD,
Thanks for all the insightful comments,
Counting on you
And the new coalition!
Stick it to the mafia developers and the “in their pocket” bureaucrats,
Courage and wisdom…
San Diego should be an ocean environmental protection zone/paradise…
Not the new costal Las Vegas,
Hey , indigie peeps, resist! even if you already sold out to the mafia casino peeps… not too late…
Be the future of your past…