by Lynne Miller
Applause to each person and organization that helped put the brakes on the building frenzy! Take a breath, celebrate your hard work, and realize that your voice matters! I know we often feel that there is no way to win, especially against a government that appears to be deaf to our concerns.
The Who’s down in Whoville come to mind. Dr Seuss wrote a book, Horton Hears a Who, and to shorten the wonderful rhyme to a sentence, “their whole world was saved by the smallest of all”!
The Who’s were heard because they worked together and got everyone to shout. I hear that there were 527 speakers who were ‘heard’ on June 16th in a meeting that ended at 9:00 pm!
I would like to list all of the San Diego organizations that formed, and then came together collectively to create action plans, but the list is long and I would leave someone out.
When I saw the number of people who planned to attend and speak at the June 16th meeting, I decided to write a comment (7-page letter) and send it through the formal website and to every council person. I had several photos of the ADUs in planning, or in progress or fully built. I used pictures from all over the city, and briefly stated the unique concerns of neighbors. Since writing is my passion, it was a project I enjoyed.
I tell you this because when you are done celebrating, you will hear about the next city battle. And the next. We need to analyze what works.
Our little organization called Coastal Care Takers was told we could never win against City Council, it just never happened. We won, our Appeal was upheld unanimously. How did we do it? No one asked. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. How do we share what works with each other?
I am grateful for the groups and their leaders who are emerging and collaborating. Our future success depends on all of the Who’s working together.
I will thank one person. If not for Frank and the OB Rag I would never have known about the issues that have popped up (like buildings) over the years. Thank you Frank for creating a space for mostly local news and sounding the alarm when no one knew there was a fire!
Lynne Miller lives on the border of the Point Loma and Ocean Beach neighborhoods.
Lynne – thanks so much. The Rag and I could not have done anything without folks like Kate Callen, Paul Krueger and the wonderful people who make up the San Diego Community Coalition and Neighbors for a Better San Diego.
Beyond anyone else, it has been Kate who has guided the Rag into taking on the battle against the abusive ADU policies of the city.
Paul’s public comments are impactful and never disappoint. Meanwhile I’m always trying to cram 10 minutes of facts into a 1 minute speech as I watch people’s eye glaze over.
I was impressed with many of the public speakers and their effective comments and posterboards. These example projects, and the behavior of the builders, was influential on the councilmembers. It felt like most of the few speaking in support of unlimited bonus ADUs had a monetary interest in doing so.
Some of the the opposition comments were also disappointing. Painting apartment dwellers and renters as too dangerous to have your children around, or unwelcome in the neighborhood. I’ve seen the same criticisms of deed-restricted development. These sort of comments are counterproductive and a bit revolting, and only serve as ammunition to the other side. Responsible ADU development gives new families and neighbors more affordable housing opportunities, and adds to the vitaility of the neighborhood. Property owners who collect real estate like pokemon cards or pass on their homes to trustees to convert to vacation rentals… they cause harm to our neighborhoods. If you’re done with it, sell it to someone else that needs a home to live in.
My neighboring property owner sold his duplex to give his kids some inheritance. He still lived elsewhere in the neighborhood and had always rented it long-term at below market rates. I was thrilled when two families purchased it together.
Let us also applaud the City Council members who tried to do more: Henry Foster III, who first raised the issue that this needs to be addressed, and Marni von Wilpert, who made a motion to restrict the total number of units on a single-family lot to 4. This did not pass, and there was one vote difference in what became the new law. The number of units, if you look closely, are in addition (ADU – Accessory Dwelling Unit) to some of the rights of the original zoning. But …. developers are happy with a different program – Complete Communities. This policy is based on commercial properties, and yes, they can share an alley with homes and homeowners. The property at 4705 Point Loma Ave. was not an ADU project because it was previously a neighborhood store. Is the new code better? This is a reality experiment, so we will soon see. Thank you, Lynne, Frank, Kate and all of those who keep the rest of us informed.
Thank you all KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
Thank you!
Bob