By Kate Callen
Southeastern San Diego has never had the resources of wealthier communities with robust business districts, sturdy infrastructure, parks, and open green space.
But it does have an extraordinary natural asset: a 31-acre hilltop plateau with a stunning panoramic 360-view of the San Diego-Tijuana coastal landscape.
A city with visionary leaders would seize this opportunity to create an iconic landmark, like the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles, that draws visitors from far and wide. The attraction would transform the Emerald Hills-Encanto community. New businesses would spring up. A new civic pride would take root.
But that’s not what San Diego is doing. In its zeal to turbo-charge housing everywhere and anywhere, America’s Finest City intends to let a Texas-based developer build private homes on the hilltop site.
On November 20, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to support a development of 130 houses constructed by D.R Horton, the country’s largest home builder. The private enclave will resemble a fortress, disconnected from the surrounding community. It will have amenities like “pocket parks” that benefit the homeowners but not the general public.
This land grab by an out-of-town behemoth is cheating a Black community that has been shortchanged by its city government for as long as anyone can remember. And it is happening because someone inside City Hall targeted the Black community by tampering with the municipal code.
The infamous Footnote 7, as Rob Campbell reported in a November 17 Rag post, “shrinks minimum lot size from 20,000 sq ft to 5,000 sq ft but only in historically redlined Black and Latino neighborhoods like Emerald Hills and Encanto.” Without Footnote 7, the D.R. Horton development could not be built.
As Emerald Hills activist Kenny Key told the Commission, “Footnote 7 was pushed through during the COVID era without proper notice, public involvement, or community consent. It was an illegal and corrupt maneuver, and it was eventually exposed by the community.”
But by the time Footnote 7 was removed, D.R. Horton’s project was safely tucked away in the Development Services pipeline. Like ADU builders who pulled permits just before the passage of Bonus ADU reform, D.R. Horton has had the good timing to benefit from a bad law.
“This project overwhelms the neighborhood and contributes nothing to our community,” said Key. “And it is built on a foundation of unethical political behavior.”
Andrea Hetheru, past chair of the Chollas Valley Community Planning Group, reminded the Commissioners that the Southeastern community has suffered decades of neglect and disparate treatment that even city officials acknowledge.
Hetheru showed images of deplorable conditions in Southeastern neighborhoods and said, “We have homeowners in our community. But to get to our homes, people visiting us have to pass through this stuff.” She also showed images of parks in other areas of San Diego and challenged the Commission, “Allow us to develop our community in the same way other communities have been developed.”
Because the Radio Towers parcel is in now private hands, City Hall is telling the community that nothing can be done. The people of Southeastern San Diego have been hearing that same excuse forever. They’ve never bought that tripe. And they’re not buying it now.
The Chollas Valley Community Planning Group, which voted 13-0 against the D.R. Horton project, will formally appeal the Commission’s decision. The City Council probably won’t docket the hearing until January at the earliest.
So now, after too many broken promises and false pledges, Southeastern San Diego is taking charge of its own destiny by fighting for its crown jewel property.
Hetheru has founded a grassroots campaign, “Hold the Hill,” to slow down the development process. She and other community activists are exploring every avenue to reclaim the hilltop property (which the City owned from 1977 to 1997) and realize their vision of a landmark destination.
Public-private partnerships are on the table. Elected officials who have built their political careers on advocacy for communities of color will be challenged to walk their talk. They would include Councilmembers Sean Elo-Rivera and Vivian Moreno, and of course, Mayor Todd Gloria, who vowed in his 2020 campaign to work “For All of Us” and to make San Diego a world-class city.
A lot of communities are fighting a lot of bad projects and bad City Hall decisions. But anyone who looks at the radiant images of the possibilities for Radio Towers Hill will see that this isn’t just a fight for Emerald Hills and Encanto. Every San Diegan has a stake in this battle to preserve a regional treasure.
To learn more, visit HoldTheHill.org. To support the Chollas Valley Community Planning Group’s efforts to stop further Footnote 7 development, visit their GoFundMe page.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-uplift-chollas-valley-communities
This project at 130 lots, 123 houses, in a private HOA with a single ingress and egress up a 12% grade will be almost impossible for bicycle or foot traffic.
This area is suffering from high diesel particulate matter from HWY 94.
This particular 32 acres is identified as an EXISTING park in the San Diego General Plan and as a potential park in the Encanto Neighborhoods Community Plan from 2015.
Almost all the identified parkland expansion for the area has been gobbled up for private development and the city has made zero effort to acquire any land for parks in these underserved neighborhoods that suffer from Environmental Justice concerns.
This time the city’s claiming “housing crisis” and “budget crisis” for its reasoning for not being able to afford Emerald Hills their Environmental Justice.
At the same time, FoxHill in LaJolla, on 32 acres, is planing 18 houses.
Same base zoning. What’s the difference? You already know.
If you believe in supporting true equity, true investment in communities that have continually born the brunt of racist, inequitable decisions from this City, you can donate your money to the go-fund-me, and you can continue to write in your support, and your council members about your dissatisfaction.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-uplift-chollas-valley-communities
The radio towers property is on 31 acre parcel, with beautiful 360 degree views of all of San Diego, Tijuana, the Pacific Ocean, the mountains is the last vestige of real open space for Chollas Valley communities and also our middle city as a whole. You can’t make more land.
When our city website says things like, “prioritize citywide investment in park deficient communities” or “park planning investment should address long standing inequities” or #parksforallofus we here in the eight neighborhoods of Chollas Valley believed we were in line for some parks to play soccer or rugby or watch fireworks or see the sunset or have space for physical and mental health benefits of a community park, as stated in San Diego general plan or Encanto community plan of 2015. A park at Radio Towers.
Environmental justice is the idea that everyone has the right to live in a safe and healthy environment, regardless of race, color or income. Through nature there is an opportunity to restore health and wholeness to communities impacted by industry or the military or freeways that plague communities east of downtown with poor air quality and poor drinking water. A community park at Radio Towers would be a signal from city leaders that say something like, HEY! WE SEE YOU! We see your trauma and neglect from years of deceit and redlining. We see you, you are special and beautiful and your lives contribute to our beautiful city and your neighborhoods contribute to our economic tax base. We want you and your children to become the healthiest version of your community.
Historically the neighborhoods of Chollas Valley have been and continue to be structurally neglected. When the city hasn’t paved a road here since the last century, one wonders why? How can this city continue to be so disrespectful of our neighborhoods?
To add insult to injury, city leaders invoked footnote 7, Mayor Gloria signing it into the books in 2021 & off again in 2025. This egregious sell out to developers in Emerald Hills and Encanto neighborhoods only would have released the kraken from wealthier, whiter communities, perhaps the Mayor would have been recalled then. If the current 32 acre parcel in La Jolla had to build 123 homes instead of the 18 mansions DSD is requesting, mayor Gloria would be recalled. DSD must follow state law, laws like AFFH or AB686 that protect people and communities.
In our working class community where many languages are spoken, efforts to explain and define our plight has been nothing short of a miracle. Our city leaders know this, so they continue to ignore us, or push us aside, perhaps thinking we are giving up or giving in.
We will not give up or give in. We will hold the hill. Un pueblo unido jamas esta vencido.
Thank you Kate Callen for witting about another egregious and short sighted take over by our City and handing a GIFT to a Texas based developer D.R. Horton.
Why is it that City Council members Sean Elo-Rivera and Vivian Moreno are ALWAYS on the side of big developers………..hmmmm?
And what a great advocate the Encanto area and Emerald Hills have in Andrea Hetheru who created an AMAZING video, with absolutely no experience as I might add at Hold The Hill dot org.
If you have not seen it yet get over to it and PLEASE help them with their fundraiser to stop this land grab and forever destroying what can be a beautiful landmark for generations to come.
Donated!
This city has historically been a wld west of land grabs and real estate speculation. One would hope that San Diego would become the world class city it claims to be. Sadly, the city is actually run by the legal teams of DR Horton, Lennar, AirBnB, Building Industry Assn., and countless foreign investors. The decision makers do not live here and are only interested in extraction. This is evidenced by the overbuild of luxury units under the Complete Communities Program, the exceptions and loop holes in Development Impact Fees that have left the city coffers dry while aging infrastructure from roads, to sewers, to libraries and parks continue to have their funding dwindle.
After decades of setting a low bar on park land by using a point system instead of acreage and then missing those targets we continue to have a fire sale on land.
Thank you Kate Callen for this update and context on the issues concerning developers over citizens in Emerald Hills and Encanto. We need a park as illustrated by the amazing video by Andrea Hetheru and as Kenny Key states, “This project overwhelms the neighborhood and contributes nothing to our community,” “And it is built on a foundation of unethical political behavior.” To this end, we must come together to challenge this gross inequity that is not only unethical but ignores basic health and safety for current and future residents of the community.
If factual data is researched and stereotyping ” Black area” is eliminated the District would benefit greatly and maybe garner support for preserving open spaces. Emerald Hills is one of 8 Neighborhoods in Chollas View CPG, and the Encanto Community Plan.
This is a issue of racism. But not a ” Black” issue its a people issue of inequity in low income areas of all ethnicities.
The City knows that the Coastal areas have higher wealth to fight back while areas like District 4, does not have as many residents to donate 5k- 10k for Attorney fees.
With the City is clearly protecting District 1, and District 2, evidenced by the low density increase in Clairemont, a high white area per statistical facts. Adding a fire station and lots of new parks in Clairemont, while removing parks in District 4, and not adding a new Fire station and parks in the College area, which is more multi cultural than Clairemont.
There is sympathy for loss of ocean views, but none for the loss of the amazing view at Radio Towers, of Ocean, mountains, City line, Coronardo bridge and Mexico. If these himes are built here people east and south of this area will lose views they cirrently have and the prices of home are increased for Valley views, Mountain views, and some canyon views, not just for Ocean views.
Fact- District 4 is not primarily Black! But reporters often misrepresent this fact. Black is the 3rd highest ethnicity.
Fact- District 4 is primarily Hispanic!! So the Hispanic non profits through San Diego should help support “Hold The Hill”
Fact- the 2nd largest ethnicity in District 4, is Asian, so the Asian non profits and groups should also be helping support ” Hold the Hill”
https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/sd_demo_3_districts_20211110.pdf