‘Historic Preservation’ Amendments Pass for San Diego with a Full Third of the City Council Missing

By South OB Girl

San Diegans promoting the protection of historical resources and historical districts departed from City Hall on Tuesday disheartened and disgusted.

The vote of San Diego City Council to approve City Planning’s Preservation and Progress Package A had been a disappointment for many.  Members of the public in attendance however had not been just OBceans.  Dozens of people from throughout San Diego attended Tuesday’s meeting and organizations and individuals from throughout the city gave compelling speeches during public comment.

Only a small number of people, about 4 people, spoke in favor of approving Package A.  However, the odds were not looking in favor of the opposition from the beginning of the afternoon session and before public comment even started.

There are 9 City Council members and 3 of them were absent on Tuesday.  Marni von Wilpert, Raul Campillo, and Sean Elo-Rivera were absent.  There were whispers in the audience that they must have been absent to avoid the issue completely, as all three will be launching into fresh campaign trails.

So that left 6 votes on Tuesday.  City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee has 4 members: Kent Lee, Vivian Moreno, Stephen Whitburn, and Sean Elo-Rivera.  The LUH Committee voted to approve Package A in January, with Sean Elo-Rivera also absent from that meeting.  With the approval of the LUH Committee, Package A moved forward for review by the full City Council (even though the full council was not present on Tuesday).  It was unlikely that any of the LUH Committee members were going to go back on their word, admit fault, and vote differently than they had in January.

Even if the presentations in opposition of Package A had changed the minds of the LUH Committee members, the chance they would change their vote from January was slim.

Jennifer Campbell is not often supportive of Ocean Beach concerns, despite it being in her district.  Campbell’s rapport with her constituents is not stellar which in fact previously led to an attempt by her constituents to impeach her.  Campbell’s vote was not guaranteed to be in favor of the opposition and she did in fact vote against the preservation community of Ocean Beach, Point Loma, and Pacific Beach.

That left Tuesday’s decision being based upon the votes of 2 City Council members: Henry Foster and Joe LaCava.  The odds did not look good: 6 Council Members present and 4 votes already set.  Henry Foster aligned himself with the LUH Committee and Jennifer Campbell and voted in favor of Package A.  Council President LaCava acknowledged that this proposed policy was quite obviously causing discontent among many San Diegans and he voted against Package A.

The list of speakers who spoke during public comment is long and many compelling speeches were given.

Several speakers had coordinated 15 minute presentations which meant that they had arranged the ceding of 14 minutes from other members of the audience in attendance.  Kevin Hastings, Vice Chair of the Ocean Beach Planning Board, spoke against Package A.  Well known names in the Ocean Beach community — Kathy Blavatt, Mercy Baron, and William Riley — took to the podium expressing their passion for Ocean Beach and their concerns about Package A — as did Eric DuVall, President of the Ocean Beach Historical Society.

Not all of the residents of Ocean Beach are familiar with the work of Shane Harris, whose speech left many in awe in the audience and wondering “who is this young man.”  Harris has been following Preservation and Progress Package A and had in fact been on the news regarding Package A as it headed to the Planning Commission in November last year.  Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) stands at the helm of many preservation efforts in San Diego and Bruce and Alana Coons with SOHO reminded City Council that SOHO had never before stopped a project, though had delayed some due to bad policy. Their current efforts were nprecedented.

The vote on Tuesday left San Diegans with many questions.

How can a City policy be approved with multiple City Council members absent?  What personal agendas are being promoted by our elected officials?  Who are the City Council members aligned with amongst themselves?  Why are the opinions of the constituents so blatantly ignored?

The decision of City Council on Tuesday does not mark the end of the possibilities for those in opposition of Package A and various avenues can be pursued at this time by the organizations and individuals in opposition. For those worried that this marked the end — stay tuned.

There is more to come.  We might not get the pier rebuilt any time soon but we have accomplished many things over the years here in Ocean Beach. We are not strangers to the politics of San Diego and intend to uphold the Ocean Beach Community Plan.