By Kate Callen
Are you happy with the way San Diego is governed? Do you think our elected officials listen attentively to you and care about your neighborhood?
If your answer is “F*** No!,” you should participate in a 60-year-old system of local democracy where your vote has real impact: Cast your ballots in next month’s Community Planning Group (CPG) elections.
Every March, San Diego’s 41 active CPGs hold elections for open board seats. Unlike elections at higher levels of government, these don’t involve negative campaigning and Big Money mailers. Candidates present their backgrounds and positions, and almost all ballots are cast in person.
It’s a miracle San Diego still has CPGs. The all-volunteer advisory boards, established in 1976 to give citizens a voice in urban planning, came under attack in 2018 for being anti-progress, anti-inclusivity, undemocratic, unscrupulous, and just too darn old.
YIMBY Democrats and the building industry led the charge. The Chamber of Commerce and the County Grand Jury jumped in. CPGs never had the power to block land use proposals, but they were portrayed as marauders who kill off all growth.
Things got nasty. Gary London of London Moeder said. “We need to ‘declaw’ the community groups … mostly composed of white and gray hairs that don’t have a future.” Lynn LaChapelle of Jones Lang LaSalle brokerage said, “Don’t let the housewives who walk dogs get control of the planning group.”
The ageism and sexism were bad enough. But dissing dog lovers was really beyond the pale.
Through it all, the CPGs endured. Even the Uptown Planning Group, singled out for an organizational mauling, continues to hear neighborhood concerns and convey those to city government.
Like my mother before me, I served on the North Park Planning Committee, and the experience taught me the awesome power of citizen determination. CPGs were considered a threat to the status quo simply because they empowered residents and small business owners to speak up and join forces.
Not many people know this, but if you have any kind of problem with the city, your CPG can help. You can attend your monthly CPG meeting, either in person or virtually, and make a statement during non-agenda public comment. Then your complaint is on the record. Your CPG board members will follow up. And representatives of elected officials in the audience will have heard you and will need to respond.
Perhaps most importantly, CPG meetings are an early warning system about projects coming down the pike. I will always regret that I missed a 2019 North Park Planning meeting where a half-baked proposal for bike lanes on 30th Street was a discussion item on the agenda.
At a time when San Diegans are in revolt about autocracy at City Hall, CPGs are uniquely positioned to ensure that citizens get a “Seat at the Table.” That’s the title of a formal proposal by the citywide Community Planners Committee (CPC). It addresses the inequality of Council meetings where project applicants get lots of time to present but community members get scarce time to speak.
“‘Seat at the Table’ seeks to remedy this imbalance by creating a structured opportunity for CPGs and CPC to present their recommendations directly to decision-makers,” CPC Chair Victoria LaBruzzo wrote in a February 23 Rag post.
“It is a modest, targeted reform that aligns with the Legislature’s intent to strengthen public participation and improve the quality of public meetings.”
“Seat at the Table” would also give CPG presenters the same benefit builders and staff have to engage Councilmembers directly.
“How many times have you witnessed City Council inquire of City staff or the project applicant during deliberations on an action item?” said CPC Vice Chair Felicity Senoski in a recent interview.
“We are looking for that same opportunity: the chance to answer questions and provide further clarification during the presentation. This type of engagement is at the heart of the deliberative process.”
Now more than ever, CPGs need strong public support. And it doesn’t cost a dime. You only have study a roster of candidates, show ID at the polling place, and cast your vote. If voter turnout in the March CPG elections is robust, City Hall will take notice.
A list of all CPGs is posted here . Some CPGs have websites that will provide information about when and where your community’s election is. If yours doesn’t have a website, email the contact listed.
Folks, we’ve tried everything else to make our voices heard at City Hall: protests, letters, emails, testimonies, Rag rants. Let’s support this stronghold of local democracy by voting next month in CPG elections.
Editor’s note: Throughout March, the Rag will publish information about CPG elections around the city.
