Author: Frank Gormlie

The City of San Diego in its infinite wisdom, has just announced it is lifting the “Summer Construction Moratorium” at the beaches and in coastal neighborhoods in order to speed up “street repair”, to “save taxpayer dollars” and to “complete projects faster.”

The “moratorium” has been enacted at the beaches during the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day for decades because of the impact of construction in coastal zones at the height of the tourist season with the general popularity of the beaches. It was mainly a way to relieve congestion for coastal residents, businesses and tourists because of prior years of complaints from the beaches about street repairs and construction projects blocking streets, rights-of-way, traffic and making it more difficult for merchants to keep their doors open.

So, today, July 14th, Mayor Gloria announced:

“For decades, projects were stalled during the summer, delaying improvements for residents. Now we can get streets paved and infrastructure improvements completed faster. The removal of this restriction is one way we’re cutting red tape and finding creative solutions across City departments to improve service to residents.”

Well, there ya go. Todd is really just helping out residents and cutting red tape in order to improve city services.

County Planning Staff is Recommending the Project be Rejected

Following a nearly seven year process, including members of the public signing thousands of opposition petitions, expressing concerns at a dozen public meetings, and sending hundreds of letters detailing the many significant safety, environmental, and community impacts, the controversial Cottonwood Sand Mine proposal is now scheduled to be heard by the San Diego County Planning Commission at 9 a.m this Wednesday, July 9, 2025.

This was rescheduled from a month prior, when last minute technical difficulties forced the meeting’s cancelation.

The County’s Department of Planning & Development Services (PDS) has released its report and is recommending the project application be denied, noting that the significant legal findings required for a Major Use Permit cannot be made.

Some Background

It was in mid-July of 2021 that city of San Diego construction crews began striping the road along 30th Street in North Park for the city’s newest protected bikeway project. It was known as the 30th Street Protected Bikeways Mobility Project, and called for protected bike lanes from Juniper Street to Adams Avenue. It also did away with some 450 curb parking spots along the corridor, but incorporated “floating” parking, commercial loading zones, timed parking and accessible spots from Upas Street to Adams Avenue. Floating parking are spots that are not next to a curb but are a few feet away and are marked with striping on the road.

Transportation, cycling and environmental advocates expressed support for the project in the belief that it would create a safer environment for people who bike along the popular corridor. Yet, residents and businesses owners repeatedly spoke out against the project because of the reduced number of parking spaces and disability advocates had concerns about their safety and fewer accessible parking spots.

Kevin Faulconer was mayor in May of 2019 when he directed staff to move forward with designing protected bikeways along 30th Street which would replace all parking spots with bike lanes. This despite a law suit against the city over the project by an outspoken group, Save 30th Street Parking. Pat Sexton, president of the group, said removing parking spots and the center lane was not good for the community.

“It won’t work,” Sexton said of the new design, adding she was surprised staff introduced a plan the public had not seen. The lawsuit was dismissed and the 30th Street bike lanes were installed.

Local group “Protect Public Land” stages demonstration in downtown San Diego, emphasizing the importance of preserving environmental policies.

 By Elizabeth Sanchez / CBS8 / June 28 -29, 2025

UPDATE: Sen. Mike Lee pulled his proposal to sell public lands out of the spending bill late Saturday night before it was ultimately passed by the Senate on a 51-49 vote.

ORIGINAL STORY-
The Senate is set to hold an initial vote on President Trump’s budget bill, which includes a controversial provision for the sale of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. In response, a local group in San Diego staged a protest to oppose the sale of all public lands.

More than a dozen demonstrators from the group “Protect Public Land” gathered Saturday, June 28, in downtown San Diego, carrying signs and distributing fliers to raise awareness about the issue. The protesters emphasized the importance of preserving environmental policies and maintaining public access to these lands.

“This is important because conservation is a key trait of American history,” protestor Michael Williamson said. “We are trailblazers in protecting public land and the nature that’s on it.”

It is official, according to the San Diego Police Department and the Union-Tribune: 60,000 plus people demonstrated in downtown San Diego Saturday, June 14, for “No Kings Day!” Times of San Diego and KPBS also repeated this number. Organizers claimed 80,000. Also, police reported there were no arrests.

Meanwhile, literally millions of Americans took to the streets in opposition to Trump and his policies in at least 2,000 actions.

There were also 10 other “No Kings Day” protests across San Diego County, including events in Carlsbad, Del Mar, Chula Vista, Escondido, El Cajon, Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, Civita Park, Ramona and San Marcos. Times of San Diego reported “about 1,000” in Mira Mesa and organizers estimated 3,000 in Escondido.

Mayor Gloria is struggling against the pushback by residents from across San Diego and by City Council members in reaction to his proposals to offset a $258 million budget shortfall. He has proposed deep cuts to parks, libraries, recreation centers, youth programs, bathrooms during the off season, beach fire pits, and San Diego Humane Society’s animal services.

In the midst of all this, Voice of San Diego calculates that the city is headed “for its biggest budget showdown in the 20 years since the city adopted the strong-mayor form of government.” Gloria and councilmembers “not only disagree on top priorities, they are showing open contempt for one another.” Councilmember Henry Foster mused that perhaps it’s time to scrap the strong Mayor system. The Voice hits one of the nails on its head:

A major bone of contention is the Mayor’s insistence on retaining unclassified managers at City Hall while simultaneously seeking to cut park and library services and impose parking fees at Balboa Park while eliminating dozens of positions.

Meanwhile, The Times of San Diego (recently merged with Peninsula Beacon et tal.) questioned coastal residents whether they thought there was a better way for the city to address its budgetary woes. Several were quoted:

Sha Rose of Ocean Beach said: “Bathrooms, libraries, etc., it’s going cost more if they aren’t open. This isn’t the answer.”

Point Loma nursery owner Walter Andersen was quoted: “If they close the restrooms, it will be a huge mess. Mission Bay is a huge asset to the City and should be funded properly. This should include fire rings. I see the lifeguard stations need some attention, also. This should have been planned for, too. Who’s running the show?”

Michael Pallamary of Bay Ho Alcott said: “The mayor and City Council have created a new agency called DODGE. They advise our elected officials on how to dodge questions about where our tax dollars are going. Down the drain we go. A City in ruin.”

Over the weekend, I spent some time watching documentaries about the Civil War and was reminded that Memorial Day remembrances began with that conflict that took the lives of 600,000 Americans and almost took American democracy with it. It was an appropriate lesson for these days in 2025 when the fate of American democracy is again in the balance because of the authoritarian want-to-be dictator in the White House.

The program spoke of how as late as 1864, the war and America’s future hung in the balance. The war had grown unpopular with some in the North and President Lincoln was being challenged in that year’s election by General George McClellan, running as a Democrat. McClellan had been Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 1862 until he was fired by Lincoln for not pressuring the Confederate army enough, prolonging the war.

McClellan became a severe critic of Lincoln and the war — and if he had won, the Emancipation Declaration would have been torn up and McClellan would have sought an agreement with the Southern states to end the war — allowing them to keep millions of Americans in bondage. The country would have looked much differently and it would have been the end of democracy here.

A miracle happened, however, and General Tecumseh Sherman won the battle of Atlanta, guaranteeing the end was in sight. Lincoln was re-elected in a landslide — the slaves were freed and democracy was saved. For a while at least. Reconstruction and freedom was only temporary for African-Americans and by 1877, Jim Crow and a new type of slavery had returned — which existed for another 90 years until the modern Civil Rights Movement.

Residents, tenants, landowners and businesses of Ocean Beach need to step up and protect fire rings, library and Recreation Center hours from Mayor Gloria’s “slash and burn” budget cuts.

The mayor and city council are trying to trim $258 million from the budget.

Mayor Gloria wants to remove all the beach fire pits — which will save a whopping $135,000.

Supporters of fire pits say these savings for scrapping San Diego’s fire rings is out of line with what the city is. “That is why people come to San Diego is to have that beach culture experience, catching a wave during the day, having a beach bonfire at night, that’s what makes San Diego,” said Richard Bailey, a Mission Beach business owner and former Coronado Mayor.

At times, the reasoning by staff at San Diego’s Development Services Department gets so twisted, it’s difficult to recognize what language is being spoken.

Many Point Lomans know about the proposed project for 1004 Rosecrans, formerly occupied by the San Diego County Credit Union, at the intersection of Rosecrans and Talbot.

It is currently under review by the San Diego Development Services Department for a proposed four-story, 56-unit apartment development with 1,700 square feet of first-floor commercial space. There also would be basement parking with up to 45 spaces — for commercial tenants only.

It’s been on the radar by many in the Peninsula, particularly the new group, Protect Point Loma — and by the just-formed San Diego Community Coalition — because the project violates so many rules, norms and laws (just take the 30-foot height limit for example). Purchased by North Star Homes, it has been the focus of scrutiny by many. And community members have voiced opposition to the project’s height, scope and potential effects on traffic and parking in the area.

As many know, the site was a gas station before the credit union was there, raising caution about the soil. Records show that six underground gasoline storage tanks and one underground storage tank for used oil were removed from the property in 1992.

Former top city planner Michael Stepner says more housing is needed but it should be compatible with existing communities

By Michael Smolens / San Diego Union-Tribune / May 9, 2025

The city of San Diego is downshifting on its permissive rules encouraging backyard apartments.

That raises the question of whether a desire for more “gentle development” will spread to some of the city’s other aggressive housing policies.

Last week, the city Planning Commission strongly supported an effort to roll back some of the extreme aspects of the backyard apartment program.

Several years ago, when the city began loosening restrictions on building accessory dwelling units, as they’re officially called, the idea seemed to be one or two apartments on a single-family-home property, possibly three in some cases.

Projects with double-digit units allowed under the laws aren’t what people had in mind. For example, one ADU development in Clairemont has 17 apartments, and even larger projects are in the pipeline, particularly in Encanto.

“This is not the way I envisioned ADUs would work,” Commissioner Ken Malbrough said, as reported by David Garrick of The San Diego Union-Tribune. “I want housing, but I don’t want to ruin neighborhoods.”

There’s a brand new community coalition in San Diego that is already making waves. It’s called the San Diego Community Coalition and it made its public debut May 1 at the San Diego Planning Commission when its members discussed proposed changes to the controversial “Bonus ADU” ordinance.

The coalition is a citywide network of neighborhood activists focused on two interconnected issues:

Overbuilding in residential neighborhoods — from mid-rise towers to giant multi-unit ADU complexes — which erodes our urban infrastructure and produces minimal affordable housing.

City Hall’s disrespect for constituents, its refusal to engage the public in open dialogue, and its suppression of community planning groups.

So far, the coalition includes activist leaders from at least 15 communities — from Bay Ho, City Heights, Clairemont, College Area, Encanto, Golden Hill, Linda Vista, Middletown, Mission Hills, North Park, to Point Loma, Pacific Beach, Talmadge and University City.

Guess which community is missing. Ocean Beach.