OB Rag

Tracy Van De Walker is a resident of Ocean Beach and recent palm tree activist. She became the center of the fight to keep the palm trees on Newport Avenue standing, when she stood in front of the trucks and chainsaws to protect the trees.

OB restaurateurs must be happy. On Tuesday, October 26, the San Diego City Council tentatively approved a program that will permanently allow outdoor dining previously envisioned as temporary during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Called “Spaces as Places”, proponents claim it will allow for outdoor areas for dining, walking, biking and other activities, and provides ways for temporary outdoor structures to become permanent installations.

By Geoff Page

It appears that the historic palms on Newport Ave., that the city wants to kill, have received a stay of execution. Local residents banded together and engaged an attorney last weekend. The first thing he did was file a cease and desist order that went to a variety of people, none of whom responded as the press release here in The Rag stated.

The next step was to obtain a temporary restraining order to prevent the city from cutting the trees down. That was apparently signed late last night, it seems the courts are open 24 hours a day for certain things. The next step was to file it with the city clerk and deliver it to the named parties.

We just heard the sad news that Jane Donley has passed.

Jane and Mindy Pellisier ran the well-known DogBeach Dogwash on Voltaire Street in OB for decades. It was one of the firsts do-it-yourself dog washes in the country. They opened it in February 1993.

The couple also organized weekly clean-ups of Dog Beach – literally for years.

A Point Loma couple have filed for an injunction against the City and the airport to force them to refrain from “cutting down, mutilating, extracting historic and iconic palm trees that line Newport Avenue, Santa Barbara and Newport Avenue to Venice Street,” as a press release from their attorney stated.

John and Tracy Van De Walker, whose property was targeted for palm tree removal, filed in local Federal Court for injunctive relief and damages by their attorney, Marc Steven Applbaum. Tracy Van De Walker helped lead protests of the palm tree chopping last week. Before the petition was filed, Applbaum had sent a cease and desist letter to San Diego Forester, Brian K. Widener, San Diego Mayor, Todd Gloria, Ralph Redman the Manager of Airport Planning and the FAA,

By Geoff Page

The regular monthly meeting of the Peninsula Community Planning Board, Thursday, October 21, did not have any major issues on the agenda, but there were a few items of interest to the community.

Traffic Letter

The one item that got the most airplay was a draft letter the board voted to send the city about reducing Scott Street between Talbot and North Harbor Drive from four lanes to two lanes to accommodate cyclists. Here is the letter:

At long last, the plans for the expanded OB Library will be presented to the community. The OB Planning Board has agreed to have a live meeting so many OBceans can participate. The meeting will be at 6 pm., Nov. 3, at Water’s Edge Church. That was the only venue the Friends of the OB Library could get within the boundaries of OB – which shows why OB needs a big conference room in the expanded library.

Thanks to all those who gave us birthday greetings, either here, on OB Rag facebook or in emails.

It’s been an amazing 14 years (for earlier commentaries on our beginnings, go here.)

The following is from our “About” page:
About the OB Rag

It was early October in the year 2007 – George Bush was still president and the war in Iraq was in its 4th year. I lived in a small cottage on the 4600 block of Long Branch with Patty Jones.

We launched the OB Rag online platform 14 years ago today! Whoo-Hooo!

So, editordude is taking the day off (so I can work on my book).

However, here’s an Open Thread in our comment section, so dear reader you can make comments, observations, notes and post any links.

If you were on the beach this morning you might have spotted people in yellow vests picking through kelp. It appears the oil spill from LA, originating from Huntington Beach has reached Ocean Beach.

By Geoff Page

While the agendas for planning board meetings don’t always look enticing, there are usually a few interesting nuggets here and there, some unexpected, in every meeting. This was the case for the Midway-Pacific Highway Planning Group’s regular monthly meeting, October 20.

District 2

For example, the government report for Council District 2 – oh, pardon please – for the Council President’s office, was provided by Makana Rowan.

The only item Rowan spoke about was the long-awaited vendor ordinance, which is coming to city council December 14. When asked to see the exact language of the ordinance, Rowan said it was essentially the same as the draft that has been previously published. He said the city attorney is reviewing it and the final version is not ready yet. This item is not as much of a concern for Midway as it is for Ocean Beach and other beach areas.

In parceling through the different developers’ plans for the Sports Arena redevelopment, a cause for concern is raised when reviewing the writings of one of the developers, a team member of the Midway Village+.

Just a few months ago in the opinion pages of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Nathan Moeder, a principal of London Moeder Advisors and team member of Midway Villages+, wrote:

“The public is not better served by providing affordable housing at the sports arena site.”

Moeder also said that for the city to focus on affordable housing for the city property at the Arena site “is a fatal flaw and will do more damage than good.”