Smart Growth and Land Use Committee Meeting - November 8, 2017
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Smart Growth and Land Use Committee Meeting - November 8, 2017
The Smart Growth and Land Use Committee met on November 8, 2017, beginning at 10:00 AM, to address a consent calendar, public comments, and several discussion items. The committee approved consent items (excluding item 1), adopted minimum operating standards for two airports, received an informational update on the Deco Bike program, and voted to advance fee waivers for companion units. All votes were unanimous.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1: Returned to staff; not included in the motion.
- Items 2 and 3: Approved unanimously. Item 3, a 20-year lease for boat rental concessions at Lake Murray, sparked discussion. Councilmember Sherman raised concerns about the 20-year term given the modest $340,000 investment by the lessee, the lack of CPI-based rent increases, and the annual review formula tied to gross revenue. Councilmember Alvarez noted the revenue generation is modest. The item was moved to full council with a request for detailed breakdown of investment and lifespan of equipment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Miss Welch: Criticized the city's development practices, stating that smart growth is not working, that new buildings are not right, and that the city's use of sales tax revenue is improper. She questioned the maintenance of city properties.
- Cindy Gomper Graves (South County Economic Development Council): Requested the committee investigate and clarify permit processes for industrial buildings in Otay Mesa, noting duplicative and ambiguous regulations post-2014 community plan. She provided a letter to the committee.
- Blake Hirschef (Vice Chair, Ocean Beach Planning Board): Discussed the housing crisis, presenting data that the known housing shortage is 30% worse than reported when including Airbnb losses. He requested the committee ask the San Diego Housing Commission to assess housing losses from short-term vacation rentals.
- Jared Bassler (public comment on companion unit fees): Supported fee waivers, noted that water/sewer fees are not charged for conversions, and asked for retroactive application for projects in plan check.
- Jose Moreira (public comment on companion unit fees): Described his long wait for a permit to convert a garage for an elderly parent, emphasizing that $30,000 in fees doubles his project cost. Urged approval.
- Mary Leiden (Housing You Matters): Thanked the committee for bipartisan work on housing, supported fee elimination, and asked that fees not be raised elsewhere.
- Nick Van Minnen (affordable housing advocate): Supported fee waivers, noting that impact fees can nearly double the cost of a small prefab home. He stressed the need for political will and broader tax reform.
- Aaron Persky (public comment on companion unit fees): Raised concerns about a vacation rental disrupting his neighborhood in Mission Hills, expressing fear that companion units could exacerbate the problem. He asked for remedies.
Discussion Items
- Minimum Operating Standards for Montgomery Gibbs and Brown Field Airports: Rod Propst and Thurman Hodges presented the proposed ordinance. They explained that the standards align with FAA grant assurances, promote safety, and were developed with input from the Airport Advisory Committee, which unanimously approved them. Public commenter Thomas Reed (Airport Advisory Committee, Plus One Flyers) recommended approval. Councilmember Kate thanked the staff and asked about next steps. Councilmember Sherman noted the extensive work and buy-in. The motion passed unanimously.
- Update on Implementation of Grand Jury Report on Deco Bike: Natasha Kalera and Linda Moravian provided an informational update. The city is focusing on expanding stations in the urban core and not currently pursuing beach communities. Councilmember Alvarez raised questions about the exclusivity clause in the contract with Deco Bike, and City Attorney Percy clarified that the city has exclusive marketing rights for Deco Bike but may not prevent independent operators. Councilmember Gomez asked about the holistic approach to biking infrastructure. The committee noted the information.
- Companion Unit Fees: Sarah from Councilmember Sherman's office presented proposed actions: an ordinance exempting companion units from Development Impact Fees (DIF and FBA) and a resolution waiving the General Plan Maintenance Fee ($275/unit) and water/sewer capacity fees ($1,524 and $2,062/unit). The cost to the general fund to subsidize the enterprise fund fees would be $3,586 per unit. Councilmember Alvarez asked about permit plan check fees ($3,437 for new construction) and school fees (state-set). She requested those be brought back to committee. Councilmember Gomez made a motion to approve the ordinance and resolution with a $300,000 allocation for the current fiscal year (covering about 100 units) and direct staff to work with SANDAG on the regional transportation fee. Councilmember Kate asked about using excess Development Services funds for a rebate program. The IBA clarified the $30,000 impact for the General Plan Maintenance Fee and the $360,000 total for the enterprise fund fees. The motion passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Items 2 and 3 approved unanimously; item 1 returned to staff.
- Minimum Operating Standards for Airports: Ordinance approved unanimously, completing all recommendations from the 2015 performance audit.
- Companion Unit Fees: Approved an ordinance exempting companion units from DIF and FBA fees, and a resolution waiving the General Plan Maintenance Fee and water/sewer capacity fees. $300,000 from the general fund will cover the subsidy for the current fiscal year. Directed staff to bring back permit plan check/inspection fees for consideration at the next committee meeting. Directed staff to work with SANDAG to address the regional transportation fee.
- Next Meeting: Scheduled for Thursday, December 7, 2017, at 10:00 AM.
Meeting Transcript
All right. Thank you, everybody. Welcome to a smart growth and land use committee hearing for November eighth, twenty seventeen. Looks like we have Councilmember Kate Alvarez. And it looks like Councilmember Gomez will be here shortly. We have Jessica Lawrence from the mayor's office. Yeah, we haven't moved on to consent yet. So perfect. That's set up for stuff that is not on the agenda, but people are welcome to speak too. And first up, we have three today. You build this all um with m um motel um um family bonds only, but it's not for family. Now we have other ones built already, they're empty EV, Sparta, Form 50, the Ray. There's a lot of more coming on right now. Uh the ballpark and there's so many coming on. Now the old library in the City Beak talked about this. It's in civic right now, and it's empty from 2003. Poor condition or something. You haven't the HVAC didn't go on, that's why it's so much expensive, and it's gonna be poor condition, like everything else, poor condition because no maintenance, no maintenance, anything. So you just let's sit there and rot away what could be something that much better. Now I look RT CIP. You said we voted in 2004. Now that was sales tax. You can't sales tax can't morph into property tax. Property act has to be voted separately, not not sales tax. Sales tax is one thing when you buy something, property is something different. So that's not right what you're doing with this also, and um sales tax and all that things wrong in this this city also, but you know, this smart growth is it's not working here because everything we build that I see lately is is is not right. Thank you, Miss Welch. Next will be Cindy Gomper Graves, followed by it looks like Blake Airshaft. I hope I'm pronouncing those last names right. Okay, good. Welcome, Cindy. You have two minutes. Thank you. Good afternoon, council members and staff. I'm Cindy Gomper Graves representing the South County Economic Development Council, and we've recently encountered some situations which indicate a need to clarify and streamline the permit processes for businesses located in the community of Otai Mesa within the city of San Diego. On behalf of the South County ADC Board of Directors, I respectfully request that you investigate and take actions necessary to ease the concerns of businesses and developers looking to construct new buildings within this area. The concerns center around the approval process to construct industrial buildings on lots that were previously entitled and graded before the OTI Mesa Community Plan was adopted in 2014. Although subdivision maps and necessary grading permits were issued prior to the date of 2014, the OTI Mesa community plan apparently now requires certain findings to be made before building permit issuance. In some cases, these regulations are duplicative, in other cases, they are ambiguous, and additional clarification from the city is needed. The specific issues we request your assistance on are requirements for traffic studies for paleontologists to be on the site, and then a need to develop some kind of lot certification. In February, we sent a letter to members of the city council, and I've been directed by our board of directors to return to you, and I do have copies of those letters to again ask for your assistance with this concerns. May I give someone these letters? Thank you. We appreciate it. No, thank you for your time, and we'll be in touch. Thank you. That brings us to our last non-agenda speaker, Blake Airshaft. May I give you three? Thanks, Chris. Um my name is Blake Hirschef, I'm vice chair of the Ocean Beach Planning Board.
openpublica.com