Smart Growth and Land Use Committee Meeting - September 19, 2018
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Smart Growth and Land Use Committee Meeting - September 19, 2018
The Smart Growth and Land Use Committee, chaired by Councilmember Gomez, met on September 19, 2018, at 10:15 AM. The committee considered three action items and one informational item, including a response to a grand jury report on stadium management, amendments to planning consultant contracts, the Old Town San Diego Community Plan update, and an update on inclusionary affordable housing regulations. Public testimony was heard on several topics.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (July 25, 2018): The committee records of action for July 25, 2018, were approved by unanimous consent with no discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Martha Welch: Expressed concerns about housing planning, stating that San Diego builds too many studios and one-bedroom units and not enough two- and three-bedroom units. She alleged corruption in the county and referenced the SSE scandal, claiming the FBI is involved. She also noted that 70% of senior housing is occupied by illegal immigrants who don't pay rent.
- Peggy Walker (Smart Approaches to Marijuana, local chapter): Called for more transparency in the approval process for marijuana production facilities (MPFs). She noted that 40 approved MPFs could each hold up to four state licenses, potentially becoming 160 businesses. She requested that the city notify businesses within 300 feet, enforce posting of notices, and notify businesses when applicants appear before planning groups.
- Judy Strang (PTA, Health Vice President): Expressed concern about parents' ability to speak on MPF issues. She noted that in the Kearny Mesa planning group, light industrial areas planned for residences are being taken over by MPFs. She also raised concerns about 14 billboards advertising marijuana around the city, visible to children.
- Kelly McCormick: Highlighted public health issues: an FDA crackdown on e-cigarettes due to a 116% increase in teen vaping in one year, a survey showing nearly 1 in 11 U.S. students have used marijuana in e-cigarettes, and a University of Michigan study showing pot use among college students at a 30-year high, with fewer perceiving harm.
- Scott Chipman: Noted that today's marijuana has 15-30% THC (vs. 2-5% in the past) and edibles can be 50-99% THC. He stated that California's black market is 8-10 times larger than legal production, that less than 40% of promised tax revenues have materialized, and that 20% of industry-tested marijuana tests positive for E. coli, fungus, and other contaminants. He questioned why the industry gets carve-outs compared to other businesses.
Discussion Items
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Item 1: Proposed Response to Grand Jury Report – "San Diego Continues to Lose Money on Stadium Management"
- Lisa Byrne (Office of the Independent Budget Analyst) presented the proposed response to the grand jury report, which was filed May 22, 2018. The report includes 11 findings (numbered 1-12, no finding 7) and four recommendations directed to the mayor and city council. The response is due to Superior Court by November 16, 2018. The proposed responses include agreeing with some findings and partially disagreeing or disagreeing with others. For recommendations, the city asserts that policies are already implemented. The committee unanimously voted to forward the approved response to the full city council.
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Item 2: First Amendments to As-Needed Planning and Traffic Engineering Consultant Contracts
- Brian Schoenfish (Planning Department) presented the proposed amendments to increase contract capacity: $2.5 million for each of three planning consultants and $1 million for each of two traffic engineering consultants. No budget or expiration date changes are proposed. The amendments are needed to continue work on community plan updates (Kearny Mesa, Claremont, Mission Valley, University, Mira Mesa) and to use a $2 million SANDAG Smart Growth Incentive Program grant that must be spent by January 2021. The committee unanimously voted to forward the recommendation to the full council.
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Item 3: Old Town San Diego Community Plan Update
- Vicky White and Elizabeth Ocambo (Planning Department) presented the update, which replaces the 1987 plan. Key features: 11 subdistricts, increased residential capacity from ~570 to ~1,400 units, with 80% in a Transit Priority Area. The plan includes an updated Plan District Ordinance (PDO) to preserve historic character, multimodal mobility improvements (pedestrian, bicycle, transit connections), and a roundabout concept at a key intersection. Parks and recreation needs are met via Presidio Community Park and trail improvements. The plan received unanimous support from the Technical Advisory Committee, Code Monitoring Team, Park and Recreation Board, Historic Resources Board, Design Review Board, and the Old Town Community Planning Group. The Planning Commission also voted unanimously to recommend adoption. The committee voted unanimously to recommend approval to the city council.
Informational Item
- Update on Inclusionary Affordable Housing Regulations
- Laura Gates (Council District 9) and Jenny Vander Hyde (San Diego Housing Commission) provided an update on efforts to revise the city's inclusionary housing regulations, as part of Councilmember Gomez's 2017 Housing Action Plan. A 25-member stakeholder committee has been formed. The current ordinance has collected over $140 million in fees since inception, producing 2,977 affordable rental units from fee revenues and 1,864 units from on-site production. Assembly Bill 1505, signed in 2017, reaffirms local government authority to require affordable housing. The city is considering changes, and the Housing Commission has contracted with Kaiser Marston Associates to conduct economic analyses: a financial feasibility analysis, a fee level analysis, and a nexus analysis. The analyses will be posted for 30 days in December 2019. The committee received the update without a vote.
Key Outcomes
- Approved Consent Calendar: Minutes of July 25, 2018, approved unanimously.
- Voted to Forward Grand Jury Response: Motion by Councilmember Sherman to send the proposed response to the full council, approved unanimously.
- Voted to Forward Consultant Contract Amendments: Motion by Councilmember Sherman to approve staff recommendation and forward to council, approved unanimously.
- Voted to Recommend Old Town Community Plan Update: Motion by Councilmember Sherman to approve staff recommendation and forward to council, approved unanimously.
- Next Meeting: Thursday, September 27, 2018, at 9:00 AM.
Meeting Transcript
The committee records of action for July 25th, 2018 will be approved by unanimous consent unless poll for discussion. And I see none. They stand approved. We will move to non-agenda public comment. And we have a couple of slips. You will have two minutes and your names will be called and please line up against the towards the wall. Okay, first we have Martha Welch, and then we have Peggy Walker. We need we have all these empty towers right now, and we don't need a new one. Now right now right now, all we build studios in one bedroom. We should break the rules in two bedrooms and two, three, because we don't have those right now. The lot by the station college, it's for sale. That'd be good for um Lo House right there about because it's empty and they're selling that lot. It'd be good for um housing because right by transfer, there's buses and trolley right there. That would be a good thing to do. Because right now the baby boomers are here, and we didn't build enough uh houses right now. Right now, the problem with seeing the houses, there's Chinese in there, or they jumped over me and they're in there and they don't pay rent. The owners know that the manager might lie. But I know about this because I I use I see them. I the up front on the up to the address, there's so many right there. Even if they're illegal, we can be right. There's about 70% of them, and that's not the population. So that's what's happening with our senior housing, and it's not right because um you didn't build enough. And and if so, this is the problem with San Diego. They don't they don't they don't plan very well all uh all these things because we don't have a two-bedroom to two uh uh for years we haven't built one. Everything Talmad Gardens, Cyprus, uh Celadon, the one in Mission Gorge, is it gonna be studios? Everything is studios we build, and that's not right. We need some small things, but we need families also to have something. We need modernization, everything. Planning is not a good thing right now. SSD scandal, maybe there are also bribes to that on the apartment, also, because that's why the Fed's so mad at you because of the SSE bribes. I broke that that scandal, and I know about it, and so does the FBI and the state and the federal. That's why you're mad they're mad at you. And that's what goes with San Diego and the counties, even worse. And so this is a problem with San Diego. You don't plan, you've had this person that they've threatened you with death threats, it's just nothing about him, it's fake. Good afternoon. My name is Peggy Walker. I work with the national organization, the local chapter of Sam, Smart Approaches to Marijuana. And I'm here to do to address MPF's marijuana production facilities. I made the same talk this morning, and I apologize for repeat to Councilman Gomez, but I think it's important to Councilman Zach. I think it's important that you're aware of this. I'd like to call your attention to a very non-transparent approval system for MPFs and urge you to ask the city to make some changes in that approval process for a more transparent uh process. The problem is that neighboring businesses and residents don't know when these applications are made, they don't know what's coming, and they have no way of knowing because nobody informs them. And I'll remind you that although the city approved 40 MPFs, these MPFs can have as many as four state licenses. They can cultivate, they can manufacture, they can distribute, they can have an open storefront. So these 40 businesses can become 160 businesses, some of them very large, with major impact on their neighbors. So what I'd like to see is first DSD notifies businesses within 300 feet. That notification should be expanded to businesses in a wider breadth and residents. Um A notices are supposed to be posted on buildings, but they aren't always posted, they're torn down. That requirement should be enforced.
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