Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Another Developer Owned Craftsman Mysteriously Catches Fire

Just last week I wrote a piece about my efforts to try and save 1 of only 2 saltbox style buildings in San Diego.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/ive-got-issues/2010/may/16/eminent-domain-your-tax-dollars-slated-to-demolish/

It lies on El Cajon Boulevard, the famed "Boulevard of the Arts". The entire block with the saltbox is going to have to be demolished so developers can take 5 million dollars of your property tax money and build housing.

The only problem....the original demo permit is 5 years old and it is attached to the previously planned project. Since that time the project has changed substantially, thus making a full CEQA review necessary.

There is nothing a developer hates more than a full california environmental quality act review especially when the community knows it is happening and supports saving the buildings.

This is why as I was walking home today along El Cajon Blvd and saw smoke coming from this beloved block of mine I thought ...." this is arson". I stopped and talked to the people standing there. The elderly gentleman that lived next door to the unoccupied craftsman and had sold it to the developer was standing out there with a big smile. He told me the fire started under the house. I really could not make any accusations, I just kept telling the cop..."this building is owned by a developer and they are in the process of trying to get a demo permit which requires a full CEQA review, you better really thoroughly investigate this".

I dont want to make any accusations, but I definitely see a pattern. It seems that whenever there is an obstacle in the way of achieving a demolition permit for an old building the building magically and fortuitously catches fire, just like 4555 Texas Street. The Texas street craftsman caught fire not once, but twice and even then the developer did not have a valid demolition permit. He demolished the building and then applied for and received the demolition permit after he had destroyed it. I presented this information along with my proof on several occasions to code compliance and the city and they refused to enforce any fees on the developer.

Of course no one wants to believe that people could be as malevolent as this, but it would not be unprecedented. The Red Roost and the Red Rest in La jolla have been the victims of arson attempts multiple times under rather suspicious conditions. The owner wanted to demolish them to build a hotel and could not because the buildings are registered as historic. Although they could not make a definite connection between the arsonist and the owner, the circumstances are still very suspect. http://sohosandiego.org/reflections/2002july/reds.htm And I hear story after story of developer owned historic properties where a moving van comes in one day taking everything out and the next day the building goes up in flames.

And from my research it seems that the city does very little to actually investigate a possible arson. The only time arson seems to really be investigated is if someone is injured or if the owner is trying to collect insurance. They love to just write it off to a homeless person lighting a match. It just seems those homeless people always know when a demo permit is in the works and having problems.

IF this is happening it is contemptuous. Not only are these building irreplaceable resources, many of them contain asbestos so lighting them on fire would release tons of asbestos into the air posing a HUGE health risk for neighbors.

This is yet another reason we must vote NO on Prop D. Prop D is being bankrolled by big developers (McMillin for 1 giving $10,000 to the campaign). D will make the trifecta developer/fire/mayor alliance even more powerful and literally accountable to NO ONE.

I hope people will pay attention to things like this and put pressure on the city to investigate these very suspicious fires that result in developers avoiding environmental and historic reviews and us losing these irreplaceable structures. So lets put the heat on them and see what their report says. And please join me in saving this wonderful block.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents

Just last week I wrote a piece about my efforts to try and save 1 of only 2 saltbox style buildings in San Diego.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/ive-got-issues/2010/may/16/eminent-domain-your-tax-dollars-slated-to-demolish/

It lies on El Cajon Boulevard, the famed "Boulevard of the Arts". The entire block with the saltbox is going to have to be demolished so developers can take 5 million dollars of your property tax money and build housing.

The only problem....the original demo permit is 5 years old and it is attached to the previously planned project. Since that time the project has changed substantially, thus making a full CEQA review necessary.

There is nothing a developer hates more than a full california environmental quality act review especially when the community knows it is happening and supports saving the buildings.

This is why as I was walking home today along El Cajon Blvd and saw smoke coming from this beloved block of mine I thought ...." this is arson". I stopped and talked to the people standing there. The elderly gentleman that lived next door to the unoccupied craftsman and had sold it to the developer was standing out there with a big smile. He told me the fire started under the house. I really could not make any accusations, I just kept telling the cop..."this building is owned by a developer and they are in the process of trying to get a demo permit which requires a full CEQA review, you better really thoroughly investigate this".

I dont want to make any accusations, but I definitely see a pattern. It seems that whenever there is an obstacle in the way of achieving a demolition permit for an old building the building magically and fortuitously catches fire, just like 4555 Texas Street. The Texas street craftsman caught fire not once, but twice and even then the developer did not have a valid demolition permit. He demolished the building and then applied for and received the demolition permit after he had destroyed it. I presented this information along with my proof on several occasions to code compliance and the city and they refused to enforce any fees on the developer.

Of course no one wants to believe that people could be as malevolent as this, but it would not be unprecedented. The Red Roost and the Red Rest in La jolla have been the victims of arson attempts multiple times under rather suspicious conditions. The owner wanted to demolish them to build a hotel and could not because the buildings are registered as historic. Although they could not make a definite connection between the arsonist and the owner, the circumstances are still very suspect. http://sohosandiego.org/reflections/2002july/reds.htm And I hear story after story of developer owned historic properties where a moving van comes in one day taking everything out and the next day the building goes up in flames.

And from my research it seems that the city does very little to actually investigate a possible arson. The only time arson seems to really be investigated is if someone is injured or if the owner is trying to collect insurance. They love to just write it off to a homeless person lighting a match. It just seems those homeless people always know when a demo permit is in the works and having problems.

IF this is happening it is contemptuous. Not only are these building irreplaceable resources, many of them contain asbestos so lighting them on fire would release tons of asbestos into the air posing a HUGE health risk for neighbors.

This is yet another reason we must vote NO on Prop D. Prop D is being bankrolled by big developers (McMillin for 1 giving $10,000 to the campaign). D will make the trifecta developer/fire/mayor alliance even more powerful and literally accountable to NO ONE.

I hope people will pay attention to things like this and put pressure on the city to investigate these very suspicious fires that result in developers avoiding environmental and historic reviews and us losing these irreplaceable structures. So lets put the heat on them and see what their report says. And please join me in saving this wonderful block.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Wallet Preservationists

Next Article

Encinitas blufftop house barely hangs on

Owner of Neptune Ave. duplex wanted to demolish and re-build under old rules
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader