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

Is This Thing On?

On Monday, April 26, San Diego's City Planning and Community Investment Department is sponsoring a "Community Plan Update Open Mic Meeting" in the Santa Fe Room of the Balboa Park Club from 6 to 9 p.m.

Collaborative Services Incorporated, a consultant firm located in San Diego, is organizing the open-mic night, which according to an email from Kristina Meek, a representative from Collaborative Services, offers organizations the opportunity to "share their knowledge and expertise" on the community plan updates in Uptown, North Park, and Greater Golden Hill communities.

While community organizations are encouraged to "share their knowledge" during the event, community leaders and neighborhood preservationists are calling the gig a "dog and pony show." They feel the City and their consultants are not interested in hearing ideas from the communities.

"The community plan updates for Uptown, North Park, and Golden Hill will define the new development for the next 20 to 25 years," writes Tom Mullaney, president of neighborhood preservation group, Friends of San Diego. "The question is, will these three communities be able to preserve the features that the residents cherish, or will their neighborhoods be bulldozed to make room for new high density development?"

Mullaney's assumptions appeared to be spot on when his request to present at the open-mic night event was denied by the event organizer.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Mullaney objected to San Diego Senior Planner Bernie Turgeon and chair of the Uptown Planners Leo Wilson, and he lodged additional complaints to City planners. A day later, William Anderson, San Diego's Director of City Planning and Development, responded with assurances that Mullaney and The Friends of San Diego will be allowed to present at the open-mic meeting.

Despite the City's capitulation, Mullaney and other community activists remain skeptical about the process.

"Many of us get the feeling that community input is being sought as a formality, while the City Planning Department and their hired consultants work on their design for our communities," writes Mullaney.

The Friends of San Diego will be the last to speak during the April 26 meeting. Here is a list of the presenters and the order in which they will take the mic:

  1. Urban Land Institute
  2. Council of Design Professionals
  3. American Institute of Architects
  4. San Diego Bicycle Coalition
  5. Active Living, SDSU
  6. Walk San Diego
  7. San Diego Canyonlands
  8. North Park Historical Society
  9. Sustainable Neighborhoods, USGBC/SD
  10. Uptown Partnership
  11. Hillcrest Business Association
  12. Community Gardens/1 in 10 Coalition
  13. South Park Business Group
  14. Friends of San Diego

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

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

Gonzo Report: Three nights of Mission Bayfest bring bliss

“This is a top-notch production.”
Next Article

Tijuana sewage infects air in South Bay

By September, Imperial Beach’s beach closure broke 1000 consecutive days

On Monday, April 26, San Diego's City Planning and Community Investment Department is sponsoring a "Community Plan Update Open Mic Meeting" in the Santa Fe Room of the Balboa Park Club from 6 to 9 p.m.

Collaborative Services Incorporated, a consultant firm located in San Diego, is organizing the open-mic night, which according to an email from Kristina Meek, a representative from Collaborative Services, offers organizations the opportunity to "share their knowledge and expertise" on the community plan updates in Uptown, North Park, and Greater Golden Hill communities.

While community organizations are encouraged to "share their knowledge" during the event, community leaders and neighborhood preservationists are calling the gig a "dog and pony show." They feel the City and their consultants are not interested in hearing ideas from the communities.

"The community plan updates for Uptown, North Park, and Golden Hill will define the new development for the next 20 to 25 years," writes Tom Mullaney, president of neighborhood preservation group, Friends of San Diego. "The question is, will these three communities be able to preserve the features that the residents cherish, or will their neighborhoods be bulldozed to make room for new high density development?"

Mullaney's assumptions appeared to be spot on when his request to present at the open-mic night event was denied by the event organizer.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Mullaney objected to San Diego Senior Planner Bernie Turgeon and chair of the Uptown Planners Leo Wilson, and he lodged additional complaints to City planners. A day later, William Anderson, San Diego's Director of City Planning and Development, responded with assurances that Mullaney and The Friends of San Diego will be allowed to present at the open-mic meeting.

Despite the City's capitulation, Mullaney and other community activists remain skeptical about the process.

"Many of us get the feeling that community input is being sought as a formality, while the City Planning Department and their hired consultants work on their design for our communities," writes Mullaney.

The Friends of San Diego will be the last to speak during the April 26 meeting. Here is a list of the presenters and the order in which they will take the mic:

  1. Urban Land Institute
  2. Council of Design Professionals
  3. American Institute of Architects
  4. San Diego Bicycle Coalition
  5. Active Living, SDSU
  6. Walk San Diego
  7. San Diego Canyonlands
  8. North Park Historical Society
  9. Sustainable Neighborhoods, USGBC/SD
  10. Uptown Partnership
  11. Hillcrest Business Association
  12. Community Gardens/1 in 10 Coalition
  13. South Park Business Group
  14. Friends of San Diego
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

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

Extended family dynamics

Many of our neighbors live in the house they grew up in
Next Article

Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, ZZ Top, Gem Diego Show

Events October 31-November 2, 2024
Comments
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