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

Quail Brush Opposition Packs House to Oppose Initiating the Rezone of Open Space

Request for Community Action: Save Mission Trails requests that you step-up your letters and attend 2 Key Meetings, July 19 - 9 AM & 1 PM (click for details)

SPECIAL REPORT:

Community and environmental protection group members numbering nearly 200 packed the San Diego Planning Commission chambers to oppose initiation of a community plan amendment and rezoning of open space to industrial during a five-hour hearing held on Thursday, June 28, 2012.

Power plant applicant, Cogentrix, LLC, a subsidiary of the banking giant Goldman Sachs, initiated a process with the California Energy Commission in August 2011 to license a 100 MW plant that would require eleven 100 foot tall smokestacks on lands that have been designated open space in an area called the East Elliot Community Plan, which is north of Mission Trails Regional Park and adjacent to the park’s expansion area.

Members of Save Mission Trials, Sierra Club, Environmental Health Coalition, Audubon Society and others presented relevant and significant testimony during the five-hour hearing. Electrical engineer and expert witness, Bill Powers, testified as to why the power plant is not necessary to meet San Diego’s energy needs. Several key speakers included, Santee Councilmember John Minto and Santee city staff who urged the Commissioners to consider rejecting the initiation based on the three criteria in order to send a clear message to their Staff, the CEC, and the Applicant that areas designated for permanent protection as open space for recreational and esthetic purposes will be safeguarded. Other speakers urged the Commissioners to reject the purported need for the power plant, since its purpose of providing peak power on very hot days could be better met by an expansion of local solar generation on home and business rooftops in the same amount of time as it would take for this power plant to be operational .

A rejection of the initiation would provide the applicant an opportunity to appeal before the City Council, where it is rightful for a fitting review to take place.

A strong message to city staff is suggested, as there is supposed to be a mechanism for preventing applications that do not make sense from going through to the Planning Commission based on three criteria. This initiation request was clearly in violation of the first two criteria: consistency with the General plan and public benefit. Since the issue of energy need is the responsibility of the CPUC, the city Staff has no authority to assert energy needs, nor to recommend approval of the initiation overall, since their evidence was in blatant contradiction to the criteria.

A majority of Commissioners present agreed with power plant opponents that evidence to meet the criteria necessary to initiate a process leading to such a radical change in land use was absent or seriously questionable. New Commissioner, Susan Peerson, expressed concerns that this kind of non-conforming use would be a foothold for other incompatible industrial uses in an area to be set aside for permanent open space preservation. Planning Commissioner Stephen Haase, in making the motion to deny the initiation, voiced concerns about the state preempting the City’s local land use review authority. He concluded that with the state in control of the schedule for power plant licensing and environmental review, San Diego City Council needs to look at this issue earlier in the process. That review could happen if the Planning Commissioners deny initiation of the plan amendment and the applicant appeals the denial to the City Council.

San Diego Planning Commissioners are to be applauded for their diligence. The issue is simple: The criteria were NOT met to approve an initiation to amend. Three of the five Commissioners present (panel of 7, 2 were absent), including Chairman Eric Naslund, supported the motion to not initiate the amendment. Since the rules of the Commission require four votes to pass, the matter was trailed to a July 19 meeting.

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

Previous article

Gonzo Report: Bob Long played piano for Tina Turner and Ray Charles

And he got the crowd shaking at InZane Brewery

Request for Community Action: Save Mission Trails requests that you step-up your letters and attend 2 Key Meetings, July 19 - 9 AM & 1 PM (click for details)

SPECIAL REPORT:

Community and environmental protection group members numbering nearly 200 packed the San Diego Planning Commission chambers to oppose initiation of a community plan amendment and rezoning of open space to industrial during a five-hour hearing held on Thursday, June 28, 2012.

Power plant applicant, Cogentrix, LLC, a subsidiary of the banking giant Goldman Sachs, initiated a process with the California Energy Commission in August 2011 to license a 100 MW plant that would require eleven 100 foot tall smokestacks on lands that have been designated open space in an area called the East Elliot Community Plan, which is north of Mission Trails Regional Park and adjacent to the park’s expansion area.

Members of Save Mission Trials, Sierra Club, Environmental Health Coalition, Audubon Society and others presented relevant and significant testimony during the five-hour hearing. Electrical engineer and expert witness, Bill Powers, testified as to why the power plant is not necessary to meet San Diego’s energy needs. Several key speakers included, Santee Councilmember John Minto and Santee city staff who urged the Commissioners to consider rejecting the initiation based on the three criteria in order to send a clear message to their Staff, the CEC, and the Applicant that areas designated for permanent protection as open space for recreational and esthetic purposes will be safeguarded. Other speakers urged the Commissioners to reject the purported need for the power plant, since its purpose of providing peak power on very hot days could be better met by an expansion of local solar generation on home and business rooftops in the same amount of time as it would take for this power plant to be operational .

A rejection of the initiation would provide the applicant an opportunity to appeal before the City Council, where it is rightful for a fitting review to take place.

A strong message to city staff is suggested, as there is supposed to be a mechanism for preventing applications that do not make sense from going through to the Planning Commission based on three criteria. This initiation request was clearly in violation of the first two criteria: consistency with the General plan and public benefit. Since the issue of energy need is the responsibility of the CPUC, the city Staff has no authority to assert energy needs, nor to recommend approval of the initiation overall, since their evidence was in blatant contradiction to the criteria.

A majority of Commissioners present agreed with power plant opponents that evidence to meet the criteria necessary to initiate a process leading to such a radical change in land use was absent or seriously questionable. New Commissioner, Susan Peerson, expressed concerns that this kind of non-conforming use would be a foothold for other incompatible industrial uses in an area to be set aside for permanent open space preservation. Planning Commissioner Stephen Haase, in making the motion to deny the initiation, voiced concerns about the state preempting the City’s local land use review authority. He concluded that with the state in control of the schedule for power plant licensing and environmental review, San Diego City Council needs to look at this issue earlier in the process. That review could happen if the Planning Commissioners deny initiation of the plan amendment and the applicant appeals the denial to the City Council.

San Diego Planning Commissioners are to be applauded for their diligence. The issue is simple: The criteria were NOT met to approve an initiation to amend. Three of the five Commissioners present (panel of 7, 2 were absent), including Chairman Eric Naslund, supported the motion to not initiate the amendment. Since the rules of the Commission require four votes to pass, the matter was trailed to a July 19 meeting.

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

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Next Article

10 Points for Denial on July 19th to Save Mission Trails Regional Park

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