Thursday morning Todd Gloria challenged the City of San Diego and a local developer to ensure a controversial proposed project complies with recent building scale restrictions. The development at Third Avenue and University Avenue in Hillcrest, proposed by Bruce Leidenberger & University Vista, LLC, would include two towers of 175 feet and 193 feet. It was filed just prior to a community-initiated ordinance restricting height in the area went into effect.
“The people of Hillcrest fought fairly to ensure any project built at 301 University be consistent with the character of the community,” said Todd who has consistently spoken in opposition to the oversized development. “This proposal is a slap in the face to the residents and business owners of our area.”
The original 301 University proposal for a 12-story mixed use tower prompted the neighborhood to successfully create an Interim Height Ordinance (IHO) restricting development in the Uptown Community Planning Area to 65 feet, well below what is suggested with the new towers. The 12-story project was halted by a judge approximately one year ago following the community’s legal challenge.
Gloria has challenged the process by which the new version of the project was created and its timing to precede implementation of the IHO. “The new 301 University project goes against the spirit of what the community asked for and what the San Diego City Council approved in the Interim Height Ordinance,” said Gloria. “This proposal’s convenient filing just prior to the implementation of the IHO undermines the public’s trust in City Hall. As neighbors, we have fought overdevelopment of this site through public meetings and an eventual lawsuit. To have the developer create an even larger project that is obviously in conflict with the public’s desires, calls out the clear need for greater public input in the permitting process. Further, the new proposal also undercuts our shared goal of revitalizing our business district.”
Gloria asks the developer and the City Development Services Department to respect the community’s work and the court’s decision and work within the confines of the IHO.
