from Barry Hager, resident of Mission Hills & board chairman of Mission Hills Heritage
City council agrees to final IHO extension
The Uptown Interim Height Ordinance (IHO) was enacted by City Council in July 2008 with strong public support including a petition signed by over 1,200 Uptown residents and business owners in favor of the ordinance. I chaired the independent task force that promoted the IHO and have continued to stay involved with the issue. The IHO was intended to give Uptown a breather from taller projects while we update the Uptown community plan. When the IHO was adopted in July 2008, the Planning Department took the position that 30 months would be enough time to complete the plan update, but to be on the safe side the ordinance included that the City Council could approve up to two 180-day extensions. After many delays, the plan update is still not complete over 36 months later.
Yesterday, three years after the IHO was first enacted, the City Council voted to approve the second 180-day extension. However, planning staff (now under the direction of Development Services Department) is saying that it will likely take 18 months more to complete the community plan update and the approval process. The Council’s LU&H committee has twice voted to request planning staff to bring forward a new ordinance that would make the ordinance coterminous with completion of the Uptown community plan update, as did the City Council last January. Uptown Planners recently voted 13-1 to recommend that the City process the coterminous extension of the IHO,echoing strong public support for the IHO. Apparently it will take a new ordinance to make the IHO coterminous with completion of the community plan update.
At Tuesday’s City Council hearing, several councilmembers voiced their frustration with the slow pace of the community plan update and the delays that have occurred. The Uptown community is also very concerned about the prospect of the IHO lapsing before the community plan update is complete. The new ordinance must be adopted within the next 180 days to prevent the IHO from lapsing. The new ordinance will need to proceed through the Planning Commission, the LU&H committee and perhaps other committees. That means staff needs to begin working on this immediately.
Residents and business owners of the Uptown communities will be carefully watching to see that the new ordinance is adopted in time to extend the IHO without it lapsing. It is time for City staff to carry out the wishes of the community and get this done!
