Community activists, residents and developers gathered at Balboa Park’s Recital Hall on a rainy Saturday morning to attend a workshop sponsored by councilmembers Toni Atkins and Kevin Faulconer to discuss the Uptown Community Plan. The meeting was hosted by the SD City Planning and Community Investment Department (CPCI) and Uptown Planners. Over 100 in attendance explored land use and planning issues in Uptown as city staff collected input. The discussion included key issues of concern relevant to the outdated (1988) Uptown Community Plan and outlined the process for preparing for an update.
Many in attendance voiced support of an interim height ordinanceproposal (also recommended by the Uptown Planners, the community planning group that advises the City on development matters in the area.) Since an update of the Uptown Community Plan is not imminent (it will take a two years after an OK), concerned citizens are requesting that the city pass an Interim Height Ordinance to put a ceiling on those projects that most exacerbate the problems (traffic congestion, chronic parking problems, lack of neighborhood park space, loss of historic buildings/resources and incompatibility of height, scale and character of the existing neighborhood), while working with the community and city to incorporate solutions in an updated plan. The information gathered at Saturday morning’s workshop will be compiled and presented at future meetings.
The Uptown Community Planning Area is bounded on the north by the steep hillsides of Mission Valley, on the east by Park Boulevard and Balboa Park, and on the west and south by Old San Diego and Interstate 5. The plan area has been divided into six sub-areas: Mission Hills, Middletown, Hillcrest, the Medical Complex, University Heights and Park West neighborhoods.
HillQuest Photo: 92103 resident and Uptown Planners boardmember Peggy Mazzella
