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Election Results from the combined 2020-2021 North Park Planning Committee election are:
Jen Sabo Spencer (116 votes) Peter Hill (115) Aria Pounaki (113) Tyler Renner (110) Marissa Tucker-Borquez (108) Matt Stucky (107) Steve Billings (103) Arash Kahvazadeh (103) Ginger Partyka (102) Jessica Ripper (101) Beau Benko (97) Basil Mournian (96) Josh Bohannan (93) Daniel Molitor (92) Jeff Olson (89) Lynn Elliott (84) Kate Callen (83) Claudia Flores (82) Chad Peace (82) Steven Oechel (79) Victor Torres (77) Gene Polley (72) John Hartley (71) Andrew Buck (27) Yvette Marcum (14) The first seven vote-getters will serve a full 2-year term; the next eight will serve a 1-year term. SoNo congratulates all the re-elected and newly-elected NPPC Board members. Chair’s Overview on NPPC Kudos to NPPC Chair Aria Pounaki on his informative NPPC General Overview delving into how the planning group works, including its Public Facilities and Urban Design subcommittees, its meeting agendas, and its fundamental role “to gather community input ... [and] to make recommendations and not policy decisions.” Here are two excerpts on topics of growing community interest: Rampant Development in North Park: “When we approved a new Community Plan in 2016, it increased the scope of what could go into different parts of North Park. A lot of new development that’s occurring is a function of having a more up-to-date community plan that envisions higher growth. ... When you compare North Park to other areas, we’re not seeing as many discretionary items come before us, and that is why.” Map Waivers/Dual Tracking System: On the practice of flipping rented apartment construction permits into purchased condo permits, “there have been questions of ‘Why doesn’t NPPC just say No to that?’ That’s something we have explored in the past, and it has been a futile exercise. I have spoken to the Mayor’s office, to Councilmember Whitburn’s office, and to planning staff. I’ll continue to elevate this, but in this in-between period, that’s just the way it is.” “If developers want to build condos, they need to subdivide the land, and they need to come to the NPPC. So instead, they apply for permits for an apartment building under one owner — one owner doesn’t need to subdivide the land — in a way that doesn’t require community input. They get all the permits; they get everything they need to get it approved. Then, once it’s time to sell them as condos, they fill out paperwork to subdivide the property. It’s all legal. They’re allowed to do that.” Public comments from community members included: — NPPC should keep the community better informed about how its recommendations were or were not followed and specific City Hall votes and decisions about North Park projects. — The community plan should be amended to restore a “ministerial overlay,” removed in 2016, that would help alert neighborhoods to pending construction projects. — NPPC members have a duty to represent the community’s will and not just their own: “This Board pretty much advises based on their own opinions and not from any kind of organized input from the community.” 30-Year Vision for Bird Park Nears Fruition Renowned San Diego artist Robin Brailsford reported that the design of Bird Park at 28th Street and Pershing Drive could soon be completed with the addition of public art elements, bird-friendly native landscaping, and tot lot improvements. “All these things are designed, engineered, permitted, and ready to go in,” said Brailsford, who created the original concept for Bird Park in 1992. “We’re not asking for any money. We’re just asking that the Commission for Arts and Culture consider Bird Park as art, both in the state that it’s in now and for what’s in the plans.” By an 11-0 vote, the Board approved a motion “requesting that the Commission for Arts and Culture include Bird Park in the City of San Diego’s Public Art Collection, including both present and future elements, in order to apply for grants and donations.” Long-time Bird Park activist Lynn Elliott commented after the meeting, “This project has been on the drawing board since the early 1990s. It’s time to move it forward.” To learn more about the Bird Park project, visit Brailsford’s Facebook page at: https://m.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=142032029297366&id=265776653533023 Comments are closed.
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