San Diego Controversy Exhibits Disconnect Between Citizen Advisors and Planning Staff

Ken Williams reports on a controversy in San Diego between a "citizen-elected volunteer board" known as the Uptown Planners, "which advises city planners on matters related to growth and development in the Uptown district," and the San Diego Planning Department. According to the Uptown Planners, the Planning Department has not been paying attention to their recommendations, especially regarding the Uptown Community Plan Update (CPU), approved by the City Council in November 2016.

According to Williams's telling of the backstory, the city's Planning Commission and City Council approved a CPU that added density and removing an Interim Height Ordinance—counter to a draft CPU provided by the Uptown Planners.

According to the article, the contentious history of the COU has boiled over with regard to a proposal for the so-called Hillcrest 111 project, a seven-story, 90-foot mixed-use tower that would include 111 residential units. The Uptown Planners voted to deny the plan unless certain concessions are made. Planning Department staff are now reviewing the proposal.

The real drama occurred, however, at an April 4 meeting of the Uptown Planners, which Williams describes as a temper tantrum.