Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Battle for the Boulevard
Forty people gathered inside Birney Elementary's auditorium in University Heights on February 4 for a meeting of the University Heights Community Association. On the agenda for the night: a vote to support or oppose a 1.45 acre, 175-unit mixed-use affordable rental housing project from Community Housing Works for the north side of El Cajon Boulevard in between Alabama and Florida streets. In addition to offering affordable units to low-income families, the building would set aside 20 units to house young adults with mental-health issues.
Seconds after the president of the association, Greg Sorini, introduced the item, a motion came from a middle-aged woman in the back of the room. The motion recommended that the organization oppose the project due to over-saturation of affordable-housing units in the area.
That motion was seconded.
Before going to a vote, a dozen involved community residents submitted speaker slips to comment on the project. The first to take the floor was Dave Gatzke, a senior project manager for the developer as well as a member of the Uptown Planning committee.
Gatzke passed out a prepared statement from his company. He read the statement to the audience from the front of the room. "We were not invited to tonight's meeting to present accurate facts regarding our proposal as part of your deliberations."
Gatzke said Community Housing Works has made repeated offers to discuss the project with concerned neighbors and pledged to "operate the property in a professional and neighborly manner."
"All of our efforts have been rebuffed by the board," added Gatzke, moments before Sorini interrupted him telling him that his two-minute time limit was up.
When Gatzke finished his statement, comments from residents were heard, who said that they don't trust the developer. The following thirty minutes were filled with one resident after another expressing that distrust.
The same University Heights denizen who offered the motion informed other members that she had visited other Community Housing Works buildings and asked residents to rate management's performance. The tenants told her about building inadequacies and traffic issues.
Apart from the lack of trust, community residents believe redeveloping the area should be the focus, not turning the drag into "a mental-health mecca" or a place where at-risk youth are exposed to the prostitutes and drugs dealers who walk the boulevard at night.
"This is going to be a battle," said one man who also opposed the project. "Why [is Community Housing Works] so insistent on putting this here? There's land everywhere."
The item went to a vote. It was unanimous, 30 to 0, all opposed. As the permit process continues, the community association's position will be passed on to the city and neighborhood planning groups.
Mr. Gatzke did not return this correspondent's request for comment.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Battle for the Boulevard
Battle for the Boulevard
Forty people gathered inside Birney Elementary's auditorium in University Heights on February 4 for a meeting of the University Heights Community Association. On the agenda for the night: a vote to support or oppose a 1.45 acre, 175-unit mixed-use affordable rental housing project from Community Housing Works for the north side of El Cajon Boulevard in between Alabama and Florida streets. In addition to offering affordable units to low-income families, the building would set aside 20 units to house young adults with mental-health issues.
Seconds after the president of the association, Greg Sorini, introduced the item, a motion came from a middle-aged woman in the back of the room. The motion recommended that the organization oppose the project due to over-saturation of affordable-housing units in the area.
That motion was seconded.
Before going to a vote, a dozen involved community residents submitted speaker slips to comment on the project. The first to take the floor was Dave Gatzke, a senior project manager for the developer as well as a member of the Uptown Planning committee.
Gatzke passed out a prepared statement from his company. He read the statement to the audience from the front of the room. "We were not invited to tonight's meeting to present accurate facts regarding our proposal as part of your deliberations."
Gatzke said Community Housing Works has made repeated offers to discuss the project with concerned neighbors and pledged to "operate the property in a professional and neighborly manner."
"All of our efforts have been rebuffed by the board," added Gatzke, moments before Sorini interrupted him telling him that his two-minute time limit was up.
When Gatzke finished his statement, comments from residents were heard, who said that they don't trust the developer. The following thirty minutes were filled with one resident after another expressing that distrust.
The same University Heights denizen who offered the motion informed other members that she had visited other Community Housing Works buildings and asked residents to rate management's performance. The tenants told her about building inadequacies and traffic issues.
Apart from the lack of trust, community residents believe redeveloping the area should be the focus, not turning the drag into "a mental-health mecca" or a place where at-risk youth are exposed to the prostitutes and drugs dealers who walk the boulevard at night.
"This is going to be a battle," said one man who also opposed the project. "Why [is Community Housing Works] so insistent on putting this here? There's land everywhere."
The item went to a vote. It was unanimous, 30 to 0, all opposed. As the permit process continues, the community association's position will be passed on to the city and neighborhood planning groups.
Mr. Gatzke did not return this correspondent's request for comment.
Comments