El Cajon officials say the city is being swamped by 911 calls that aren't real emergencies. That is, no one leaves in an ambulance or requires medical aid.The calls are random, some medical, some not, …
September 17, 2024
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Stories by Sheila Pell
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How El Cajon can stanch the flood of 911 calls
Costs to update The Wave in Vista come under scrutiny
The Wave, San Diego County's first municipal water park, opened in Vista in 1994. Over the years, the costs to maintain it have ballooned. An assessment finds it will take somewhere between $6,100,000 and $16,800,000 …
September 10, 2024
Ocean Beach historic cottage district thwarts apartment project
Ocean Beach hasn't built much multifamily housing in recent years, and now an apartment planned at the southwest corner of Point Loma Ave. and Ebers Street is on hold.The San Diego Planning Commission last week …
September 3, 2024
El Cajon to get 132 cheaper condos on East Main Street
The El Cajon City Council has approved 132 new condos on a lot on East Main Street that could hold 209 units.Lennar's townhomes are expected to fill a need for moderate-income workforce housing, which company …
August 20, 2024
Carlsbad asked to clamp down on backyard chickens
There are over 9,000 parcels in Carlsbad's single-family residential zone where up to 25 backyard chickens can be kept. Surprisingly, it's neighbors in one of the city's few agriculturally-zoned neighborhoods who are calling for limits. "Chicken …
August 13, 2024
Escondido drafts rules for RV camping
It may get harder to live for free in Escondido. In June, the city council passed a ban on public camping; this week they'll consider tougher parking rules for recreational vehicles.The proposed ordinance would impose …
August 6, 2024
El Cajon threads needle to fight panhandling
An El Cajon City Council discussion of panhandling signs last week turned into a debate about messaging and addiction."I'm close to the line of shaming somebody who happens to be struggling with something," said councilmember …
July 30, 2024
San Diego mega homeless shelter at Kettner and Vine bumps along
In the next few years the city will lose 1,602 shelter beds, as redevelopment plans elbow out the old central library women's shelter, 16th and Newton, and others.One big solution? A proposed 65,000 square foot …
July 23, 2024
Encinitas goes beyond plastic straw ban
For every ten pieces of trash collected in 2023, eight were plastic, according to a report for this year's countywide volunteer beach and park cleanups sponsored by the San Diego chapters of Surfrider and Coastkeeper.To …
July 16, 2024
Homeless tiny homes shifted to Lemon Grove
The county's tiny home rollout is rolling. Opponents of a proposal to set up 150 sleeping cabins for the homeless in Spring Valley have helped get the location shifted four miles west to Lemon Grove.Although …
July 9, 2024
Palmer Lakes project advances – west of Santee and north of Mission Trails
A proposal to put 50-70 homes adjacent to the Weston subdivision in Santee faces several obstacles, but it's gotten by the first.The Planning Commission voted 6-0 last week in favor of the initial step of …
July 2, 2024
Four heritage Torrey pines added on Melba in Encinitas
Four more trees in Encinitas will join the Melba Heritage Grove approved last year, and the developer of an adjacent housing project is uneasy about the expanding protected forest."Let's not let this complicate something that's …
June 25, 2024
Angst in Del Mar over underground train tunnels
To reroute trains off the eroding Del Mar bluffs, officials are trying to figure out where to put the underground tunnels that will run 300 feet deep in some parts of the city.While the 1.7 …
June 18, 2024
Safe in Encinitas – coast live oaks, Engelmann oaks, Fremont cottonwoods, western sycamores, and Torrey pines
Encinitas has been grappling for years with a proposed addition to its 2017 tree ordinance: mature trees. The city already has a category for heritage trees, reserved for trees that are among the oldest and largest …
June 11, 2024
Del Mar forges levees to lessen flood damage
A series of living levees — earthen embankments — along the San Dieguito River could help protect affordable housing at the fairgrounds and homes in Del Mar's North Beach.As part of its sea rise planning, …
June 4, 2024
San Diego Audubon knocks city's density maps
Hundreds of threatened animal species live in neighborhoods where the city wants to build more housing and trails for humans.Where will the non-humans go?Blueprint SD, an update to San Diego's general plan, is supposed to …
May 28, 2024
Encinitas bent on curbing home gas appliances
Encinitas is leaning electric — again. The city has introduced a modified version of an ordinance it passed in 2021 (and later suspended) that required new buildings to be all electric.This time the focus is …
May 22, 2024
Encinitas to install 17 new license-plate readers
Signals, Lights, Cams. Encinitas will keep tabs on even more drivers under a proposal to install 17 new automated license-plate readers at locations from Manchester Avenue to Leucadia Boulevard.These are in addition to seven cameras …
May 14, 2024
Squeeze is on for San Diego reservoirs
It's a blip in the budget, but lake users say a $59,000 proposed funding cut could have a big impact on fishing and other recreation at the city's nine reservoirs. The lakes are part of the …
May 7, 2024
Escondido preps emergency fix on San Elijo Lagoon outfall
Escondido officials are scrambling to avert a catastrophic failure of a section of the city’s 14-mile land outfall pipeline near the San Elijo Lagoon, a protected marine reserve.The city was alerted on April 16 that …
April 30, 2024
National City – thorn in the side of Port Commission
Of the five port cities, only National City has no access to the bayfront.That issue, along with ethics reform, are part of a bill introduced in February by Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego. Assembly bill …
April 23, 2024
San Diego Gen Z-ers spend 17% more than millennials did on rent
In San Diego, Gen Z-ers, those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, are better off renting. But they aren't exactly well off renting, either."Felt like I was living in a vacation place and …
April 16, 2024
National City reacts to homeless drifting from San Diego
San Diego's ban on camping on public property, which went into effect last summer, may have pushed more unsheltered people into National City. While the evidence is mostly anecdotal, National City officials have used it to …
April 9, 2024
Palm weevil bedevils Encinitas
Flat top palm trees aren't a new species; they're the leftovers of a non-native weevil feeding frenzy. And they're all over Encinitas.The scraggly remnants of once-lush Canary Island date palms are the visible signs that …
April 2, 2024
San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown
Many uptown inhabitants feel left out of community planning, which is now represented by Uptown Planners, a group whose voting members are mostly homeowners. The San Diego City Council’s land use and housing committee last week …
March 26, 2024
SOHO slapped down over Victorian in East Village
An East Village house given historic designation in 2021 won't be saved, even though supporters say there are very few Victorian era buildings left in San Diego.The city council on Monday unanimously overturned the Historical …
March 19, 2024
National City had earthquake plan but not a flood plan
The county's 60-day ban on evictions and rent increases after historic flooding in January ends this month, while uncertainty lingers.National City officials voted 3-2 last week to continue to rely on the existing county ordinance, …
March 12, 2024
Carlsbad neighbors want to exert control over their airport
A fear of Palomar Airport turning into a noisy “John Wayne South” has kept a group of Carlsbad residents fighting for local control of the county-run airport three miles southeast of the city. Last week the …
March 5, 2024
Imperial Beach's 9th Street squeezed to slow the cars
A street known for accidents is being redesigned to make it safer, while also being eyed as the new path for the rapid bus between Otay Mesa and Imperial Beach.City officials see the five-month-old rapid …
February 27, 2024
Encinitas blufftop house barely hangs on
An attempt to rebuild a fire-ravaged home in Encinitas on the very same bluff edge that gave way has ended, though neighbors say the fallout of the 2019 blaze goes on."The home is a huge …
February 20, 2024
Coast highway eventually down to one lane through Oceanside
Oceanside's newly certified Coast Highway Incentive District paves the way for big changes along the corridor, including housing. It comes after a long struggle to address the Coastal Commission's concerns that threatened to undo the …
February 13, 2024
Where to move the trains from Del Mar bluffs?
Powerful winter storms and a recent landslide that stopped the trains in San Clemente are reminders of the urgency of moving the rail line off the Del Mar bluffs.But where to put the massive 1.6-mile …
February 6, 2024
Everyone in San Diego has a flooding story
National City on Monday declared a state of emergency following rains so severe, water and mud surged into apartments on Highland Ave., forcing tenants into hotels.It began with a storm on January 22 that dropped …
January 30, 2024
New buses too big for Imperial Beach?
The new rapid electric buses seem to check all the boxes when it comes to transit: no long wait times to get a ride, limited stops, lots of elbow room.But to many Imperial Beach inhabitants, …
January 23, 2024
Del Mar Beach Club seawall needs fix
The Solana Beach city council has approved emergency repairs to a large section of a failing seawall below the Del Mar Beach Club condominium complex.Upper bluff – currentSitting at the edge of a bluff above …
January 16, 2024
Del Mar couple gets to keep alley improvements
A Del Mar homeowner whose lush greenery has overtaken an unimproved alley can continue. Such public streets are shown on maps but remain unimproved — or are intended to.The city council on Monday voted 3-2 …
January 9, 2024
Oceanside squeezes short-term rentals inland – but what about the beach?
Oceanside has approved a moratorium on new short term rentals in all residential zoning districts outside the city's coastal zone.It's only the start, as the city tries to tame what has in some cases morphed …
January 2, 2024
Loveland Reservoir trail money eyed for bridge, parking lot, fish stocking, more water
Sweetwater Authority officials and Loveland lake users are discussing what to do with a $750,000 state grant the agency has received for trail improvements. In the first workshop this month, which a late change of …
December 26, 2023
Can cheap housing and underground train co-exist on Del Mar Fairgrounds?
The city of Del Mar is still trying to figure out where to build the 113 affordable units it needs to meet state housing requirements, and it's gotten more complicated.Many locals say a large complex …
December 19, 2023
San Diego okays Complete Streets, but cyclists worry
The city council on Monday voted unanimously to pass the Complete Streets policy, a plan for revamping streets to make them safer for all modes of travel. The plan emphasizes features such as the buffered bike …
December 12, 2023
Details of how to squeeze 50,000 more people into Hillcrest
The battle continues over a plan to build 19,000 new homes in Hillcrest, which hasn't seen any boost in residential densities in more than three decades.It has, however, seen such an increase in homelessness, a …
December 5, 2023