A changing of the guard for Uptown’s community planning group
By George Vernon
The neighborhoods that make up San Diego’s Uptown area will soon have a new community planning group to represent them on development and community planning manners. At the May 21 meeting of the San Diego City Council, councilmembers voted 8-1 to recognize the new Uptown Community Planning Group as the area’s planning body, effectively replacing the Uptown Planners, which has served that role for over two decades.
Councilmember Marni von Wilpert casted the lone “no” vote on the matter. She expressed concerns about replacing a sitting panel of volunteer board members – elected by their neighbors – with a new panel proposed by a group of community members who came together seeking a change in the group that currently advises the City of San Diego on such matters. If it sounds complicated, it is.
Uptown comprises six of San Diego’s older neighborhoods, including Hillcrest, Medical Complex (the area where Scripps Mercy Hospital and UC San Diego Health Hillcrest are situated), Mission Hills, Bankers Hill/Park West, Middletown, and the western half of University Heights. The Uptown area is defined by the City of San Diego’s Uptown Community Plan, a document that is part of the City’s greater General Plan and guides development and infrastructure planning for the area. There are more than 40 planning areas in the City.
The latest edition of the Uptown Community Plan was adopted in 2016, updating the previous plan of 1988, after years of community input on what the future of the area should look like. Community planning groups (CPGs) assist the City in making recommendations on future development, using their community plan as framework.
“CPGs provide citizens with an opportunity for involvement in advising the City Council, the Planning Commission, and other decision-makers on development projects, general or community plan amendments, rezonings and public facilities,” according to a statement on the City of San Diego’s community planning website. “The recommendations of the planning groups are integral components of the planning process, and are highly regarded by the City Council and staff.”
In recent years, however, some city councilmembers, particularly Councilmember Joe LaCava, who currently represents Council District 1, have pushed for reforms to CPGs, which have operated in the City since the 1960s and ’70s. LaCava, who served on the La Jolla Community Planning Association for a number of years before being elected to the San Diego City Council, was particularly interested in boosting the diversity of planning group members and ensuring they have more robust outreach, among a number of other items.
On Sept. 13, 2022, the City Council approved the proposed changes to the City’s CPG program, which triggered a process that required all existing planning groups to essentially re-apply for recognition as their area’s official group, and provided the opportunity for citizens to propose new organizations to replace existing CPGs.
Only two existing CPGs received a challenge by a new group hoping to replace them: The La Jolla Community Planning Association, and the Uptown Planners.
After over a year of preparing an application, meetings, community outreach and city council and committee hearings, the City Council ultimately voted to allow La Jolla’s existing community planning association to keep its recognition, but to essentially oust the Uptown Planners, in favor of the new Uptown Community Planning Group, designed by a group of community members who organized under the name “Vibrant Uptown.”
The Uptown Planners will remain the area’s community planning group until the Uptown Community Planning Group elects its inaugural board – a process they were given 90 days to complete after the May 21 vote.
This changing of the guard has generated a variety of opinions and feelings from community members on both sides of the issue, and members of the current Uptown Planners have already filed complaints with the City of San Diego about the new planning group’s initial procedures.
In an opinion column on SDNews.com, Uptown Planners board member Mary McKenzie wrote, “San Diego’s City Council wrongly voted to recognize a new group to replace Uptown Planners, the Community Planning Group (CPG) that has served the Uptown community for over 20 years.”
McKenzie stated that her Uptown Planners worked very hard to comply with the application process the Planning Department required of them but was disappointed in the outcome of the city council vote.
“Our own City Councilmember, Stephen Whitburn, turned on Uptown without meeting with the group once (but met with the other group a few times),” wrote McKenzie.
Vibrant Uptown, the group that applied for recognition as the new Uptown Community Planning Group, is considered to be a more “pro-density” group, with many on the current board of Uptown Planners characterized by some as attempting to thwart growth in Uptown’s urban core.
While it is not clear who will make up the elected board of the new Uptown Community Planning Group, the election process will be vastly different from procedures the current Uptown Planners have used for their elections in recent years.
Uptown Planners had open elections, where anyone who was a resident, property owner, or local business or nonprofit designee in the Uptown area could run for any of the open seats on the board at each election cycle. All Uptown residents, business owners, and property owners were then eligible to vote on all of the open seats. Uptown Planners also only allowed in-person voting.
The Uptown Community Planning Group has overhauled this election process for their elections, the first of which is in process now. Of note is that there are seats set aside specifically for residential renters, owners, and businesses, and there are a designated number of seats for each of the six neighborhoods of Uptown. Elections will now be similar to the city council’s “district” elections, where those affiliated with each individual neighborhood of Uptown will only vote for the representatives of their particular neighborhood.
This “district” style election system was proposed, according to its supporters, to prevent one particular neighborhood from dominating the planning board over another neighborhood and making decisions that may affect neighborhoods where they do not live.
Finally, the Uptown Community Planning Group will offer a hybrid electronic voting model, giving community members the opportunity to vote online.
In their “Econometer” roundtable, the San Diego Union Tribune recently posed the question to its panel of economists: “Is a new San Diego neighborhood group positive for the Uptown area?”
Of the 10 respondents, eight of the experts answered “yes,” with two casting a “no” vote.
Gary London, of London Moeder Advisors, said that yes, he believes the new Uptown planning group is a positive for the area.
“The revitalization of planning groups is necessary given the changing demographics of the communities,” wrote London. “Most of this is about old vs. young, and their differing agendas and needs. Many community planning groups have been overpopulated by persons resistant to change. Yet, planning is all about confronting the future and maximizing opportunities for communities to revitalize and flex for change.”
Jamie Moraga, of Franklin Revere, saw it differently, suggesting that this change is not good for the community.
“This sets a dangerous precedent as the council shouldn’t interfere with elected neighborhood groups to push an agenda,” wrote Moraga. “Additionally, it appears the council is selectively meddling, keeping La Jolla’s planning group, but ousting the Uptown planning group. Individuals should be elected to their planning groups by their own neighborhoods. Sadly, ambitious development plans will significantly alter these neighborhoods and their community character unless these planning groups can find a way to legally fight back.”
The Uptown Community Planning Group has begun its election process and residents and business owners in the Uptown neighborhoods are encouraged to apply to be a candidate. More information about the new planning group and their election process can be found online at uptowncommunityplanning.org.
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