Finally!

The I-5/I-805 interchange will open for business this week. As someone who has had to endure this terror for years, all I can say is... It's about time.

My Thoughts on County Population Growth

Throughout my urban planning education at UCSD, much of the discussion on urban growth in the San Diego region focused on the premise that population growth would continue to expand. SANDAG demographers would come in as guest lecturers to speak on the challenges of accommodating the increasing number of county residents, professors would challenge us to be forward thinking in our approaches, and my fellow students would worry that the increasing burden placed on infrastructure would erode the region's quality of life.

Although it's absolutely true that people are attracted to San Diego because it has cultural and lifestyle amenities unique to the region (weather, weather, weather... oh, and the sun, too), the rising number of county residents has indeed strained infrastructure to a tangible degree. Roads and freeways are so congested SANDAG extended the TransNet sales tax to address the issue. It seems almost weekly that a water pipe bursts or sewage spills into the ocean. A majority of my fellow aspiring planners at UCSD concerned themselves with the affordable housing crisis and despite record county foreclosure rates, it seems housing will remain as unaffordable as ever.

It appears now that these detriments to quality of life issues are finally catching up to county growth projections. An article from the Union Tribune highlights San Diego's eighth place ranking in net loss through domestic migration:

It's clear from recent census surveys that a lack of affordable housing is increasingly driving the migration out of California counties, said Hans Johnson, a research fellow with the San Francisco-based Public Policy Institute of California.

“We're also starting to see that (the shortage of affordable housing) is important not just for lower income households but also for college graduates,” he said. “Some people will be quite pleased and feel that controlling population growth is a good thing and that there may be less congestion and fewer environmental effects, but you have to remember that it really means San Diego is pushing growth to other places.”

A few things that I found interesting in this article:

• We weren't too far behind St. Bernard Parish, a region victimized by Hurricane Katrina.
• L.A. and Orange County ranked second and seventh according to the U.S. Census figures, suggesting that this is a much larger southern California-wide regional problem and not just restricted to San Diego.
• SANDAG demographers have known for years that population growth would occur through internal growth (more births than deaths) rather than external migration into the county. Although it's good to bring this issue to the forefront of the public, the fact that the U-T highlights this story with the sub-headline "Region sees more leave here than move here; housing costs blamed" strikes me as an oversimplification at best and pseudo-alarmist at worst.

"That explains why Riverside County, where the median home price last month was $70,000 less than in San Diego County, had the third-largest population gain last year among all counties, the census estimates show."

• Recent trends and anecdotal evidence suggests that bordering inland counties are the main regions absorbing San Diego's outward migration.

Overall, if the pace of population growth declines, I'm not so sure that it's a bad thing for the region. If, as a result, housing prices begin to stabilize and infrastructure functions again at its intended capacity would those of us left behind really have a reason to complain?

ULI Award Nominees Announced

Congratulations San Diego! Two development projects have been selected as finalists in the Urban Land Institute's Award of Excellence Program!

The projects are downtown's East Village and Market Creek Plaza, near Market Street and Euclid Avenue. Read the entire article for full details; really this is a great distinction.

The financing mechanisms of the two projects are very different but both have resulted in spaces that the community can take great pride in.

The EIR Game

This story is just another example of how opponents to a project game the environmental review process in order to block development they oppose.

Not only has the Hillel project been delayed but the Rose Canyon bridge has also been affected:

"Opponents of another controversial project, a proposed bridge over Rose Canyon at Regents Road, declared their own victory this week in forcing the city to conduct a new environmental study of that $36 million project." (emphasis mine)

How many environmental studies does it take to complete a project? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?

Creative Freeway Landscaping Seen on I-5

It's nice to see that some people over at CalTrans are thinking outside the box.





I'm a fan of the lush freeway landscaping that lines our interstates, especially the vibrant colors that appear when the flowers are in bloom. The above example, however, is not only novel and attractive, but the idea that the images are based on the wildlife that is local to the riverbed running parallel to the freeway is both educational and innovative. Way to go CalTrans!

Downtown Trolley Route Change to be Studied

I'll admit, I don't know much about transportation planning, but generally, I'm all for anything that gets people to increase their use of mass transit. A downtown group wants a seperate "centre city loop" for the trolley to be studied.

Because of technical and logistical concerns (trolley cars obstruct intersections, added cost of loop) the Metropolitan Transit System and the group, the Downtown San Diego Partnership are having a hard time coming to a compromise on the issue.

To be perfectly honest, since I live in the north county inland portion of San Diego, I'd just as soon that MTS spend its resources on extending mass transit service to better serve the outlying suburbs of San Diego, rather than focus on increasing service in downtown. Studies should focus on ridership and use of trolley lines because it's hard for me to imagine that Downtownians are clamoring for their own trolley loop. Those of us out in the farther reaches of the county, on the other hand, would love to be able to take transit into the urban core. But that's what studies are for, right?

Chula Vista Zoning Ordinance Passed

An update to Chula Vista's downtown zoning plan has been passed by the Planning Commission for recommendation to the City Council.

The Council will vote on the Commission's recommendation on April 26th. The updated plan includes elements of smart growth and principles of new urbanism, such as mixed use land designations and pedestrian-friendly streetscape design. It is encouraging to see Chula Vista continue its role as a strong proponent of the new urbanist design principles that were initially seen in the city in its Otay Ranch and Eastlake developments. Now if the city of San Diego could only get its transit-oriented, mixed-use, high density City of Villages concept off the ground...

Proposed Ordinance on Affordable Housing and Density Bonus

The city of San Diego is considering changing its zoning ordinance to grant density bonuses to developers in exchange for providing affordable housing. As proposed, the more affordable housing units a developer provides, the higher the density bonus granted by the city.

Critics are mainly concerned with how the changes would affect height limits in the coastal zone. I hope that the city has learned from the proliferation of the typical six-pack apartment design that pervades mid-city. The sad consequence of these unimaginative, poorly planned buildings still haunt the communities they inhabit. Residents often complain of lacking off-street parking and a deficiency in public infrastructure . The legacy of these structures of the late 60s and 70s are still in the minds of San Diegans who instinctively oppose multi-family, high density developments because of the reputation that still lingers from the past.

Affordable Housing: Not Just a Working Class Issue Anymore

I used to work for Richmond American Homes, a national homebuilder who only built single-family homes. When I asked why, the response I got was that this product type is what Americans traditionally demand and thus, has a lower market risk. Similarly, as a planning student, we were often taught that consumers were averse to living in attached housing, mainly for privacy and ownership reasons, but also because, historically, attached projects in San Diego had been done so badly.

This led me to believe that consumers drove the housing market. The housing stock demanded by consumers would dictate what would be supplied to the market by developers. Today's article in the U-T seems to suggest otherwise. Apparently, because of land restrictions and housing affordability, those wanting to share in the American dream are having to re-imagine what that dream may look like. The days of the white picket fence may be long gone, but the yard that that fence surrounded may be quickly disappearing as well. Southern California, long a bastion of suburban subdivisions will soon be giving way to higher densities and multi-family housing developments . Market forces seems to be dictating what type of housing people will live in, rather than vice versa.

Will this result in closer neighbors, more vibrant communities, and a more cosmopolitan urban lifestyle? Or will we eventually see urban blight, a lack of parking and overtaxed public infrastructure? Of course, it will take the cooperation of all stakeholders involved to ensure we enjoy the former and guard against the latter.

Oceanside Redevelopment

Many of those familiar with Oceanside think of it as a sleepy coastal community on San Diego County's northwest border, just another landmark on the way to Disneyland. For years, Oceanside has been struggling to shake off headlines of gang activity in its subdivisions and the proliferation of tattoo parlors and prostitution along its main street. Personally, I've always associated this quaint bedroom community with three things: Marines from Camp Pendleton, the Oceanside Pier, and the casino Ocean's Eleven.

All this may soon change however, according to the Union-Tribune. O-Side, as some locals call it, has begun work on revitalizing its urban core:.

"Nearly three dozen projects are either proposed or being built in the downtown redevelopment area that would bring a total of more than 450 residential units, 200 time-shares and nearly 450 hotel rooms, according to information distributed at the forum.



Guests at the kinds of hotels being planned for Oceanside will stay two or three nights and patronize a number of restaurants, creating a demand for a cluster of upscale eateries that doesn't exist now in the downtown core."

What some see as blight and degradation, I see as potential and Oceanside, for better or for worse, has a lot of it. I'm glad to see that efforts are being made to improve on the quality of land uses in its urban core. The challenge for the city is to set itself apart from the other north county communities lining the shore. Given the formidable competition from it's regional neighbors, It's hard for me to imagine visitors flocking to this corner of the county to demand the type of high-end retail that developers envision. What would attract buyers to purchase ocean-view condos in Oceanside rather than Solana Beach? Why vacation in and rent hotel rooms at Oceanside instead of Carlsbad? Transforming Oceanside from a military support town into a destination city will be a challenging task indeed.