GREATER GOLDEN HILL PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES
March 14, 2012

Meeting Agenda is found in Attachment 1 at the end of these minutes.
Meeting was held at Balboa Park Golf Course Clubhouse – Golf Course Drive.
Chair Pat Shields called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm. Agenda had been posted in accordance with Brown Act. A quorum of members was present.

Members present: Ruchell Alvarez, Richard Baldwin, Cheryl Brierton, Susan Bugbee. Maureen Burke, Carole Caffey, John Kroll, Richard Santini, Pat Shields, David Skillman, Marie Skillman, David Strickland, David Swarens, Matt Thomas, Angela Vasconcellos. Members absent: Jessica Wolf
Addition/deletions to Agenda – Kroll asked volunteers organizing to do some of the work done by the GGH Maintenance Assessment District, which will be ceasing operation. D Skillman said he had heard several ideas but none had been implemented yet.
Approval of Minutes – Minutes of 2/8/12 meeting were approved. (motion D Skillman, second Caffey) 13 in favor, Thomas and Santini abstained.
Treasurer’s Report: – nothing to report.

GOVERNMENTAL REPORTS.
53rd Congressional District ,76th Assembly District, City Council District 8,Mayors office – not present.

Community Police Officer Suzy de a Pena. Described suspects in two sexual assaults that have occurred: (1) 2800 Grape Street (2) Downtown (bus driver scared away) De la Pena to forward sketches to Shields for posting. Introduced her associate Kevin Vasquez, who will be attending community meetings, etc.

City Council District 3 – Courtney Thomson. Distributed copies of District 3 Dialogue. Highlighted: $34,000 savings in office expense applied to projects in the district; specific information on agricultural regulations; sewer project at 28th & Hawthorne; 36-gal trees put back on 28th Street.

Kroll asked when the GGH Maintenance Assessment District (GGHMAD) would be vacated. Thomson said the City Attorney was working on this and it would be completed within 90 days of the judge’s mandate. Kroll asked why the City was continuing to be billed for services, when the GGHMAD is known to be ending. Thomson said the City was honoring $125,000 in contracts that had been approved for GGHMAD services.

Caffey, who is on the GGHMAD Operating Committee, explained that the City received property tax dollars for the MAD and fronted some of that to the Greater Golden Hill CDC (GGHCDC) to pay for GGHMAD operations. Those “fronted” funds have now dwindled. Not all of the property tax dollars collected have been sent to GGHCDC. Caffey said Ben Verdugo, the GGHMAD project manager, had received a “Cease and Desist” notice, that contracts would end 3/20/12.

Shields said she would like update at GGHPC meeting in April, when all should be wrapped up. She asked that any presentation given be provided in writing as well. Brierton asked about refunds to property owners. Swarrens said a claim form might be required. Thomson said she would address that procedure at the next meeting.

Thomas asked why there was no public notice about Walmart leasing property in Barrio Logan. Thomson said GGHPC was not noticed since the property is not within our community plan boundaries.

Shields noted that undergrounding is occurring near 30th & Beech, along with some street repaving. Work in the area of Cedar, Grove and Edgemont streets is not a good job. Swarrens asked if there was a sequence to these projects. Thomson asked anyone with complaints to direct them to her office.

PUBLIC COMMENT.
David Skillman, regarding CPUAC. Lack of a quorum prevented the 3/7 meeting from being held. The City has a sent out a new timeline the CP and our meetings need to be held. He is the facilitator for the 4/4 meeting and asked that everyone who cannot attend let him know.

ELECTIONS. Vasconcellos announced 8 candidates for 8 2-year terms on GGHPC: Baldwin, Bugbee. Burke, Shields, D Skillman, Strickland, Janice Davis and Octavio Gonzalez. Ballots were distributed; Jerry Ray collected them for counting.

CHAIR’S REPORT. VICE CHAIR REPORT – no report
CONSENT AGENDA – none
INFORMATION ITEMS - none

ACTION ITEMS:
Project #269250 – 30th and Broadway Extension of Time – Randy Farrar. The project is for 16 apartment units in 2 buildings, over parking. It was approved years ago; he is asking for extension of time on the permit.

The current entrance to the property is off Broadway. New entrance would be off 30th St. on the north edge of the property. The plan is to funnel traffic North on 30th. Traffic headed to Hwy 94 would go west on C Street and access Hwy 94 off 28th Street. Farrar noted that the project meets all PDO and CP guidelines with no variances.

Discussion:
- Safety concerns at the busy intersection. Questions were raised about a traffic study, whether the City plans street repairs in the area, and about parking. (Neighboring residents) Farrar said a traffic study was not done and did not think the project would create a traffic problem. He said the street repairs are strictly up to the City. He said that 30 parking spaces would be included in the project.
- The Hwy 94/HOV project might include a traffic of that intersection. (Shields)
- Does the 50 ft/4-story height met the PDO. (Thomas) Farrar said it does.
- Request for clarification of the plan for cars exiting the parking being routed to the north (M Skillman)
- A better presentation should be made if there are major impacts (Swarens)
- Does GGHPC actually has a say on permit renewals, or if this was a courtesy request? (D Skillman)
- The plans had been approved; this is not the time for arguing the merits of the project. (Baldwin)
- If a safety issue is involved, a review of the plans is in order (Shields)
- Times have changed since the project was approved 4 years ago (Swarens, Burke)
- We should withhold approval until the HOV traffic study was done (Brierton) Several members commented that this would take too long. Burke agreed with Swarrens.
- What is the time frame of the permits? (Kroll) Original permit 3 years, 1 yr automatic extension, this extension would be for 3 more years.
- This project creates safety issues (Shields)
- Major engineering issues exist (Swarens)

Farrar said the project going forward must be substantially similar to the one originally approved or they would need to start over with the permit process. Baldwin said the Land Use Subcommittee had voted to approve the extension – 4 voted yes, 1 abstained.

Brierton made a motion that “GGHPC not approve the extension of the project, due to traffic issues”. Caffey seconded. The motion passed: 8 yes, 2 no, 5 abstaining.

32nd & Broadway Monitoring Well. Greg Cross from the City of San Diego Public Utilities Long Range Planning department explained that as part of their focus is keeping San Diego supplied with water they are exploring local sources of water. A test well is to be drilled in the vacated portion of 32nd Street between C and Broadway. URS Corporation is the hydro service consultant on the project, and they will go through the CEQA analysis after the test is completed. Field work is scheduled to begin in May 2012. Cross’ presentation about the project is Attachment 3 at the end of the minutes.

Questions and answers:
- What will happen after the well test is completed? (Thomas) If results are positive, property will be purchased and a pumping station about the size of a house will be constructed.
- A river running through 32nd St. Canyon keeps those canyons green - did this process link up with water field studies of the area? Without this water, will the area have a greater fire risk? (Brierton) The City is working with USGS – shallow water will not be drawn down. This well is only an investigation: City is proceeding slowly and carefully.
- The test well is quite near homes – have residents been notified? What is the time line for the test? (Marc Kratzschmar) Residents have not been notified yet. The test will take 4-6 weeks, followed by a 6-12 month feasibility study.
- How was the property selected? (A Citizen) They needed a place with a 100-ft buffer from sewer or other contamination possibilities.
- If the results are positive and a permanent well is to be drilled, would the City purchase the entire parcel of land? If so, joint use as park space might be possible. (Strickland) Many factors would affect that decision.
- Is the 6,000 year-old water being tapped in this well a fixed amount of water, or is it being constantly renewed? (Santini) Sweetwater Water District is using wells 500-800 ft deep, not sure if that aquifer is being recharged.
- What % of imported water does the City hope to replace with wells? (Santini). Maybe 5%
- What is the sound level of the drilling? (Swarens) Like a diesel truck idling. Drilling would occur 24/7.
- Would the pump station constructed be similar to the one at 65th & Imperial? (Swarens) There would be plantings around the station, and consideration for aesthetics.

Shields asked Cross to come back to the April meeting, after giving notice to nearby residents. Items to be covered should include noise concerns and reports relating to water in the canyon.

Project # 233958 Plaza de Panama. M Skillman reported that the comment period on the Draft EIR was extended by 15 days as a result of our request.

Strickland, GGHPC’s representative on the Balboa Park Committee, said that he, M Skillman and D Skillman attended the meeting he set up to review the various alternatives presented in the draft EIR, which GGHPC had heard and commented on at the February meeting. He distributed copies of the motion they proposed (Attachment 2) which modified the original 7-point project proposal and Alt 3c. Strickland and D Skillman explained what was being proposed – basically accepting the proposed project without the Centennial Bridge and Road, prohibiting vehicular traffic over the Cabrillo Bridge, and adding a second parking structure on the West Mesa.

Questions and comments:
- Whose idea was the PDP plan? (A. Israel) Strickland said that a Precise Plan for Balboa Park was put forth in 1997. The current (Jacobs) plan implements some of the Precise Plan, changes some parts, and adds new ideas, including the Centennial Bridge.
- This plan is fully different from the Precise Plan (Swarens). He likes Alt. 4Biii which does modify the Precise Plan, and he also likes the West Mesa Parking idea. He said putting vehicle traffic into a trench in the midst of the park would change the character of the park dramatically, whereas the modified Precise Plan moves the parking at minimal cost.
- The plan Strickland proposes would change his community very much. He does not want the Cabrillo Bridge closed (Leo Wilson, chair of the Uptown Planners) Wilson noted that the Precise Plan had been approved after 8 years of discussions and compromises. He said the Uptown Planners had voted 9-5-1 to support the Jacobs Plan, and are pushing for improved mass transit options to Balboa Park.

Brierton proposed Motion #1 from the agenda “Additional parking to be constructed on the periphery of the Park.” There was no second. Shields polled the GGHPC for their comments on the project:

Santini – does not like paid parking, or alternative funding through bonds.
Baldwin – Cabrillo Bridge needs to remain open.
Thomas – Not comfortably informed. Returning PDP to original state sounds good, leaving bridge open reasonable. Burke – no paid parking, some traffic in PDP might be required. Caffey, Alvarez – same as Burke
Shields – paid parking, bond measure not popular.
Strickland – at least occasional closing of Cabrillo Bridge. Sympathetic to Wilson’s comments
Bugbee – does not see how closing the Cabrillo Bridge would wreak havoc. Does not like paid parking
Swarens – SOHO supports Alt. 4Biii.
M Skillman –we need to address proposal point by point
Kroll, Brierton, D Skillman, Vasconcellos – no comment

Shields asked how we should proceed with a vote. Swarens said he did not want to vote on the Jacobs language. He noted that most visitors enter the park from the East side already. Shields suggested we vote the project up or down. Strickland reminded GGHPC that a vote that modified the Jacobs Plan had been taken in July 2011.

M Skillman read Alternative 4biii from the Draft EIR:
Modified Precise Plan without Parking Structure Alternative (Alt 4Biii)
The Modified Precise Plan without Parking Structure Alternative would route two-way vehicular traffic along El Prado to the southwest corner of the Plaza de Panama, adjacent to the Mingei International Museum. Valet and passenger drop-offs and tram stop would be provided within the Plaza. Most of the Plaza de Panama and the eastern half of the Mall would be pedestrianized with this alternative. To replace the parking removed from the Plaza de Panama, an equal number of new parking spaces would be created in existing parking lots behind Park institutions and along existing interior streets. The Organ Pavilion parking lot would remain in its existing condition. The ADA parking spaces removed from the Plaza de Panama would be recovered through minor regrading and restriping the Alcazar parking lot (along with the removal of two maintenance sheds at the western edge of the lot); and the creation of additional spaces within the Organ Pavilion parking lot, the areas behind the Museum of Photographic Arts and the Model Railroad Museum, adjacent the southern border of the San Diego Zoo and Old Globe Way. The existing one-way access drives into the Alcazar parking lot would be retained.

Brierton made a motion “to support Alternative 4Biii from the Draft Environmental Report”. Kroll seconded. The motion passed. (8 yes, 5 no, 2 abstaining)

Strickland said he would take this position when the matter comes before the Balboa Park Committee.

ELECTION RESULTS.
Shields announced that all candidates had been elected. Burke asked for a round of applause for Carole Caffey, for her faithful service for 8 years. M Skillman suggested that Caffey replace Janice Davis on the CPUAC. Shields said that matter and other committee assignments would be taken up when new members are seated, at the April meeting.

The next meeting will be April 11, 2012. Shields said the majority of the meeting would be devoted to the Community Plan Update. D Skillman reminded everyone that the next CPUAC is scheduled for 4/4/12, and that a quorum (12 CPUAC members in attendance) is required for the meeting to be held.

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS: none

Meeting was adjourned at 8:35 pm.

Marie Skillman.
Secretary




ATTACHMENT 1. AGENDA

GREATER GOLDEN HILL PLANNING COMMITTEE
March 14, 2012, 6:30 PM
Balboa Park Golf Course Clubhouse, 2600 Golf Course Drive
www.sandiego.gov/planning/community/cpg
Agenda
Call to Order **6:30
Additions and/or Deletions to Agenda
Approval of Minutes
Governmental Reports **6:35
Community Police Officer – Suzy de la Pena {619.744.9514 or sdelapena@pd.sandiego.gov}
53rd Congressional District – Katherine Fortner {619.280.5353 or katherine.fortner@mail.house.gov}
76th Assembly District – Lindsey Masukawa {619.645.3090 or lindsey.masukawa@asm.ca.gov}
Council District 3 – Courtney Thomson {619.236.6633 or cthomson@sandiego.gov}
Council District 8 – Melina Meza {619.236.6688 or melinam@sandiego.gov}
City Planner – Bernard Turgeon {619.533.6575 or bturgeon@sandiego.gov}

Non Agenda Public Comment **6:50
Chair Report, Vice Chair Report **7:00
Information Items **7:05
Balboa Park & Transportation – David Strickland
Airport Noise & Treasurers Report – Carole Caffey
Historic* – Susan Bugbee {bugbee@sandiego.edu}
Land-Use* – Richard Baldwin {kimorb_1999@yahoo.com}
Consent Agenda **7:25
Action Items **7:30
*Elections
*Project # 233958 Plaza de Panama. Review of proposed project & GGHPCposition.
Plan available at http://www.balboapark.org/plazde-panama/project
Proposed motions:
a. Additional parking to be constructed on the periphery of the Park.
b. Closures of Cabrillo Bridge to temporary for bicentennial celebration/special events.
c. Remove parking from Plaza de Panama
d. Redesign Alcazar parking lot/ada, valet parking, drop off.
e. Reroute vehicle car west of Pan American Rd to Alcazar Parking lot
f. Construct parking structure/roof top garden on Organ Pavilion parking lot
g. Centennial Bridge/Road not be constructed
*Project #269250 30th & Broadway EOT Randy Farrar
*32nd & Broadway Monitoring Well, Blessie Prudente SD Asst. Civil Engineer
Adjournment **8:30

*If you are interested in attending the Historic or Land Use meeting please email the appropriate committee to confirm meeting and agenda.
**All times are estimated – Action Items may also be taken before Information Items.
The City of San Diego distributes agendas via email and can also provide agendas in alternative formats as well as a sign language or oral interpreter for the meeting with advance notice. To request these services, please contact the City at 619.236.6479 or sdplanninggroups@sandiego.gov


ATTACHMENT 2. PROPOSED MOTION BY STRICKLAND’S COMMITTEE


Plaza de Panama
Proposed Project Elements
EIR Alternatives

Balboa Park Plaza de Panama: Balboa Park Master Plan Amendment; Central Mesa Precise Plan Amendment and a Site Development Permit to rehabilitate the Plaza de Panama consistent with the original vision of a ceremonial plaza and gathering space by eliminating vehicle traffic from Plaza de California, El Prado, Plaza de Panama, and the Mall.

The project components include:

1. Plaza de Panama. Eliminate automobile traffic from the Plaza de Panama
and adjacent promenades and remove parking from the Plaza.
2. El Prado and Plaza de California. Allow for pedestrian use of El Prado
and Plaza de California. by rerouting traffic to a bypass road and bridge.
3. Centennial Bridge and Road. Construction of a new two-way
bridge/road starting at the east end of the Cabrillo Bridge and continuing
through the eucalyptus grove around the southwest corner of the
Museum of Man.
4. Alcazar Parking Lot and Walkway. Redesign the Alcazar parking lot to
provide additional accessible parking as well as passenger drop-off,
museum loading, and valet.
5. The Mall and Pan American Promenade. Reclaim both the Mall and Pan
American Road for pedestrian only access by rerouting vehicle traffic
west of Pan American Road to the Alcazar Parking lot,
6. Organ Pavilion Parking Structure, Roof-top Park, Tram and Arizona
Street Landfill. Construct a new parking structure with a roof-top park
and garden at the location of an existing Organ Pavilion surface parking
lot. The new multi-level underground structure would consist of
798 parking spaces on three levels and is 265,242 square feet. The new
rooftop park would be 2.2 acres. A tram shuttle would link parking in
the new structure with the Plaza de Panama. Excess soils from
excavation of the parking structure would be exported to the nearby
Arizona Street Landfill. (along with Alternative 3C below).

PEDESTRIANIZE CABRILLO BRIDGE ALTERNATIVE
This EIR addresses four alternatives that focus specifically on prohibiting vehicles on the
Cabrillo Bridge, El Prado, the Plaza de California, the Plaza de Panama, and the Mall. The four
alternatives in this category include the No New Parking Structure Alternative, Organ Pavilion
Parking Structure Alternative, West Mesa Parking Structure Alternative, and Inspiration Point
Parking Structure Alternative. These alternatives do not include the Centennial Bridge
component of the project.

West Mesa Parking Structure Alternative (Alt 3C)
The West Mesa Parking Structure Alternative would prohibit vehicular traffic along El Prado,
east of Balboa Drive and over the Cabrillo Bridge. There would be no public vehicular access to
the Park from the West Mesa, and areas reclaimed for pedestrian use would include the Cabrillo
Bridge, Plaza de California, El Prado, the Plaza de Panama, and the Mall, A new subterranean
paid parking structure would be located on the West Mesa. Excess soil from excavation of the
parking structure would be disposed of at the Arizona Street Landfill. The existing lawn bowling
greens would be replaced atop the parking structure. The Organ Pavilion parking lot would be
maintained in its current condition. Park visitors entering from the west would park in the new
parking structure and either walk across Cabrillo Bridge or take the new tram system. Vehicular
access to the project area from the east would be from the Park Boulevard/the Presidents Way
entrance.


ATTACHMENT 3. 32ND ST TEST WELL PRESENTATION

/iframe>">32ND ST TEST WELL MAR 12 on Google Docs