SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego leaders have been working to bring more affordable housing to the city through the Complete Communities plan, but several neighborhoods are pushing back against massive developments they say will change their communities' character.
The Complete Communities plan provides incentives for developers to build more housing units. However, residents in Mission Hills, Golden Hill, Encanto, and Hillcrest are fighting proposed projects.
I first started looking into this a week ago when the president of Preserve Golden Hill told me about their fight against massive developments being brought to their neighborhood. A judge recently paused an apartment from being built in Golden Hill after the community filed a lawsuit.
That conversation eventually led me to Mission Hills, where residents are fighting a similar battle.
A proposed 12-story development could be built on the corner of Goldfinch and Ft Stockton Drive if the development meets all the permit requirements under the city’s Complete Communities plan.
Doug Poole has lived in Mission Hills for 15 years. He and his dog find peace in their daily walks, but he worries the proposed building will disrupt the neighborhood.
"Everything that we do is, is right here," Poole said.
"I have a dog I take to the park up here, uh, every day," Poole said.
"It's only gonna be 5 ft from that building behind me, and it would completely block all of the views from, from, uh, that window," Poole said.
Poole is concerned that the housing will be priced above market rate and that the Complete Communities plan does not require developers to include parking in transit priority areas.
"I wanna make it clear that we're not against development. Uh, what we're against is development that completely changes the character of a neighborhood," Poole said.
"Some people are going to have cars, and right now it's already crowded, so I don't know where they would go," Poole said.
Margaret Virissimo is the founder of San Diego United Communities, a group that has helped multiple neighborhoods stop massive developments through lawsuits. Like Poole, Virissimo said the group isn't against housing developments, but they want them to fit the neighborhood’s characteristics and be affordable.
"Since Complete Communities passed and SB 79 came our way, things have changed in, uh, San Diego and it is now becoming a, uh, concrete juggle without any community input or conversations," Virissimo said.
"We're losing a lot of that historical, um, housing, uh, for the future for the future generation to be able to purchase," Virissimo said.
While walking the neighborhood with Poole, he showed me a letter the Mission Hills Community Review Council’s attorney sent to the city in December. The letter outlines four major areas where the proposed development violates Complete Communities' height restrictions.
Poole said they have not received a response.
I took their concerns to the city Tuesday morning.
The city said in a statement:
"Like many cities throughout California and the nation, San Diego faces a housing shortage and affordability crisis. This stems in part from decades of insufficient new home construction to keep pace with demand. Over the past three years, the City has permitted an average of 8,700 homes. New homes are being built near jobs, schools and transit, which provides people with opportunities to live in places where it is quicker to get to work, school and services. The City is continuing its work to help increase the housing supply and affordability across all neighborhoods and for people of all incomes. Removing barriers to new home construction while having clear rules in place to ensure that new development enhances neighborhoods is a key goal in the City's efforts. This means that San Diego's younger generations can stay in San Diego, raise a family and overall contribute to a growing economy that benefits everyone."
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