Councilman Kevin Faulconer Op-Ed

I am proud to have been at the forefront of solving the financial scandals that dogged the city of San Diego for nearly a decade. Now, our city faces a new challenge. The mayor and City Council must return tax dollars to our neighborhoods by continuing to reform City Hall.

That is why it’s disappointing that Mayor Bob Filner’s first proposed budget shortchanges core neighborhood services, including street repair, and seeks to repeat the financial mistakes of City Hall’s troubled past.

The city’s finances affect every service it provides: public safety, clean drinking water, paved streets and much more. A financially sound city can provide these services. A mismanaged city cannot. Instead of continuing with fiscal discipline, accountability and voter-approved reforms, the mayor’s proposed budget contains major flaws that, combined and left unchecked, will impede the city’s turnaround.

Commentary: Balboa Mesa is Right for Clairemont

Commentary by Julee Jenkins, Clairemont Community Schools

The Revitalization of Balboa Mesa Shopping Center is Right for the Clairemont Community

The Balboa Mesa Shopping Center renovation proposed by Regency Centers will invest $10 million, bringing new life to the shopping center and to our community with new shops and restaurants, including a drive-thru In-N-Out Burger. The renovation is LEED® certified and includes an updated parking lot design which will improve traffic movement within the center. Other elements of the proposed revitalization are outdoor seating areas, pedestrian pathways, new exterior signage and stone accents, and new shopping center lighting and landscaping.

Some community members have raised questions about the potential traffic related to the project. The good news is the plans call for a total overhaul of the parking lot at the center to enhance circulation. In addition, Regency has worked closely with the City to minimize impacts and ensure better access to and from Balboa Avenue.

Commentary: I DO NOT Support Balboa Mesa

Commentary by Steve Innis, Director-At-Large

Dear San Diego Planning Commission and the Honorable Lorie Zapf,

It is with great urgency that I request that IN’ N OUT Burger NOT be allowed permits to occupy the Balboa Mesa shopping center until complete and exhaustive environmental impact reports, quality of life reports, traffic studies are conducted, and traffic mitigation standards have been established. It is imperative that the people who live, work, go to school, and play in Clairemont have the full and complete protection of the City of San Diego against the horrendous safety and traffic impact that this restaurant will bring into our community. I believe that through proper planning this restaurant can co-exist without causing major problems in our community, but until adequate measures of protection are in place I stand firmly against the project.

Congestion on northbound Genesee, just south of Balboa Avenue is already so busy that many cars are already turning eastbound on Mt Alifan into a residential neighborhood in order to avoid the traffic on northbound Genesee. They turn onto Mt Alifan in order to make their way eastbound to the 805 Freeway and to the many large and successful businesses in Clairemont and Kearny Mesa. Due to the already increased traffic on Mt Alifan the City of San Diego made Mt. Alifan a single lane road in order to better serve the safety of the residents and pedestrians on Mt. Alifan who live in the condominiums and low income housing, as well as the school children who go to Horizon.