As San Diego City Council Reconvenes, Big Decisions Loom

I am Maureen Cavanaugh . I top story in midday edition come the San Diego city Council is back in session after his August break. Coming up on the agenda will be a number of new community plans. Although the plans communities community submit for the future of the neighborhood is not usually the exciting topic, now they are crucial to the success of the city's action plan. Decisions regarding housing density and transportation can make the difference between San Diego for -- as a model for the nation or a plan that did not work. Joining me is Andrew BALLWIN. Welcome. ;-). Give us a sense of the process behind the development of these community plans, what does it entail [ Indiscernible- Participant too far away from microphone ] they are crafted by the city planning department in collaboration with various stakeholders. That is businesses an average residence. And perhaps the greatest role is community planning groups. Those are advisory to the city and make recommendations on whether a project to be approved or not. And the community plan update that I have covered the most is the one in North Park. That is where I live. And the community planning group there in the city have been working on this plan for eight years. That has been 4 different mayors and five planning directors. These documents are long and complicated. And they often last for decades. The ones that are due to be passed our guiding development in these neighborhoods for decades to come. In addition to North Park, Golden Hill, uptown and San Ysidro, which he does plan stand today ? The for the salon is San Ysidro. That went before the commission in August. But, the planning commission delayed a vote on whether to recommend approval of the plan . That was because of fears that it was not fully comply met with the action plan. We can talk about that more later. That will be be heard next week. On the same day as the Golden Hill and North Park. Uptown is a little further behind. That's going before the commission in early October. Ultimately the city council would vote on these plans up to a month after the planning commission makes a recommendation. With a foe, is a yes or no vote ? Can they change the plan ? The Council can vote yes or no. Amending it will be a very long process. And very complicated. It could involve preparing a new in environmental impact report. I have gotten the sense from a lot of people, both at the city and different communities that the city needs to pass these things and move on. Because, trying to make each and every detail perfect and flawless is nearly impossible because there are a lot of competing interests. Most of the preparation of these community plan updates to take place before the climate action plan was passed. Now the city has higher stakes and whether these things are going to work. What is the relationship between these community plans and the new climate action ? They are very essential. They are central to the city's ability to limit the climate plan. That they are responsible for implementing the climate action plan. But it does not have exclusive authority over things that are relevant. Transportation, the city has a seat on the Association of governments which plans transportation but, they are not responsible for operating those things. Zoning and land use are in the city's authority. And the idea is to use zoning, and land use decisions to build more walkable, compact communities near public transit and bike facilities so people are not driving as much. Emitting less pollution and that we are slowing down climate change. Can these plans, could they be read as an indicator that the neighborhoods are on board with the action plan ? Most San Diego ends are aware of climate change and the threat that it causes to us. And they are aware of our need to reduce driving. But I think this process is to show is whether the neighborhoods or the few people in those neighborhoods who are politically engaged, whether they are on board with the goals and the tough decisions and the sacrifices that are going to be necessary in order to meet the goals of the climate plan. That is the definition of a knot in my backyard. You agree with something in principle that we should be driving less or reducing our dependence on cars, but when it comes to high density apartments, my neighborhood is single family homes or eliminating free parking or eliminating lanes of traffic, that is another question. That is asking me to change my lifestyle and a much tougher decision to make. And these will come before the Council next month ? Yes, probably next month, you never know with the city's agenda, but most of them will probably be in October or November. I have been speaking with Andrew Bolin thank you.