There is so much else going on that I want to tell you about and yet I attempted to keep the newsletter to a manageable length. It’s tough but I do my best to touch on a variety of topics that I think you will find of interest.  I’ll probably send another within the next 2 weeks with even more.  Frequently I have more detailed information on my website and I invite you to check it regularly at www.JimMadaffer.com.
 

New Law Introduced Designed to Curb Mini Dorms

I am very proud of my Council colleagues who joined me this week in taking decisive action and unanimously approved changes to the building codes that prevent the conversion of single-family residences in San Diego into “mini-dorms.”


Over the years, I have worked with residents of the College area to help eliminate the blight of mini-dorms in our single family neighborhoods.  From cajoling the University to build more student housing on campus to entire neighborhoods suing irresponsible property owners, it seemed as though we had tried everything. 

Early last year my staff and I began our efforts anew.  We began planning our strategy, concentrating on efforts that would coincide with the beginning of the school year at SDSU in the fall. 
 

Since the standing room only Mini-Dorm community forum we held last September 2006, we have worked diligently with City staff and the public to bring forward a series of changes to the City’s Land Development Code that were geared to protect the quality of life in our neighborhoods.  At long last, residents of San Diego can count on new restrictions designed to limit the proliferation of mini-dorms or nuisance rental properties from invading our neighborhoods.  And we are not through yet.  The City Attorney has offered a plan and we have other laws to look at that are working in other Cities in California.

I’d like to thank all of the College Area and El Cerrito neighbors for coming down to City Hall over the last 9 months sharing this important issue with the City Council.  I also want to thank the College Area Community Council and College View Estates who have been so helpful along the way.

I’d also like to thank my colleagues for working so hard on this issue with me including Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, the City Attorney, my Land Use and Housing Committee Colleagues Toni Atkins, Ben Hueso and Tony Young, and fellow City Councilmembers.   

Housing in San Diego is never easy, and finding a way to balance the needs of all of our different population segments.  Unfortunately, many of the problems associated with mini-dorms are behavior problems.  One of the problems that you face when living near a college is that you are likely to have students living near by.  Are they allowed to disrupt the peace? No. However, the City Council is limited on what it can do to help eliminate these problems. For instance:

We can require parking for each bedroom, but we can’t stop the people from coming and going in their cars in the middle of the night, and from slamming their car doors.  We can place limits on the allowable noise levels so that big noisy parties are illegal, but we can’t stop three friends from sitting in their back yards  staying up late and talking.  We can post hefty fines for both the property owner and the tenant for noisy parties, but we can’t stop people from drinking too much.

The changes to the law this week are a start. These will not be the only changes that we see that will help curb mini dorms and we’ll be hearing more in September on this important topic.

I am pleased at the work that was done in such a short period of time by the Land Development Code (LDC) update team of the Development Services Department.  I would like to thank Mayor Sanders for giving his attention to this issue.  I also want to give a huge thank you to Jim Waring who has been a true leader in helping protect our neighborhoods.  And special thanks go to the three people on the LDC team who handle code updates for the entire City: Dan Joyce, Anna McPherson and especially Amanda Lee.

I also thank the Police Department, especially Captain Guy Swanger of the Mid-City Division and all his dedicated officers who are regularly on patrol in the College area.  His leadership with the CAPP program and the Administrative Citation Program has been fantastic.

By approving the changes this week to the LDC, we will see fewer of the monster homes being constructed on smaller lots, and more parking required on site.  The new code amendments will still allow for property owners to develop and remodel their homes, but with the consistency of the character of our residential zones.

Some of the changes include: front yard hardscape limitations, a requirement for two enclosed parking spaces (in the garage), modification of minimum parking design requirements to ensure proposed spaces are functional and minimize negative impacts to neighbors.  You can see the complete text of the new law here: http://www.sandiego.gov/development-services/industry/pdf/minidorm.pdf

For the future, I support the investigation of creating a “Special use Permit” similar to San Luis Obispo.  This “High Occupancy Permit” is required for dwelling units with six or more adults occupying a home.  The City Council referred this issue to the Mayor for further review on San Diego’s ability to implement such a permit, and to report on the findings of this Special Use permit at a future City Council meeting. The Council also asked the Mayor, the CFO and the IBA to work together and report back to the City Council as part of our mid-year budget process in January 2008 on a plan to add at least six new Code Enforcement officers to specifically work on neighborhood code enforcement issues such as mini dorms. 
 

Lastly, the City Attorney’s Rooming House Ordinance will come back to the City Council in September as well.  There is a lot of work yet to be done here and I want to make sure we manage expectations.  Things could get pushed out to October or even November depending on a variety of unknowns.  The City moved at lightening speed and it still took nine months to make the changes to the LDC we approved this week.  It’s important we take careful steps and have adequate public input along the way.  I know of a number of community groups who are asking the City Attorney’s staff to make presentations on his proposal and we have yet to see the final language.  The proposal also has to go through an environmental clearance process before it can be introduced at City Council.  Lots of work on this one to be sure – and if it will work, I will look at it as yet another tool in our toolbox to protect single family neighborhoods from the blight of mini dorms.

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Restricting Eminent Domain in California

Ever since the “Kelo” decision was announced by the United States Supreme Court that reaffirmed the constitutionality of government taking private property, there has been much apprehension and concern about the use of eminent domain locally as well as throughout the state.

Numerous ballot measures sprang up around the Country in response, California being no different with a poorly crafted ballot measure known as Proposition 90.  I fought for the defeat of Prop 90 last year and while we were successful in defeating it, we vowed to find a better solution that protected private property owners from eminent domain abuse.  We now have that better solution.

On May 21, 2007, I joined California State Assemblymember Hector De La Torre (D-Southgate) in Sacramento where we announced the introduction of ACA 8, along with a statutory companion, that will provide eminent domain relief to homeowners and small business owners in the State of California. 

This ballot measure will provide new protection for homeowners and small businesses and it will disallow government use of eminent domain for private purposes.  The famous Habana Cigar Shop condemnation in San Diego would not have been legal had this measure been in effect. 

Attending the press conference in Sacramento as First Vice President of the League of California Cities, I then joined League representatives in visiting the offices of a number of legislators where we shared with them this innovative solution that will be on the statewide ballot in 2008.

I strongly support responsible redevelopment to help maintain and improve our quality of life and competitiveness – and this ballot measure will help ensure that private business and property interests are protected.

There is a broad coalition supporting the package including homeowner groups, small business representatives, labor, environmental, community and ethnic organizations. Please visit http://www.eminentdomainreform.com to get more information and read drafts of the measure.

 

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One Step Closer

Access to the bond market means the ability to secure funding for important capital projects such as public safety facilities, parks and branch libraries. It is true that we have some catching up to do and it is also true that we’ve recently taken some giant steps to get to where we need to be.

 

Seeking Public Comment on Charter Reform

You may know about the important work the Charter Review Committee is doing but did you know that the Committee would very much like to have your input?  Recently Mayor Sanders appointed members to the Committee in order to address aspects of the City Charter that need to be clarified or modified.  Their goal is to make recommendations by this fall in order to be ready for the 2008 ballot.  Our City Charter is very important – essentially our City’s constitution.  It contains the language that governs the power for the office of Mayor, City Council and City Attorney, among many other key issues.

John G. Davies is the Chair of the Charter Review Committee, Judge James Milliken is the Vice Chair and members include Barbara Cleves Anderson, Alan Bersin, Susan Adler Channick, John Gordon, Donna Jones, Adrian Kwiatkowski, Mike McDade, Vince Mudd, Mark Nelson, Duane J. Roth, Marc Sorensen, Glen W. Sparrow and Lei-Chala Wilson.

The Committee has three sub-committees: Financial Reform Subcommittee, Duties of Elected Officials Subcommittee and Interim Strong Mayor Subcommittee. They meet every other Friday and the meetings are open to the public. Meetings are held downtown at the City Administration Building, 202 C Street, in the Committee Room located on the 12th Floor.  The Committee also plans to hold four community meetings in various locations throughout the City.

Public comment is held at the beginning of each meeting and residents are encouraged to attend and share their suggestions.  I commend the public, including the volunteers serving on the Committee, for their help in having a positive impact on local government and shaping our City’s future.

Please click here to find out more details including the meeting calendar, the Committee’s mission statement and view agendas and minutes.   They are also meeting in the various locations throughout the City.  Their next meeting will be on July 19 at the Golden Hill Recreation Center, 2600 Golf Course Drive from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. 

Street Smart

Known as the “Hollywood star of climate change,” actor and environmental activist Ed Begley, Jr. was in town recently to help the California Center for Sustainable Energy in promoting alternative fuel vehicles and energy independence in San Diego.  Everyone is feeling the pinch of escalating gas prices so Mr. Begley came to the San Diego Automotive Museum to kick off an exhibit called Street Smart San Diego. It was designed to educate citizens about alternative fuel vehicles and how to make their own vehicles more fuel efficient. I had a chance to chat with Mr. Begley and was impressed with his passion for environmental issues, his depth of knowledge and his friendly manner.

I was pleased to participate in this event since, as Chair of the Transportation Committee for the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), we’re working on ways to improve mass transit and address the congestion issues San Diego faces.  SANDAG brings together all 18 cities to effectively collaborate on regional projects.  We’re fixing the infrastructure we travel on as well as improving public transportation to make alternatives to vehicles easier to use and more appealing – such as the trolley, bus and coaster. To sum it up, we’re working on the overall big picture to make transportation more efficient.

State of the District

It was gratifying to see residents participate in our State of the District event on May 23rd.   I was pleased to be able to talk to residents about our district and our successful partnerships in accomplishing goals, our progress on projects and plans for the future.

We discussed some of the highlights of last year including the following:

• Dedication of the Del Cerro Fire Station
• Keep Your Family Safe Expo
• Partnered with SDG&E and Cox Communications to complete utility undergrounding projects in the Navajo community
• Construction of medians on El Cajon Boulevard in the College Area and Antigua Boulevard in Tierrasanta
• Sunrise Auto Repair demolition and revitalization of the Chollas Triangle
• Turfed ball fields at Vista Grande Elementary
• Dedication of a comfort station at DePortola fields in Tierrasanta
• Partnered with Council President Scott Peters to initiate a City-wide smoking ban at parks and beaches
• Held a Town Hall meeting to discuss MCAS Miramar airport site
• Hosted a Town Hall meeting to discuss the Mini-Dorm phenomenon
• Held community clean-up days for Chollas Triangle, Fox Canyon, Islenair, Euclid Avenue and Colina del Sol

I also touched on citywide, regional and statewide issues I’ve been working on through my involvement with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and as First Vice President of the League of California Cities.

Some of these issues include:

• Working to finish the City’s Audits to obtain completed financial statements for 2004, 2005 and 2006
• Regional transportation issues, including repairing and upgrading infrastructure as well as improving public transit
• Eminent Domain reform at the state level
   

We had a presentation about keeping San Diego safe with Jill Olen, director of Homeland Security, Fire Chief Tracy Jarman and Assistant Police Chief David Ramirez. And guest speaker Andrea Tevlin, the City’s Independent Budget Analyst, discussed the City’s financial issues and proposed FY 08 budget.

Please visit my website at www.JimMadaffer.com to find out more about some priorities I have for the District and click here to view a video of the State of the District event.  And click here to view the Power Point we showed at the event.

Changing History

District 7 now has a new community: Redwood Village. Actually a great community is getting a new name.  The community leaders, at the behest of residents, successfully led efforts to change the name of Darnall to Redwood Village. The newly named Redwood Village is a community located near San Diego State University and is bounded by College Avenue, 54th Street, University Avenue and Streamview Drive.

Congratulations to Anna Orzel-Arnita, president of the Redwood Village Community Council and the council members for their hard work. I applaud their efforts and will be working on having new community entrance signs installed and having the name changed on City maps, documents and signs. 

Preserving History

Congratulations are also in order to the residents of Islenair, a small neighborhood that lies just east of Euclid Avenue in the portion of City Heights within District 7. It is my great pleasure to announce the official designation of the Islenair Historic District by the Historical Resources Board on April 26, 2007. The residents of Islenair have worked since 2002 toward this exciting achievement. Islenair is a distinctive neighborhood that displays historic architectural trends from Spanish Eclectic to Minimal Traditional and Ranch styles. The existing historically designated properties visually tell the story of San Diego suburban development in San Diego from 1926 through 1952.

 

According to the research done by the individual Islenair community members, City Planner Kelley Saunders and area historians, the planning of Islenair (or Island-in-the-air) was to create a self-contained, mixed use subdivision, with small moderately priced homes. Islenair’s emphasis was to develop small-scale properties that were affordable and gave the opportunity for families to invest in homeownership. Some distinct features of Islenair, such as their location away from the City, show how the automobile made it affordable and practical to develop in areas beyond the limits of natural topography.  The small house movement’s focus on creating quality design with efficient and compact layouts is reflected in Islenair’s architectural development.

I would like to commend community members who have diligently worked together to preserve the unique features of Islenair. For example, shortly after I was elected to office I received a call from frantic residents that the palm trees of Islenair were threatened with removal due to the trees interfering with overhead utilities.  One had already been cut down when the call came in.  Work crews were moving through the neighborhood prepping to cut even more down.  Destroying these trees would have destroyed the community’s characteristic palm-tree lined parkways.  I flew out of a meeting I was in at City Hall and raced to the neighborhood and stopped them from cutting down more trees. We saved the trees and an important part of this neighborhood’s character. This showing of teamwork is just one example of how Islenair has managed to preserve their beautiful neighborhood throughout all these years.

Please click here to find out more about Islenair.

Oak Park News

Congratulations to the new Board of Directors for the Oak Park Community Council. Ray Adair will serve as president, Gayle Chenoweth will serve as vice president of Programs, June Wolfe will serve as vice president of Membership, Peggy McHenry will serve as treasurer, Shirley Fink will serve as corresponding secretary and Jane Bausa will serve as auditor for the 2007-2008 term.  Thank you for the valuable work you do in improving the quality of life for Oak Park residents.

San Diego County Water Authority Update

Mission Trails Regional Park, which includes Lake Murray, is one of the natural wonders of the 7th City Council District.  First-time visitors are amazed to see one of the largest urban parks in the country located just minutes away from downtown San Diego.  The San Diego County Water Authority (CWA) is working on a project that affects the park and surrounding areas.

The CWA is currently in the design phase of the Mission Trails to Lake Murray Pipeline Relining Project. This project, which will rehabilitate and extend the life of aging water delivery pipelines, is slated for construction in parts of San Carlos in early 2008 through early 2009.  These essential pipelines are huge, 8 feet in diameter, delivering water to our region from both Northern California and the Colorado River.

The Water Authority is relining sections of their water delivery pipelines throughout the county. A priority list identifies pipeline segments to be relined based on the condition of the pipelines. The Mission Trails to Lake Murray section became a priority after the break of Pipeline 3 in Mission Trails Regional Park in May 2006.  This relining project will begin in Mission Trails Regional Park south of State Route 52 east of the community of Tierrasanta. It will continue south through the park and the community of San Carlos, where it ends in Mission Trails Golf Course near Lake Murray.

The relining process involves inserting steel liners into the existing pipes, reinforcing them to help prevent water leaks and pipeline breaks. This prevents a more costly and intrusive replacement of the pipelines and helps ensure a safe and reliable water supply for our region’s future. Most of the work is conducted underground by establishing and entering the pipeline in 11 different locations, or portals. Crews must remove approximately 40 feet of existing pipe to gain access to the interior of the pipeline to begin the relining process. Large wooden sound walls surround each portal site. These sound walls are temporary and help secure the portal sites, buffer construction noise and reduce the impact to the environment.

For more information please visit their website or call the toll-free project information line at (877) 682-9283, Ext. 7005.
 

Neighborhood E-Watch Keeps You Informed

The City of San Diego's Neighborhood eWatch provides information about crime incidents in the City of San Diego to the public for free via the Internet and is updated every 24 hours. I introduced this popular service in 2002 and encourage you to use it.  The web site address is: http://ewatch.sandiego.gov.

Thanks for reading the eNewsletter

In the meantime, please don't hesitate to send me your thoughts on issues by sending email to jmadaffer@sandiego.gov and please forward this email to your friends who might enjoy reading it. They can always visit JimMadaffer.com/email to sign up themselves.

I welcome hearing from you at any time and rely on your opinion. It is an honor to serve you on the San Diego City Council.