City Heights Area Planning Committee

Minutes November 2022 - January 2023

C.H.A.P.C. MINUTES – January 2, 2023

1 - The Chairman called the meeting to order at 6:34 PM and called the roll. Asma Abdi, Marcellus Anderson (6:47), Dan Castañon (6:44), María Córtez, Francisco García, Edwin Lohr, Denisse López, Mazda Mehraz, David Nelson, Julieta Ornelas, Susan Ornelas, Evihn Vasily, Russ Connelly and Jim Varnadore were present to form a quorum. Rahmo Abdi, Brian Green-Carson, Ph?°?»?ng Nguy?»…n, Nick Rossi, Randy Torres-van Vleck and Carolyn Tran were absent.

 

2 - There were no corrections made to the minutes of December 5, 2022.

 

3 –Jim offered and Edwin seconded a motion to approve the agenda as well as AB361, a continuation to hold electronic meetings. The motion passed without objection.

 

4 – Chair Russ discussed the sign-in sheet for those wishing to run for a seat on the committee.

 

5 – No Staff reports were offered.

 

6 – No Off Agenda Public Comment was offered.

 

7.1 Filling of Committee Vacancies:

 

7.1.1 – Appointment to fill District 3-24 seat (ACTION):

No one requested to be nominated. Continued to next meeting.

 

7.1.2 – Appointment to fill District 3-23 seat (ACTION):

No one requested to be nominated. Withdrawn due to upcoming election.

 

7.2 – (Action) Stop sign requests for White Sage lane at Cactusridge Street and at Bridgeview Drive. Information was presented on the stop sign requests. Committee members asked about the necessity of the signs. Russ discussed the outreach he had done to the reach Board Members of the Bayridge Home Owners Association through their management company for potential input. Edwin motioned and Daniel seconded a motion to approve the stop sign requests. Vote was 13-0-0 with the chair not voting and the motion passed.

 

7.3 – (Info) Alberto Melchor of the Safe Harbor Network gave a presentation on his organization, where their homes were located as well as their clientele, mission and goals. Alberto also mentioned their request to find temporary host families in City Heights that have a spare room that could be used. He also outlined their work with the International Rescue Committee in City Heights. Questions were asked by members of the committee.

 

7.4 – The 2023 Election Subcommittee (Maria, Edwin and Denisse) gave an update on their outreach with election materials. Edwin emphasized the need to reach residents in CHAPC district 3 to make sure they are represented.

 

8 – Committee Member comments from Maria, Edwin and Russ

9 – The meeting was adjourned at 7:16 PM to reconvene at 6:30PM on Monday, February 6, 2023.

 

C.H.A.P.C. MINUTES – December 5, 2022

1 - The Chairman called the meeting to order at 6:33 PM and called the roll. Asma Abdi, Rahmo Abdi, Marcellus Anderson, Dan Castañon (7:00), María Córtez, Francisco García, Brian Green-Carson (6:45), Edwin Lohr, Denisse López, Mazda Mehraz (6:54), Ph?°?»?ng Nguy?»…n, Julieta Ornelas, Susan Ornelas, Nick Rossi, Randy Torres-van Vleck, Carolyn Tran, Evihn Vasily (7:10), Russ Connelly and Jim Varnadore were present to form a quorum. David Nelson was absent.

 

2 - There were no corrections made to the minutes of November 7, 2022.

 

3 –Maria offered motion and Edwin seconded a motion to approve the agenda as well as AB361, a continuation to hold electronic meetings. The motion passed without objection.

 

4 – Chair Russ discussed the optional sign-in sheet for those wishing to run for a seat on the committee. Edwin summarized discussion from the November Community Planners Committee meeting regarding in person meetings and development appeals.

 

5 – Mayors Office staff member Lucero Maganda offered comments regarding the Fentanyl crisis and an executive order from the mayor. Council District-9 staff member Francisco Peralta offered staff comments regarding tenant protection measures, Measure B (revision of Peoples Ordinance) next steps and the District 9’s new boundaries to be officially recognized starting December 12, 2022.

 

6 – Off Agenda Public Comment: Alberto Melchor with Safe Harbor Network introduced himself and asked to be on the next agenda to share more about his organization.

 

7.1 Filling of Committee Vacancies: Russ explained which seats were empty and that the people who held the seats previously resigned for various reasons.

 

7.1.1 – Appointment to fill District 3-24 seat (ACTION):

No one requested to be nominated. Continued to next meeting.

 

7.1.2 – Appointment to fill District 3-23 seat (ACTION):

No one requested to be nominated. Continued to next meeting.

 

7.2 – 1060360 Discretionary Permit for residences at 1990 Fairmount Avenue (ACTION) Tina Ho, the property owner gave a short presentation with some more details on the project. Francisco offered the board more details to clarify some of the history of the project and to offer the applicant pertinent details on the process ahead. Francis Ng, the architect of the project offered further comments in response to questions on the elevation diagrams presented. Randy, Brian and Mazda had questions regarding the parcels as well as traffic concerns. Russ offered further insight into the history of the project. Randy made a motion to approve project encouraging applicant to maximize traffic safety for all modes of operation via a traffic study. Maria seconded. Vote was 18-0-0 with the chair not voting and the motion passed.

 

7.3 – Home Avenue changes for bike facilities (ACTION): Everett Hauser with the City of San Diego did a presentation on the project and changes being implemented on existing bike lanes. Enhancements taking place along with a slur treatment along the Home Avenue corridor between Fairmount Ave and Euclid Ave. Jim, Mazda and Randy offered comment. Randy made a motion to approve project as presented. Brian seconded. Vote was 18-0-0 with the chair not voting and the motion passed.

 

7.4 – 37th Street parking limit – El Cajon Blvd to Orange Ave (ACTION):

Steve Aldana with The Boulevard organization spoke on the item giving context as to the reason for this requested change, mainly the abuse by local businesses to take up vital parking. Much input and questioning was offered from board members Randy, Nick, Brian, Ph?°?»?ng, Francisco and Denise. Brian made a motion to approve the parking change (2 hour parking limit in certain spaces) based on the letter sent to the chairman. Dan seconded. Vote was 15-3-0 with the chair not voting and the motion passed.

 

7.5 - Discussion of return to in-person meetings effective January 2023 (INFO): Russ gave a brief introduction as to the reason this item is on the agenda. Potentially will need to move back into In-person meetings as soon as next month due to the end of Emergency Orders from the State and the Brown Act rules around in-person meetings. Most of the board would like us to remain on Zoom. Maria would like hybrid. Currently there is not a physical space allotted for us to use for in-person meetings should that be necessary in the future. Dan clarified the current order in place is effective through February 2023 and the Chair signified that zoom meeting will continue until that date while awaiting clarification from the Planning Department.

 

8 – Committee member comments from Jim Varnadore, María Córtez, Randy Torres-Van Vleck, Nick Rossi, Phoung Nguyen, Francisco García and Rahmo Abdi.

9 – The meeting was adjourned at 8:33PM to reconvene at 6:30PM on Monday, January 2, 2022.

 

 

C.H.A.P.C. MINUTES – November 7, 2022

1 - The Chairman called the meeting to order at 6:34 PM and called the roll. Asma Abdi, Rahmo Abdi, Dan Castañon, Russ Connelly, María Córtez, Francisco García, Edwin Lohr, Denisse López, David Nelson, Ph?°?»?ng Nguy?»…n, Randy Torres-van Vleck (7:22) and Evihn Vasily (6:56) were present to form a quorum. Marcellus Anderson, Brian Green-Carson, Kenneth Furukuwa, Mazda Mehraz, Carolyn Tran and Jim Varnadore were absent.

 

2 - There were no corrections made to the minutes of October 3, 2022.

 

3 –Chair offered motion and Maria Cortez seconded a motion to approve the agenda as well as AB361, a continuation to hold electronic meetings. The Committee voted 10/0/0 and the motion passed.

 

4 – Chair Russ discussed the optional sign-in sheet for those wishing to run for a seat on the committee. He also discussed the 2022 Land Development Code update and the progress of the planed project for sidewalks on Euclid Avenue. Discussion about a return to in-person meetings will be on December agenda.

 

5 – Council District-9 staff member Ben Mendoza offered staff comments regarding a community action plan on homelessness and housing policies, street light repairs and District 9’s new boundaries.

 

6 – Off Agenda Public Comment: Becky Rapp – Spoke about City Council modifications to the Marijuana Ordinance.

 

7.1 Filling of Committee Vacancies: Russ explained which seats were empty, the people who held the seats previously and why they resigned from the committee.

 

7.1.1 – Appointment to fill At-Large-23 #1 seat (ACTION):

David Bowen asked to be nominated: no motion or second was offered. Julieta Ornelas made request for nomination. David Nelson made motion to nominate Julieta, seconded by Francisco. 10-0-0 with Chair not voting and Julieta was seated.

 

7.1.2 – Appointment to fill District 3-23 seat (ACTION):

No one requested to be nominated. Continued to next meeting.

 

7.1.3 – Appointment to fill At-Large-23 #2 seat (ACTION):

Nick Rossi made request for nomination. Edwin made motion to nominate Nick, seconded by Evihn. 11-0-0 with Chair not voting and Nick was seated.

 

7.1.4 – Appointment to fill Youth-23 seat (ACTION):

Sussan Ornelas asked to be nominated: Maria made motion to nominate Sussan, seconded by Denisse. ZamZam Abdul asked to be nominated: Rahmo made motion to nominate, seconded by Asma. Verbal vote of each committee member was taken by the chair. Sussan received 9 votes, ZamZam received 3 votes with the chair not voting. Sussan was seated. The committee thanked ZamZam for his interest and encouraged him to run for a seat in the next election.

 

7.2 – Declare the District 3 – 2023 seat vacant due to lack of attendance. (ACTION) Russ discussed his attempts to reach Kenneth Furukawa by phone, text and by mail with no result. Dan motioned and Maria seconded to vacate the District 3 – 23 seat. Vote was 14-0-0 with the chair not voting and the motion passed.

 

7.3 –1064666 AT&T wireless communications facility NUP renewal with modifications at 3215 Fairmount Avenue (ACTION): Tara Carmichael discussed the details of the modifications. Randy, Rahmo, Francisco and Daniel asked questions. After discussion, David moved and Maria seconded to approve the renewal of the NUP. Vote was 14-0-0 with the chair not voting and the motion passed.

 

7.4 – 1064927 La Maestra Hope for Housing CUP (ACTION): Corinne Hanson, Zara Marselian and others presented the project for 21 units of therapeutic housing at 4135 Fairmount Avenue to serve low to moderate income need with 100% access to La Maestra services for approximately 18 month resident duration. One employee will be employed on the property with one parking space to be built per housing code. Majority of funding for project to come from SD County. After presentation of the plans, questions were asked by David, Francisco, Randy, Asma and Nick. Randy moved to approve the CUP. Seconded by Maria. Vote was 13-1-0 with the chair not voting and the motion passed.

 

7.5 - PANA Tenant Protections Program presentation (ACTION): Asma Abdi presented the Tenant Protections program that their group have been working on including: program to focus on children, elderly & disabled, additional occupants including family in a dwelling as well as language regarding landlord retaliations, buyout agreements and legal remedies. A lively committee discussion ensued with David, Julieta, Nick, Francisco, Randy and Asma participating. Randy made a motion to write a letter to state that the CHAPC supports the recommendations for tenant protections as presented by PANA. After discussion of the motion and clarifications by the chair, the vote was 4-8-1 (Rahmo abstain due to employment related to project) with the chair not voting and the motion did not pass.

 

7.6 – Formation of 2023 Election Subcommittee (ACTION): Edwin, Francisco, Denisse and Maria volunteered.

 

8 – Committee member comments from Randy Van Vleck and David Nelson.

9 – The meeting was adjourned at 8:50PM to reconvene at 6:30PM on Monday, December 5, 2022.