Happy Thanksgiving –

I wish you and your family a very happy and enjoyable Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite holidays.  Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what we are grateful to have, to spend time with people who are important to us and a time to serve others.  Sally and I along with our sons Chris and Kyle look forward to helping serve dinner at the annual Salvation Army Thanksgiving Day dinner downtown.

We give thanks for those who work day in and day out to keep us safe and our country free – both at home and abroad.  We also remember to help those in need and not as fortunate.

So I hope that yours is safe, happy and memorable in every way.

Also, for those residents whose curbside recycling and yard waste collection is scheduled for Thursday, November 23, your pickup will take place on Friday. And residents whose pickup is scheduled for that Friday will be delayed one day until Saturday.  The collection will return to its regular schedule on Monday, November 27th.

The final votes are in and the voters have spoken.  The failure of Proposition A should be viewed as a new opportunity to make good on the decades of neglect at Lindbergh Field. 

The voters of San Diego County expect our elected officials to take a more active role after years of failed leadership at Lindbergh Field.  The region has spoken.  It’s obvious that Lindbergh Field is the best location for our airport.  It’s time we set in place a governing structure that is truly representative of the people with a planning process that starts immediately to make the needed improvements at our airport. 

Senator Christine Kehoe’s airport hearings are a step in the right direction as we contemplate the future governance of our region’s airport.  Lindbergh Field should be operated by representatives from throughout the region with the knowledge there is no other location available but Lindbergh.  If Gatwick Airport in London can operate with a single runway and serve double the number passengers Lindbergh Field currently has, we can certainly make good here in San Diego. 

The biggest problem with Lindbergh Field is not its runway but rather its single taxiway and inefficient ingress and egress to the terminal facilities.

It’s time we renew our discussions with the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot (MCRD) for the badly needed taxiway.  Some of our immediate priorities should include adding additional gates to the newest terminal, and to start making plans to build a spur track from our trolley system directly into the airport. 

We should also consider a new terminal facility north of the runway with off-ramps from I-5 near Washington Street that lead directly into a new parking facility with a people-mover connecting all terminals.  We should dust off the plans that called for dual level departure and arrival decks into the existing terminals like most other modern airports.  And we should start planning now to replace the older terminal facilities with the modern facilities at the west end of our airport.  There are many other worthy ideas to consider that keep Lindbergh Field San Diego’s airport while maintaining our economic and competitive edge. 

Let’s hope the decades of airport studies are over.  It’s time we work together as a region and get to work improving Lindbergh Field. 

As many of you know, I’ve been working on finding solutions to the proliferation of Nuisance Rental Properties in our residential neighborhoods throughout San Diego (AKA: Mini Dorms).  As we continue to make progress in this area, I encourage you to attend the next Land Use & Housing (LU & H) Committee meeting on Wednesday, November 29th at 2:00 p.m.  The meeting takes place in the City Administration Building in the Council Chambers located on the 12th floor of the City Administration Building located at 202 C Street downtown.  As Chair of the LU&H Committee, I brought this issue forward to find solutions to very important issues raised at my Mini Dorm Town Hall meeting in September. This is the next step on my ongoing quest to end what I call the “Mini Dorm Madness.”  I urge you to attend and give your suggestions.  Please tell anyone who may be interested about this upcoming meeting. 

When it comes to traffic congestion, we all want relief now – today - this minute. As a member of the SANDAG board as well as the City Council, I have seen firsthand the determination to bring real congestion relief to the San Diego region. 

On Saturday October 28, 2006, I joined Poway Mayor Mickey Cafagna, Solana Beach Councilmember Joe Kellejian, Santee Councilmember Jack Dale, Maryam Babaki of the Independent Taxpayer Oversight Committee, Pedro Orso-Delgado and Joel Haven of Caltrans, and Gary Gallegos of SANDAG in a ceremony marking the beginning of the widening of westbound State Route 52.

Widening SR 52 will help improve the quality of life for residents of Tierrasanta, San Diego, Santee and the entire region.  I consider it a demonstration in collaboration, tenacity and resourcefulness.

This project also serves as a reminder of the success of our TransNet program and our commitment to working with Caltrans and our transit agencies to continue delivering important highway and transit projects.  The widening project shouldn’t take very long – hopefully by next summer we’ll see some additional traffic relief on Highway 52.

In previous eNewsletters I’ve written about this part of District 7 that is in – and needs to be in – transition. I’ve called it “Trash-Triangle” because of the dumping zone it had become. 

This is an area that had been neglected for too long and I’m working with residents to change that. From the old K-Mart and now Sears Essentials to the other uses that had fallen into disrepair, I set out with a concerted effort to revive this important area of our City. 
























We created the Crossroads Redevelopment area shortly after I took office and since then we have seen some incredible interest by developers for the area.  Not a week goes by that my office isn’t talking to someone who is interested in investing and improving properties within the Crossroads Redevelopment area. 

Besides a number of new projects that have helped to start, in the short term we’ve held several community clean ups.  In the long term, we envision continuing to transform the area into a community with a variety of amenities. The process continues with asking qualified development teams to receive a request for proposals for the 36-acre Chollas Triangle site within the Crossroads Redevelopment Project area in the southeastern part of District 7. 

The City’s Redevelopment Agency selected four based on their experience, capabilities and expertise.  They are Barratt American, D.R. Horton, Great Northern Partners and Lennar.  The Chollas Triangle site will be mixed-use development with residential including market rate and affordable housing, retail such as food stores, drug stores restaurants, commercial and office buildings, park space/green space, and a design that is pedestrian and transit oriented.  The Chollas Triangle site is bounded by University Avenue on the north side, Chollas Parkway on the south and east side and 54th Avenue on the west. 

Neighbors looking out for neighbors is always a good idea.  While the concept of Neighborhood Watch programs is not new, there is a renewed interest in forming, creating and strengthening these vital community groups. For example, 75 residents in San Carlos are revitalizing their Neighborhood Watch program and I applaud their efforts. Dr. Bill Sperling and former Councilmember Judy McCarty have taken the lead. PHOTO Dr. Sperling is pictured holding the new Neighborhood Watch sign that will not fade.  It is 1 of 4 now displayed in their neighborhood. The first step was a Neighborhood Watch meeting last month at Judy McCarty’s home. 

Captain Michael Cash, who heads the Police Department's Eastern Division, Sgt. Dale Shockley, and Community Service Officer (CSO) Brenda Clark discussed the importance of establishing and maintaining a viable Neighborhood Watch program in every neighborhood. Capt. Cash reminded residents that that they are the best eyes and ears to prevent crime and report suspicious activity. For more information about establishing a Neighborhood Watch in your neighborhood, call Officer Brenda Clark at (619) 668-2721. 

I want to let you know about an important meeting coming up you may be interested in attending.  As part of my efforts to reinvigorate the Grantville area, the City Council formed the Grantville Redevelopment area to help eliminate blight and to stimulate economic revitalization in the Grantville area.  While our efforts have been delayed for over a year as a result of litigation, the needs for Grantville and our planning continue nonetheless.  And there is no doubt that without the economic benefits produced from the redevelopment area, Grantville will continue to be a piecemeal-developed hodgepodge that will be associated with traffic gridlock, flooding and inconsistent land uses but to name a few.

As part of a visioning process to help determine what Grantville can become, I have discussed many ideas and thoughts with business owners and community leaders in the area.  Part of that process included working with two different planning firms to seek their ideas and concepts as well.  I’d like to share their ideas with you and seek your input.

I have asked that the Grantville Redevelopment Advisory Committee reconvene for a meeting on Monday, December 4th at 7:00 p.m. at Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center located at One Father Junipero Serra Trail off of Mission Gorge Road. The initial visioning for Grantville will be unveiled at this public meeting.  This is an opportunity to share ideas and discuss the communities’ vision for Grantville.  With the help of redevelopment, the Grantville area has incredible potential. 

For a map and directions to the Visitor Center, please click here http://www.mtrp.org/vc_directions.asp.  For more information, contact Tracy Reed of the Community and Economic Redevelopment Agency at (619) 533-7519 or email to treed@sandiego.gov. 

Earlier this month I attended the dedication of the Memorial Garden and Columbarium at Tierrasanta Lutheran Church and it was nice to finally have closure. I was happy to help when I received a call from Pastor Ken Licht in June of 2005.  Pastor Licht and the congregation were having difficulties navigating the City’s permit process and it was bogged down. It was simply a matter of confirming compliance with state guidelines. We quickly resolved the situation, their permit was approved and the moving dedication ceremony was held on November 5th.


I took the opportunity to thank Pastor Licht and the congregation for making their facility available for several large District 7 community meetings including a forum days after the Cedar Fire and more recently a meeting about the location of our airport.

Congratulations to Stephen M. Laub for his recent appointment to the City of San Diego Planning Commission with overwhelming support from the City Council. He was the chair of the Community Planners Committee (CPC) and of course he was past president of the College Area Community Council.  His many years as a community leader and volunteer service on planning groups make him an excellent choice.  Of course we in District 7 are very proud of this most recent accomplishment and have benefited from his leadership, expertise and willingness to help.  Please join me in congratulating Steve.

I want to correct a sentence in the last eNewsletter to more accurately describe the funding for the Safe Routes to School Program.  It should have said that we raised funds totaling $200,000 from the City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency/City Heights Project Area and the San Diego Unified School District for Mary Lanyon Fay Elementary School’s pedestrian friendly sidewalks. I also provided Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to the City Heights Community Development Corporation (CDC) for staffing to work on Safe Routes to School issues and $8,000 in CDBG for new crosswalks at the new Ibarra Elementary in City Heights. Safe Routes to School is a great program and I encourage you to find out more by visiting their Web site at http://www.cityheightscdc.org/ 
 

From time to time I include a few community events taking place throughout the District. Here are a few you may be interested in:

November 25 – The Grantville-Allied Gardens Kiwanis Club opens their Christmas tree lot at 9:00 a.m. at the corner of Zion and Glenroy. It is the 18th season. Click here to see the flier.

November 30 - Please join me when we cut the ribbon for the Gaspar de Portola Comfort Station at 10:00 a.m.  The comfort station is located on the joint-use ball fields located at 11010 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in Tierrasanta. Contact my office at (619) 236-6677 for more information.

December 2 – The 21st annual Mission Trails Regional Park Arbor Day takes place at 9:00 a.m. at the East Fortuna Equestrian Staging Area off of SR 52 and Mast Boulevard.  Volunteers will plant oak and cottonwood trees as well as pull weeds and help with landscape maintenance at this beautiful park. For more information, visit the MTRP Web site at mtrp.org or call (619) 668-3281. 

December 4 – The Grantville Redevelopment Advisory Committee will host a community meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center.  The public is invited to attend.  For more information see the article in this issue of the eNewsletter.

January 3 – The Mid-City Police Advisory Board Community Meeting takes place from 6:30 until 8:00 p.m. at Rolando United Methodist Church located at 4855 Seminole Drive.  In an effort to outreach and fight crime in the Mid-City area, the San Diego Police Department will be holding community meetings on the first Wednesday of every other month at this location for District 7 communities including College View Estate, College East, Rolando, Rolando Park, El Cerrito, Darnall, Oak Park, Fox Canyon, Islenair and Colina del Sol.  The next meeting will be March 7th.  For more information call (619) 515-2733. 

March 24-25, 2007 – Get in shape now for the “24 Hour Kroc-A-Thon For Healthy Kids”. It begins at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and ends 24 hours later.  The participation fee is $30 an hour. The goal is to raise $50,000 for the Kroc Center Scholarship Fund.  For more information contact Chris Marek, Development Director of The Salvation Army Kroc Center at (619) 269-1408 or email to Chris.Marek@usw.sarmy.org   I will have more details in a future eNewsletter.

Once again, Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for reading the eNewsletter. 

Regards,

Jim