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Dear Friend:

There are a number of community events coming up starting today that are of interest to all San Diegans – I want to tell you about them. Here they are:

Allied Gardens SpringFest

The 8th Annual SpringFest in Allied Gardens kicks off today Friday, May 4th with carnival rides for all ages beginning this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. and then evening activities from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.  There will be dancing under the stars to the sounds of Rockola and there will be a beer garden. Bring your chairs and blankets. 


Saturday’s activities begin with a 7:00 a.m. pancake breakfast that ends at 10:00 a.m. The Spring Fest Parade begins at 10:30 a.m. and a wonderful car show begins immediately after the parade. Scott Boney of Windmill Farms is this year’s Grand Marshal. 

The day’s activities continue through 4:00 p.m. including live music, pony rides, a rock climbing wall, a dunk tank, a history booth, and entertainment. For more information click here http://www.kiwanis-gag.org/.  Hope to see you there!

Extreme Home Makeover

San Diego’s 4th Annual Extreme Home Makeover is billed as the biggest one-day local makeover effort of its kind in San Diego. Organizers expect to repair 48 homes in one day – this Saturday, May 5th.  The event will upgrade the homes of foster parents who are helping children referred to them by Child Protective Services. Typically, with much time spent raising foster children, taking them to school, appointments, afternoon sports and helping with homework that there is little time for handling home improvements.  The homes need a little attention and this one-day event remedies that need.

Volunteer teams, headed by an experienced “house captain” identify homes and projects in advance.  All supplies are provided free to the homeowners.  Volunteers are assigned to jobs they can easily tackle.  College Avenue Baptist Church organizes this annual event and anticipates having more than 440 volunteers; however, they can use your help.  For more information, call (619) 203-8604.

Housing Forum (Mini Dorms)

Mark your calendar for Thursday evening, May 10th when Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, City Attorney Mike Aguirre and I host a Student Housing Forum. It takes place from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the 12th floor of the City Administration Building located at 202 C Street in downtown San Diego.

There will be a presentation on the proposed updates to the Land Development Code (LDC) that resulted from actions at the Land Use & Housing (LU&H) Committee that I chair. These new regulations are expected to limit the conversion of single family residences into public nuisance rental properties.

Proposed amendments to the Land Development Code and Local Coastal Program include limiting the number of bedrooms in single dwelling unit-residential (RS) zones (6 maximum), limit hardscape areas for vehicular use (4 vehicles maximum), require additional parking per bedroom in the parking impact overlay zone, and modify single dwelling unit parking regulations in an effort to address mini dorms and maintain the character of single dwelling unit neighborhoods. The LDC Update is docketed for the July 9th City Council meeting. We expect to hear from representatives of local universities as well as experts from Orange, California discussing that city’s ordinance restricting mini dorms. Members of the audience will have an opportunity to express their comments and questions.  For more information, call my office at (619) 236-6677. 

Gang Prevention Conference

Please plan to attend this important and free event.  It is called Community Solutions: Creating Regional/Neighborhood Anti-Gang Initiatives and takes place on Thursday May 10th from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the San Diego Convention Center, located at 111 West Harbor Drive (Rooms 1AB & 5AB) in downtown San Diego. There will be opening remarks by Mayor Jerry Sanders, City Council President Pro Tem Anthony Young, U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt, Ron Cummings of the Jacobs Foundation and Bob Kelly of the San Diego Foundation. Panelists include Police Chief William Lansdowne, San Bernardino Mayor Patrick Morris, Maggie Navarro of the Fresno Gang Prevention Initiative and Richard Saito of San Jose Reclaim our Youth.

This conference is hosted by the City of San Diego’s Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention and the Attorney General’s Anti-Gang Initiative - Project Safe Neighborhoods. After hearing from knowledgeable speakers who have implemented successful community solutions, the audience will be invited to break into workgroups to discuss challenges and strategies for their communities and neighborhoods.

Please click here for the registration form and flier.  For more information, please call (619) 533-6511.

Tierrasanta's Patriot’s Day Parade

This year marks the 21st year that the community of Tierrasanta celebrates its Patriot’s Day Parade. Every year the Kiwanis Club of Tierrasanta hosts the parade and this year it takes place on Saturday, May 19th.  The Tierrasanta Kiwanis Club encourages everyone touched by the community, whether you are an individual, local merchant or a large organization with a branch in or near Tierrasanta and Murphy Canyon, to participate.

The parade starts at 10:00 a.m. at Serra High School located at 5156 Santo Road, goes through the main commercial area of Tierrasanta and ends at Farb Middle school. Later that night there will be a barbeque dinner from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. followed by fire works at 8:15 p.m. at the Tierrasanta Community Park located at 11220 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. For more information, call (858) 268-0044. 

Explore Mission Trails Day

May is the month for annual events because the 5th Annual Explore Mission Trails Day takes place on Saturday, May 19th. Join park staff and volunteers for an all day celebration highlighting everything Mission Trails Regional Park has to offer.

 

I call it San Diego’s nature park and if you haven’t visited before, this is the perfect opportunity.  This popular event features free interpretive walks, talk and programs throughout the park including live animals and activities for children. An exhibition of this year’s photo contest will be on display at the Visitor and Interpretive Center.  There will be free pony rides and children’s crafts at the Equestrian Staging Area.  Don’t miss the Old Dam and the Kumeyaay Campground as well.

The park is located at One Father Junipero Serra Trail off of Mission Gorge Road near Jackson Drive. For more information visit MTRP’s web site at http://www.mtrp.org/.

State of the District

On Wednesday, May 23rd I’m hosting a State of the District address. I invite you to attend and find out more about issues impacting our district as well as about our goals and projects in progress. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the College-Rolando Library located at 6600 Montezuma Road. We’ll have a panel presentation about keeping San Diego safe with Jill Olen, the City of San Diego’s Director of Homeland Security, Fire Chief Tracy Jarman and Assistant Police Chief David Ramirez. You’ll also have a chance to meet Andrea Tevlin, the City’s Independent Budget Analyst, and find out more about her vital role at City Hall. Plus we’ll have a Q&A session in which you can share your questions, comments and concerns.

Please join me at this important event and tell your neighbors, too. For more information, call my office at (619) 236-6677.

FaceLift

My staff and I have participated in the past, so from firsthand experience I can tell you this is a worthy event that you won’t want to miss. In fact, Councilmember Toni Atkins and I are pleased to again be proud sponsors. Community HousingWorks will host their Summer FaceLift on Saturday, June 9th from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.  More than 200 volunteers are expected this year. Five to six houses in the Islenair neighborhood east of Euclid Avenue between Thorn Street and Isla Vista Drive will be spruced up.  Priority is given to senior citizens, disabled persons and low-income families that need assistance with the exterior of their homes.
 

Last June, thirteen properties were renovated including an owner occupied seven-unit condominium complex.  In addition six 40-yard trash bins (huge) were filled and a nearby canyon was cleaned.  And a smaller scale FaceLift was held last October in the South Castle neighborhood.  Since 1995, 326 homes have been renovated in City Heights, 400 tons of trash removed and 4,200 volunteers have contributed more than 30,000 hours of service.

For more information or to sign up to help, please contact Linda Pennington, FaceLift Project Manager at 563-4014 or lpennington@chworks.org.  Click here to download their flyer.

Have a great weekend and I hope to see you at one of these events.

Jim.

Dial 511 For Traffic Updates

Did you know that you can now dial 511 for Roadside Assistance on our roads and highways?  If you get stranded in a non-emergency situation, you may use your cell phone to dial 511 to be connected to the Call Box Answer Center for assistance. To find out more about this, visit SANDAG's 511 web site at http://www.511sd.com/

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.

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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.