Dear Friend:
With the Super Bowl and the California Presidential
primaries now behind us, 2008 is definitely well
underway. The past month seems to have flown by as
we have been focused on numerous pressing policy
issues.
The
San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)
recently held its annual retreat where we discussed
options to improving our quality of life in the San
Diego region. From improving public transit and
coastal infrastructure to doing a better job
maintaining open space, regional leaders are working
together, determined to do what we can to continue
to enjoy San Diego as a very special place to live,
work and play.
As Transportation Committee Chair at SANDAG, I’ve
also been spending quite a bit of time working with
both SANDAG staff and the leadership from the San
Diego Airport Authority with an aggressive plan to
make Lindbergh Field San Diego’s airport of the
future. At issue is whether we want to see
Lindbergh continue to operate as a hodgepodge of
terminals with a dysfunctional master plan – or do
we want to dream bigger – and make San Diego’s
airport the very best possible? For those of you
who have read my eNewsletter for some time, you will
recall how I have long advocated that we do more
with Lindbergh Field than just build a few new
gates. For years I have been calling for a grand
vision for the airport – a master plan that would
help the public recognize that their elected and
appointed leaders are serious about solving our
airport problems. The last thing we want is to do
another gate project only to wait another decade to
solve the real problems at Lindbergh. I’m pleased
to be using my role as Transportation Chair to push
a more aggressive agenda for a better Lindbergh
Field.
A
few weeks ago the Transportation Committee heard a
presentation from the Airport Authority on their
request to build 10 gates at the existing Terminal 2
building and a parking structure in the parking
lot. At first blush, this seems like a great idea –
but missing for me are the many other things we need
to make Lindbergh Field work - like freeway
off-ramps and on-ramps directly from I-5 into the
airport. Or how about an inter-modal transportation
center that might link the Coaster, the Trolley,
Amtrak and transit with the airport? And why not
build terminals on the north side of the runway?
Many of us get quite frustrated when we see land
uses such as the airport rental car operation
located on edge of one of the most beautiful bays in
the world. So Airport Authority and SANDAG board
members have been hammering away at a plan to be
more aggressive for the future of Lindbergh Field.
I’ve been pleased with the cooperation we’ve
received from the Authority. A meeting at SANDAG
tomorrow will discuss airport options and where we
go from here. Obviously for me, I am thinking big –
much bigger than they have in the past. Let’s hope
we can move forward with an airport vision that
serves San Diego for many decades ahead. I’m sure
there will be much more to share about this in the
weeks and months ahead.
Budget Priorities
We’re
a month into the New Year and we're already planning
for the next budget cycle that starts on July 1st.
With the City’s tight financial situation, we need
to be more prudent than ever in how we allocate
precious City dollars. We must squeeze the maximum
benefit out of each dollar. I’ve compiled a list of
what I consider to be our most important budget
priorities for fiscal year 2009 which begins July 1,
2008.
Please click here
to see my FY09 budget priority list.
I welcome hearing your suggestions and bringing them
to discussions at upcoming Budget & Finance
Committee meetings and City Council meetings.
In fact, you can
click on this link and read
the budget priorities of my City Council colleagues
as well.
Golf
Course Renovations and the U.S. Open
With San Diego hosting the prestigious U.S. Open
this June, renovations to the South Course at Torrey
Pines Golf Course have been completed. The makeover
included new and improved bunkers and turf, improved
irrigation, new fencing and signage and additional
37 parking spaces. These improvements will be a big
boost in a very competitive Open, not to mention
accommodating the crowds who will be attending.
The
City of San Diego celebrated with a reception and
test run on January 12, 2008 that included Council
President Scott Peters, Park and Recreation Director
Stacy Lo Medico, representatives of the Pro Kids
Golf Academy and me.
I’m very proud of Pro Kids, a non-profit
organization that teaches young people far more than
how to play golf. The mission of Pro Kids is to
provide programs promoting education, character
development, life-skills and values through the game
of golf. In the 14 years Pro Kids has been operating
the City’s Colina Golf Course in City Heights; they
have served over 12,000 children and provided
$856,000 in college scholarships for 68 of their
members.
Donald Kay, Hannah Kim, Joe French, and Alvin Or,
members of Pro Kids Golf Academy, each demonstrated
their skill by hitting a ceremonial drive to
officially open the South Course at Torrey Pines.
Donald
Kay, an eight year old, attends Hardy Elementary
School where he is in the third grade. Donald joined
Pro Kids in 2005 where he started to play golf.
Donald was the youngest member to be certified at
the Birdie level and won an End of the Month golf
tournament in the Birdie Division. Donald's greatest
memory at Pro Kids was playing Torrey Pines with
some of The Pro Kids Board Members.
Hannah Kim, an 11 year old, a sixth grader,
dominated her age division for San Diego Junior Golf
Association (SDJGA). Hannah was so successful that
she decided to "play up" a division and participated
in the girls 13-14 year old division. Hannah
finished second in the point standings including a
win in the Craig Stadler Golf Classic which is an
important tournament in the SDJGA.
Alvin
Or, an 18 year old, and a freshman at SDSU, is one
of the Pro Kids Scholarship recipients. Alvin was
the captain of Crawford High School's Boy's Golf
team where he received the San Diego Union-Tribune
All-Academic Team honors. Alvin Or's junior golf
career was highlighted by qualifying for the
Wal-Mart First Tee Open and the Optimist
International Golf Tournament.
Joseph French, a 21 year old, was a Pro Kids
Scholarship recipient. Joseph won the Wal-Mart First
Tee qualifier and placed in the top ten for the
event. Joseph played golf for Point Loma Nazarene
University and now is an employee for Wells Fargo
Bank.
Urban Corps of San
Diego
It
was a true pleasure to see Don Mullen, my Chief of
Policy, receive the Urban Corps of San Diego’s
Thurgood Marshall Good Government Award in 2006.
Imagine my surprise to receive the Star award at
their 18th Annual Holiday Luncheon in December. Sam
Duran, Chief Executive Officer presented the award.
It was an honor to be recognized for supporting
their programs and the youth they serve.
The Urban Corps’ mission is to provide job
training and educational opportunities to young
adults in the fields of conservation, recycling and
community service which will assist these youths in
becoming more employable, while protecting San
Diego’s natural resources and instilling the
importance of community involvement.
I can attest to the great work they do. I saw
firsthand how Urban Corps volunteers helped people
who had been evacuated to Qualcomm Stadium last
October during the firestorms. They are to be
commended.
Quick List of
Recyclables
Everybody
needs to recycle and do all that they can to divert
items from the City’s landfill. Recycling means
using a product to its fullest extent and then
turning it into a usable material or product.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) nationally we are embracing recycling.
In 1999, recycling and composting activities
prevented about 64 million tons of material from
ending up in landfills and incinerators. Today, we
recycle 32.5 percent of our waste – a rate that has
almost doubled during the past 15 years.
Here is a quick reference to help identify items
that can be recycled:
- Glass jars and bottles
- Plastic bottles
- Paper and junk mail
- Newspapers, magazines and telephone
directories
- Metal cans and aluminum foil
- Cardboard, paper bags and food packaging
Water Conservation
You may want to check out the City of San Diego’s
web site for important information about water
conservation including tips on conserving in your
typical daily routine.
Please click here for more information.
Also,
the City’s Water Department is holding the Eighth
Annual Water Conservation Poster Contest. The theme
is Water Wins! Students in first through sixth grade
may enter by submitting artwork by March 26, 2008.
Each student who creates a poster to enter into the
contest will receive a certificate of participation.
Then, 18 winners will be selected, recognized at a
City Council Meeting, and will receive a U.S.
Savings Bond, four tickets to the Reuben H. Fleet
Science Center and a Certificate of Excellence.
Winning posters will be on display in the lobby of
the City Administration Building, the San Diego
Watercolor Society's Gallery, and the San Diego
County Fair Kids Best Art Exhibit.
Click here for more information.
Residential High
Occupancy Permit
In response to problematic mini dorms that have
been penetrating single family neighborhoods in
recent years - especially in the College Area - the
City Council heard the second reading of the
Residential High Occupancy Permit (RHOP) and passed
it unanimously on January 21, 2008.
This is another significant achievement by the
Council in our ongoing quest to fight for
neighborhood quality of life issues. It has been a
twenty year battle. The RHOP is designed to be cost
recoverable, while also providing an economic
hardship fee waiver for those who live together out
of economic necessity and to whom the fee would be
an economic burden. This culminated a nearly two
year effort that I kicked off in my fight against
mini-dorms that were plaguing our neighborhoods.
The City previously enacted two ordinances. In
May of 1987, the City Council adopted the Single
Family Residence Overlay Zone that regulated rental
properties in single family zones and in June of
1991 adopted the One Family Dwelling Rental
Regulations. Both ordinances were challenged by the
College Area Rental Landlords Association (CARLA)
and were repealed in 1997 after being found
unconstitutional by the courts.
The latest action by the City Council will be
more difficult to challenge in the court system. It
treats renters and owner-occupants alike with no
discretion between the two. If you are a renter and
live with more then six people, your landlord will
need to apply for an annual High Occupancy Permit at
the cost of $1,000 per year. If you are a home owner
living with six or more adults in your home, whether
or not they are related, you will need to apply for
the Residential High Occupancy Permit at the cost of
$1,000 annually.
Additionally,
in each case the permit requires a parking space be
provided onsite per occupant, less one. A house with
six occupants will need five off-street parking
spaces. Exceptions can be made for those individuals
who prove that they do not own a car. Otherwise it
will be assumed all occupants have individual
vehicles that park at the home.
The RHOP also included a means for waiving the
$1,000 annual fee based on a system that the City
uses to determine economic hardship. The Federal
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
determines by census tract and region the Area
Median Income (AMI). Owner-occupied household total
income ($80,500 for six people) and rental owner
total income (including rent received - amount
varies based on number of owners) must be less then
100% AMI in order to qualify for the fee waiver. If
you are a rental owner and can demonstrate that your
total income, including collected rent is less then
the AMI ($48,600 for one person or $55,500 for a
married couple or joint owners) you can qualify for
the permit fee waiver.
We have added the Residential High Occupancy
Permit to our toolbox of enforcement mechanisms for
preserving neighborhood character and quality of
life. In addition to the RHOP, the San Diego Police
Department is now enforcing the Administrative
Citation Program, which allows them to give $1,000
fines where public disturbances are generated, fines
to both the renter, and the landlords of
problematic, repeat offender party houses. This is
in conjunction with the Community Assisted Party
Program (CAPP). CAPP is a joint effort between
police and the community to curb nuisance behavior
at chronic party houses and has been in use for many
years. We have also amended the Land Development
Code to restrict the type of architectural
enhancements one can add to their home while
increasing the parking requirements and yet
continuing the balance between hardscape (meaning
blacktop or surfaced areas) and landscape in front
yards and side yards.
The proposed Rooming House Ordinance is an
additional tool to be considered by the City Council
to address the commercialization of single dwelling
unit neighborhoods. Council heard this ordinance in
November 2007 and continued it until 2008 in order
to allow City staff and the City Attorney to be on
the same page in regards to the associated
enforcement issues of the Rooming House Ordinance.
The proposed ordinance is being prepared by the City
Attorney (due end of January) and generally defines
rooming houses as dwelling units with three or more
bedrooms rented separately, and then prohibits
rooming houses from locating in single dwelling unit
residential zones. There is
not another law like this in the rest of the
country. Once again San Diego is blazing new trails.
We expect to hear this issue this month once
the City Attorney has released a final version for
public scrutiny.
The City’s Development Services staff (Land Code
Development experts and Code Enforcement team) is to
be commended on their outstanding work on this
issue. And the community as a whole deserves much
credit for their efforts to improve the quality of
life in their neighborhood.
State
Route 52 Extension
Last
month was the groundbreaking for a project that will
extend SR 52 from SR 125 to SR 67. This is one of
three sections of SR 52 in Santee being improved
with funding from the TransNet half-cent sales tax.
The City of San Diego is partnering with the San
Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
and the City of Santee. The project is expected to
be completed in 2010 and will provide traffic relief
on parallel routes and local arterials, including
Interstate 8, Mission Gorge Road, Mast Boulevard,
and Prospect Avenue. The next segment to begin
construction will be an extension of the third
eastbound lane on SR 52 from east of the Mission
Trails Summit to Mast Boulevard. This project will
begin construction this month or next.
Tip
of the Hat
The
College View Estates Association (CVEA) and
especially Joe Jones and Marlene Greenstein deserve
a tip of the hat for their urban tree program. Urban
trees are very important because they beautify a
community, they help filter the air, lower energy
costs, reduce storm water run-off, and increase
individual property values. Since 1990 the CVEA has
planted more than 120 trees in their community.
Homeowners choose the tree they want from an
approved list of trees including Jacaranda and Crape
Myrtle. The City of San Diego provides the trees at
no cost, CVEA pays for site preparation and the
homeowner pays $45 for planting and agrees to water
the trees.
Historic Balboa
Theatre Opens
San
Diego’s historic Balboa Theatre, in the heart of the
Gaslamp Quarter, reopened this month as a premiere
site for live performances. The 83-year-old theater
underwent a five year restoration effort by the
City’s Redevelopment Agency. The cost was $26.5
million and now the doors are open for a diverse
line up of performing arts entertainment. It is a
beautiful theatre that served as the memorable
location for the Mayor’s State of the City Address
last month.
Please click here for more information
about upcoming events and to see photos of the
theatre.
From The
In Box
From time to time in my eNewsletter I enjoy
sharing with you an assortment of emails I have
received at City Hall. Here are a few on various
topics:
Dear
Councilmember,
We are a
young couple living in San Diego and we are
considering buying our first home. There are
countless reasons why we choose to look in San
Diego. Unfortunately, we have noticed that
everywhere we look we see people littering the
streets, beaches, and parks. That concerns us and
makes us think otherwise about purchasing a home
here. I’m writing because this illegal behavior
seems to be ignored by the police and we want to
know where the City Council and Mayor stand on the
issue. It seems counterproductive for the City to
turn a blind eye to a problem that deters people
from visiting or choosing to live here.
There
are signs all over warning of a $1000 fine, but
signs of enforcement seem nonexistent. We have met
homeowners who are disgusted with litter and have
confronted people for littering when police appear
to not see the problem. Confrontations are met with
indifference or worse. Why should residents police
their own neighborhoods when no one has ever heard
of the law being enforced? Simply enforcing the law
would generate revenue for the City. It will quickly
make people realize that littering will not be
tolerated. If "America’s Finest City" continues to
ignore this problem we will be forced to look
elsewhere for our first home.
G. C.
G.C.: I agree with you and we need to be doing
more. Stay tuned.
Hi
Councilmember Madaffer:
Regarding your article on border crossings, I live
in San Clemente so I am not one of your constituents
but I do travel to San Diego and the Tijuana airport
often.
For Mexico travel, our choices are to drive up to
LAX airport or to drive down to San Diego and cross
the border. Because of flight times we sometimes
stay at a hotel in San Diego and then cross the
border.
However, the return border crossing really makes
travel through San Diego excruciating. The hours
spent in line are time that I could be spending
money in both Mexico and San Diego. Instead, that
time is all wasted.
We also often have visitors from Mexico, and they
would much rather skip over San Diego, and fly right
to LA to avoid that crazy crossing. Again, bad for
San Diego.
At the very least, our federal tax dollars should be
used to provide facilities that match the growth
that San Diego (and all of Southern California and
Tijuana) has experienced -- since the time when one
or two border crossings were sufficient. Additional
facilities should also keep us safer here in the
U.S. because the border agents won't be so
overwhelmed and will be able to do a better job.
I'm glad you’re trying to do something about it!
(Especially, the pedestrian crossing the TJ airport
-- I think that is a fantastic concept!)
It's high time we had more border crossings of all
types! Keep up the good work.
J.M.
Dear Mr.
Madaffer,
I was
disappointed when I read in your eNewsletter that it
contained attacks on Michael Aguirre which I don't
feel accomplishes anything and is unprofessional on
your part. We all know about the conflict between
Mr. Aguirre and the mayor and I don't feel that was
an appropriate issue to have in your newletter and
especially I thought your newsletter should be
containing topics and activities that you are
involved in. Your time would be better spent working
on positive improvements for the community instead
of focusing on childish personal disputes.
Sincerely,
C.T.
Councilmember Madaffer:
I LOVE
the bell!!
D.W.
Jim,
Thank
you for another informative and interesting
community update. This issue was a much-needed,
honest "between the eyes" recap of the embarrassing
conduct of our City Attorney. I would certainly
support a recall election or an impeachment of this
megalomaniac! Thank you.
J. B.
Dear
Councilman Madaffer:
Thank
you for your very comprehensive letter. My husband
and I are glad that you are there and looking after
many projects some of them complicated and complex.
We want to spend a special "thank-you" for hanging
tight and tough. Vigilant might be the better word
on the behavior of the City Attorney. His behavior
continues to be disgraceful. Specifically, he is
costing the City of San Diego money that could well
be used elsewhere. Our hope is that he continues to
lose any support just by his own actions. You know,
it's the "give him enough rope...." story. Your New
Year is off to a very busy start but, again, we
thank you for being there.
G. I.
Councilmember –
Please
do everything in your power to put the beach ban to
a vote. 45,000 signatures were collected in support
of keeping alcohol legal on our beaches.
Unfortunately the people collecting these signatures
didn't do a good job and failed on a technicality.
The people should have the right to decide. Thanks.
B.D.
Councilmember Madaffer,
THANK
YOU SOOOOO MUCH FOR THE LINK TO AGUIRRE'S BEHAVIOR
AT THE MAYOR'S ADDRESS. I WOULD HOPE KUSI SEES IT
BECAUSE THEY SEEM TO CATER TO AGUIRRE EVERY
WEDNESDAY MORNING. HE GETS AWAY WITH SO MUCH "CRAP"
BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE REBUTTLE GUESTS ON.
C. K.
Mr.
Madaffer,
It is my
understanding that the City Council recently voted
to award the lawyer for the Mt. Soledad complaintant
$760K for his court costs. This is completely wrong
for at least two obvious reasons:
1) they lost the case
2) the client is dead.
This is
the people of San Diego's money, not yours or the
council's!!!! When are you people going to figure
that out?
This is
why the city is in the extreme financial condition
that it is. Not to mention the retirement mess that
still exists. When are people that work for the city
going to realize that public service does NOT
entitle them to retirement packages (this includes
you, sir) that meets or exceeds their pay when they
were working? What did they do that was so special
over any private sector worker? NOTHING!!!!!!
You
thieves will be gone soon, and the city won't take
this fiscal irresponsibility any longer!!!
C. A.
Dear C.A.
Thank you for your note. I do not pander for any
political gain - my eNewsletter gives you my
perspective on things. If you don't like it, that's
fine - just unsubscribe from the list and delete the
email. No problem.
As to the booze ban, I was a NO vote on the ban -
I was several years ago and I voted NO most
recently. I agree with you, the ban is much ado over
nothing and will cause far more harm than good.
I hope you have a nice week and a wonderful 2008.
Jim.
Dear
Councilmember Madaffer,
I do not
live in your district, but I wrote a letter to you a
few months ago regarding the ban of alcohol on our
city beaches. No one from your office ever took the
time to reply to my letter, save the auto-generated
response.
Therefore I was surprised to get your e-newsletter
today in my inbox. While I expect to be removed from
your email list as expeditiously as I was added, I
thought that I would honor your communication with
the respect that mine never received: a response.
J.J.
Mr. J.J.
I'm sorry for the negative tone of your email to
me.
Unfortunately our office received in excess of
2,500 emails regarding the Beach Alcohol ban and I
do not feel it would have been a wise use of our tax
dollars to respond to each one. Not to mention it
would have taken one staff member 10 solid days at 8
hours per day just to take 2 minutes for each reply.
The auto generated response was a courtesy to let
you know we did in fact receive your email.
Your comments were certainly noted and in case
you were not aware, I voted NO and in OPPOSITION to
the ban. I looked up your email to me of November 1,
2007 as we still have it on file. I completely agree
with you as you said in your email that "This ban is
a piece of reactionary legislation ostensibly
designed to ameliorate the cries of a small slice of
your constituency."
You are welcome to delete yourself from the list
by clicking the 'unsubscribe' link at the bottom of
the email I sent you and then delete the email
itself. I might suggest however you remain on the
list to keep up to date with important things going
on in our City that you would not otherwise get from
the newspaper or TV.
I hope you have good week and a wonderful 2008.
Jim.
Dear
Councilmember Madaffer,
Thank
you for your reply. I understand the difficulty that
you and your staff faced under the circumstances. I
actually wrote to all the members of the council,
and to date, yours is the only reply. Thank you for
your time, and I will try to stay abreast of the
goings-on of the council. Thank you for your
reasoned vote.
J.J.
Happenings
in the District
From time to time I include a few community
events taking place throughout the District. Here
are a few you may be interested in:
February
– Organizers of the Allied Gardens
community event SpringFest, are looking for
volunteers to serve on their organizing committee.
The event takes place May 2-3, 2008. For more
information, please contact the committee at
SDeventplanner@cox.net.
February 10 – I am pleased to
announce that on Sunday, February 10, 2008, San
Diego Children’s Hospital will be holding a 5K Fun
Run/Walk to benefit Children’s Hospital. The event
will be held at Mission Trails Park—East Fortuna
Equestrian Staging Area. Registration opens at 6:00
a.m. for same day registration and 7:00 a.m. for
pre-registration, race begins at 8:00 a.m. Mission
Trails Regional Park, One Father Junipero Serra
Trail, San Diego, CA 92119. If you have any
questions, please call Melvyn Naidas at 619-668-3277
February 16 – There will be a
guided nature walk at Mission Trails Regional Park.
It begins at 9:30 a.m. and lasts for 90 minutes. For
more information, visit their web site at
www.mtrp.org.
March 8 – A Guacamole Cook-Off
will take place at the Balboa Park Club. Come out
and taste some of the best guacamole in town. All
proceeds benefit Sports for Exceptional Athletes and
the City’s Park and Recreation Department’s
Therapeutic Recreation Services (TRS). The event is
sponsored by TRS and the Disabled Services Advisory
Council, Inc. (DSAC). For more information call
(858) 565-7432.
March 20 – The Senior Talent
Show takes place form 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at
the War Memorial Building. Seniors 55 years and
older may apply as professional or armature
contestants in different talent categories. For more
information or to register call (619) 236-6905.
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
on issues by sending email to
