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4/12/2020
Dear Neighbors,
Your PQ-NE Action Group has been busy, and we want to provide an update
on our activities concerning the planned developments that will be
impacting our neighborhood.
If you did not receive
this message directly and would like to be added to our distribution
list, please
Subscribe to our email list by clicking this link or email
info@savePQ.org to request alerts.
Consultants:
We have retained a legal firm, DeLano & DeLano, which has significant
experience in land use issues that will prove useful in our efforts. The
firm represents individuals, nonprofit groups and unincorporated
associations – many who have faced a David and Goliath type of
situation, as we are. They have the resources and skills to navigate the
complex arena of laws and regulations, counseling clients and
representing them before agencies and in state and federal court.
We also hired a fire
and life safety consultant, J Charles Weber, who specializes in code
compliance and interpretation, fire protection plans, defensible space
planning and plan review services. Chuck is a retired Fire Marshal and
Fire Prevention Officer, with academic credentials and certifications in
Fire Protection.
Millennium
PQ Project: The Dinerstein Companies, a Houston based
developer of multi-family communities, purchased the Karlan Hotel
property in 2018. They closed down operations of the hotel in December
of 2019, and plan to redevelop the site featuring a high-density
apartment complex which they would plan to operate themselves.
The hotel was
constructed under a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) originally issued in
1980. The property is still technically zoned CV-1-1, which is intended
to accommodate a mix of large-scale, visitor-serving uses and
residential.
The new owners believe
they can redevelop the property as high-density apartments (331 total)
under “ministerial review,” which means they do not have to seek a
zoning change, community plan change, nor, submit their plans to the San
Diego Planning Board, nor the City Council for approval. They have
requested permits for redevelopment of the hotel property, starting with
the demolition of the existing buildings. DeLano & DeLano has sent the
City of San Diego a Public Records Act Request on this project, on our
behalf, as there are some issues that they feel “clearly deserve our
attention.” The goal of the PQ-NE Action Group is to ensure that any
redevelopment of this property will not negatively-impact existing
infrastructure, including fire evacuation safety.
The Junipers
Project: The Draft Environmental Impact Review (DEIR) to
consider national homebuilder Lennar Corporation’s plans to redevelop
the golf course as a 536 dwelling unit, age 55+ community, was published
by the city in February 2020, and public comments were due April 6. The
board members of the PQ-NE Action Group were deeply concerned by some of
the findings of the DEIR and submitted dozens of questions to the city
on behalf of our community. Thank you to everyone who submitted comments
and questions on this DEIR as well.
J Charles Weber
conducted a “peer review” of the two proposed fire safety/emergency
evacuation plans proposed as part of The Junipers Environmental Impact
Report. He had many concerns for our safety in the event of a fire,
which were also submitted to the City of San Diego as comments. You can
review his full report by clicking this link:
JUNIPERS FIRE PROTECTION PLAN PEER REVIEW.
In addition, DeLano and DeLano submitted comments to the DEIR on our
behalf. They have concluded that the current DEIR should be rejected in
its entirety. You can review the full version of this submittal by
clicking this link:
DELANO AND DELANO COMMENTS TO THE DRAFT EIR.
Based on the concerns
of our legal team and fire expert, the PQ-NE Action Group is requesting
that the City of San Diego revise the DEIR. We found it to be
substantially insufficient on multiple counts; and, we are deeply
concerned about fire safety and evacuation, among other issues.
Additionally, we feel this development would be a blatant affront to the
spirit of our community plan, as well as the character of Rancho
Penasquitos as a predominantly “built out” community, with the golf
course resort as a staple fixture of our community.
Please know that our group is not against development – but we will
insist on smart development for our neighborhood, with safety
for the existing community of paramount importance.
Please visit our
website at
http://savepq.org to access additional information about the two
development projects and our concerns. We will keep you posted about our
ongoing efforts with the city and these developers.
We Need Your
Help: As you can imagine, the efforts outlined above have
already cost us thousands of dollars. Thank you for your support to
date, which has allowed us to take this fight to the next level. The
PQ-NE Action Group, a 501(c)(3) public benefit nonprofit organization,
hopes that our neighbors will continue to join us in supporting this
effort as we move forward to ensure that our community is safe for us
and future generations.
Your tax-deductible donations are needed now:
Sincerely,
The Board Members
PQ-NE Action Group
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