Submitted by Jeri Hickman
This letter below is being sent to council members prior to the March 16 council meeting from condo complex and Broadstone residents near the Smart & Final location who choose to send it.
I support the City’s efforts to challenge SANDAG’s unfair Regional Housing Needs Assessment and encourage the use of legal remedies.
However, I am STRONGLY OPPOSED to the Council’s decision to approve the inclusion of the Smart & Final site and the Broadstone site (North Commercial Site Rezone) in the inventory of City property proposed to be rezoned from commercial to mixed commercial/residential in order to meet SANDAG’s RHNA targets.
A change in zoning and development of these two sites would greatly increase the housing density, placing additional burdens on residents like myself who live in the Northern quarter. We are already dealing with traffic congestion and pedestrian safety issues, which will only become worse with the Port’s plans to redevelop the Ferry Landing marketplace.
The population of my area is much too dense already. Any additional residents would be overwhelming. According to the 2020 census, the population within a one mile radius of Smart & Final is 14,000. The daytime population is 18,000. On weekends it is even more crowded with visitors and residents, and more traffic and congestion.
The City has identified more than enough property sites to satisfy the HCD requirement (178% of the HCD requirement) without including the 111 housing units which are proposed for the North Commercial Rezone.
Further, the City’s General Plan shows the Smart and Final site is zoned C (Commercial w/in OACSP). You cannot explore mixed use for this property as a strategy, because it is zoned Commercial.
The General Plan represents the community’s view of its future; a constitution made up of the goals and policies upon which the City Council and Planning Commission will base their land use decisions. All zoning decisions must be consistent with the General Plan. If it is not consistent, you must not approve.
Regatta Bay, The Landing, The Point, The Villages, Crown View, and Coronado Village residents STRONGLY OPPOSE any rezone change to the Smart and Final lot and the Broadstone site which are included in the North Commercial Rezone.
Due to the density issues discussed above, I urge the City Council to remove the entire North Commercial Site Rezone (Smart and Final parcels and Broadstone parking lot) from the plan. The number of units in all categories far exceed the amount of units requested by the State of California.
