Why a Town Council for Point Loma?

Why a Town Council?

“All politics is local.” A town council is a conventional approach to putting the reins of government in the control of communities that government serves.  Point Loma’s Town Council is being structured to give residents an organized means of taking action on behalf of the eleven communal districts and more than 40,000+ residents on the peninsula, to help them deal with the big problems that threated to destroy character of Point Loma, the environment, and our quality of life.
A Town Council is also and instrument for proactive participation in Community Planning and support of cultural and artistic events in a scale and manner that is consistent with the wishes of residents of each area on the peninsula, defined for Council representation as Communal Districts.
Whether our problems are about getting the Port and the U. S. Navy to restore Kellogg Beach, or holding  the Airport Authority accountable for its curfew agreements and flight path rules for aircraft exiting SDIA, or preserving schools in residential  neighborhoods, a Town Council, since it is independent of the City of San Diego, can be effective by quicly and easily mobilizing support for the wishes of the 40,000+ residents of Point Loma Peninsula and also those, who work here.

Is Point Loma Town Council Needed?
In the distant past, Point Loma Association and Point Loma Community Planning Board were helpful in dealing with aesthetic concerns. Neither is representative of the entire peninsula and both are limited by their mission and the Planning Board obliged to the City of San Diego and essentially, powerless to act effectively, not even about compliance with the city’s own zoning code in Point Loma, not to mention, practices of the Airport Authority, Navy or San Diego’s Port District.
Why a Town Council NOW?
Time is of the essence. San Diego City Council recently ignored a vote by the Peninsula Planning Board to deny a condo waiver on a project on Emerson Street, that so outrageously violated the rulles that it incited a citizen’s protest. Another development at Kellogg Beach by the same developer is viewed by the City as compliant with zoning. Developers are adament in demanding a right to add density, even though that right is based on an outdated document that provides no plan for accommodating traffic and other issues that will change a family-oriented neighborhood into a smaller version of downtown. In the meantime, San Diego International Airport has announced a plan, to be financed by Southwest Airlines, to add 11 new gates for international flights that will add to violations of the curfew, surface traffic through Point Loma and more noise and air-polluting aircraft, all of this championed by the City of San Diego in support of downtown development.
What's our Plan?
A Founding Board of Directors has incorporated Point Loma Town Council, Inc., now applying for IRS tax exemption. Bylaws call for this board to be dissolved in about 1 year, when PLTC will host a Peninsula-wide election of a Board of Directors, consisting of one representative elected by each residential area in Point Loma with boundaries based on shared concerns, plus board members that may be appointed by Point Loma Naval Command, Point Loma Nazaren University, and a representative each from the Midway and Liberty Station business districts and Shelter Island/Yacht Club business communities.

Local Government Accountability

California law requires that each county and city in the state develop and adopt a GENERAL PLAN. A general plan is a statement of development policies with a map setting forth goals and policies. A general plan must contain a minimum of seven (7) state-mandated elements.

  1. Land Use
  2. Open Space
  3. Conservation
  4. Housing
  5. Circulation
  6. Noise
  7. Safety

Note: this list may contain additional elements the county or city wishes to adopt, such as Education, Air Quality, Environmental, Historical Preservation, etc.

Community Input

Each community has input to its local plan

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Economics vs. Quality of Life

Land Use and Housing elements of a General Plan are primary priorities of developers and government – Economics.

Circulation, Noise, Health, Conservation, Open Space, Safety, and Education are Quality of Life priorities for residents, neighborhoods and communities.

Historically, local input to all these issues is only possible through public input meetings for plans already negotiated between development interests.

Why Not Realistic About Infrastructure?

General plans of the city and county of San Diego have, since 1979, focused primarily on economic goals of developers and local government agencies, a focus that values tax revenues over quality of life and with no accountability for infrastructure needed to support additional population nor predictable impacts we know development mitigationt fees can’t possible cover.

The result is the increasing congestion and pollution we are seeing along with social and public safety issues that result from building houses instead of communities. Development fees couldn’t be high enough to raise enough money for infrastructure now required, were we to add no density and it’s now up to communities like Point Loma to command accountability.

What is a Town Council?

An elected board of neighborhood representatives:

  • Pro-actively pursuing needs of the community
  • Revising the Peninsula Community Plan to support our needs
  • Coalescing political will in support of community goals
  • Engaging residents in every community to vote and participate
  • Identifying and documenting preservable residential values
  • Informing the entire community about matters that affect them
  • Reflecting values of the community’s cultural history
  • Organizing successful stands for infrastructure accountability
  • Supporting efforts of those who support the community
  • Funding activities that are in the community’s interest
  • Representing Point Loma in wider jurisdictions

Geographic Scope

11 Point Loma neighborhoods:

  1. Liberty Station
  2. Loma Portal
  3. NTC
  4. Fleetridge
  5. Portugal/Roseville
  6. La Playa
  7. Loma Portal
  8. Point Loma Heights
  9. Shelter Island/Yacht Clubs
  10. Sunset Cliffs
  11.  Norht Point Loma

Thank You!

…for this opportunity to present the reasons why we need our Point Loma Town Council.

An idea for which the time has come!

Email to: info@pointlomatowncouncil.org;   Call: Voice/Text (619) 414-9829