What is the Community Plan?

 

Community Plans provide the detail of a city’s General Plan, on the basis of which, the state authorizes the city to make planning decisions about the uses of land. It details where residential and commercial uses will be permitted, rules about size, appearance and public access, roads, etc.

A General Plan is a statement about the historical and environmental features of a city and its future development, including a map setting forth goals and policies. It’s a plan for physical development of the jurisdiction: a “blueprint” for development. A General Plan includes the Community Plans for communities within the city’s jurisdictional boundaries.

The General Plan contains seven state-mandated elements and other elements at the discretion of the jurisdiction.*

Land Use
Point Loma residents now need to look at our future development with care if we are to preserve our quality of life. The last update of the Peninsula Community Plan in 1987 provided for industrial development on the point that made Rosecrans into a virtual freeway through our business center, inhibiting pedestrian friendly businesses and acting as a barrier between the residential community and the bay. It also envisioned low cost multi-family rental properties replacing the single family homes in Roseville and this kind of housing was not constructed and never will be. The community now needs to find a solution to calming traffic on Rosecrans and to preserving the affordability and scale of the Roseville residential community.
Open Space
One side of Point Loma over looks the Pacific Ocean, another side looks across San Diego Bay and another side, the tidal wetlands formed by the confluence of San Diego River, Tecolote Creek and Rose Creek. The end of the peninsula is the westernmost point of the continental United States, part of which is a park and national monument. A large number of residential properties that were built along terraced roads on all sides of the peninsula enjoy views of the ocean and the bays to the north and south. Coastal view corridors and deed restrictions protect the views of many of these properties and new developments in these areas threaten existing views and the experience of open space in neighborhoods. In reviewing the 1987 Community Plan, neighborhoods in Point Loma have an opportunity to preserve the architectural scale and views of open space that characterize the peninsula.
Conservation: Environment and Energy Efficiency
A community the size of Point Loma (c. 80,000) has an aggregate potential to purchase energy and communications services at discounted rates, providing that the City of San Diego honors the desire of peninsula residents to seek alternatives to a monopoly that was permitted SDG&E in an earlier epoch. A revised community plan can set forth goals and objectives to provide the most efficient and environmentally conservative sources of energy as well as telecommunications services and could, potentially, unite with Ocean Beach to increase its leverage. Point Loma Town Council will provide an organized and inclusive mechanism for community education and representation in negotiations with providers without the expense and conflicts with the priorities of San Diego City government.
Housing a Predictable Mix of Incomes
In the 1987 Peninsula Community Plan, the City of San Diego proposed development of multifamily (rental) housing in the Roseville community area (between Nimitz and Talbot) and also increased density south of Rosecrans in La Playa. This plan didn’t anticipate that builders would seek to build high-priced condominiums instead and the consequence of this is displacement of households and a consequent change in the housing mix opposite to the intention of the city’s General Plan. Moreover, the plan didn’t foresee added traffic from increased industrial operations at the Submarine Base and Spawar facilities or that employees would not be able to afford to live in Point Loma. With increase of coastal home prices, the land value of single family home properties in Roseville and La Playa may be as great as or even greater than their value for redevelopment but since developers make their money by building, they are inclined to add density without additional infrastructure.
Circulation: Roadways and Public Transportation
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Noise
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Safety: Policing, Design for Catastrophic Response
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* Cities include additional elements in their general plans, often motivated by availability of funds from state and federal legislation and also bond issues for transportation, health, education, welfare, renewable energy, and so on.