Setting the record straight
Dear Editor:
This is in response to the article published on March 3, 2010, titled “Disgruntled North Park Residents Mobilize.” A community newspaper or any other publication that provides constructive and fair journalism should reflect the opinions on both sides of the story, and therefore I would like to respond to some of the statements made on that article to give readers a more complete picture.
I have been a resident of San Diego for 10 years, and six of those have been in North Park. I live within the redevelopment project area of North Park and I saw a lot of changes in the first two years since moving into the community. I have been a board member of the North Park Planning Committee since 2006, as well as co-chairing and chairing the Public Facilities Sub-Committee of the North Park Planning Committee. I became involved in the North Park Parking Management Working Group, also in 2006. And most importantly, I live within the impacted area.
“Why should North Park business districts get any greater support than North Parks’ residents?”
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are formed for several reasons. The North Park Business Improvement District is called North Park Main Street. Main Street is a nationally-recognized program and its designation provides respective business organizations with a strong foundation for organizational effectiveness, allowing these organizations to set strategic goals and work towards revitalization. With the designation comes additional guidance from the Office of Small Business, technical assistance grant funds from the city and access to expertise from the state and national Main Street programs. The city does not fund the Business Improvement District.
“The people who live in the impacted areas are woefully underrepresented.”
The North Park Parking Management Working Group has had four representatives who live within the impacted area. Two of the representatives have been with the Working Group since its inception, one representative left the group in early 2008, and another representative (Don Leichtling) joined the group in mid-2007.
Mr. Leightling pointed out that the city allows new businesses to open even if they do not provide parking for their customers. Instead, he argues, they pay in-lieu fees, which go into city coffers rather than directly to North Park.
There is currently no in-lieu parking fee program in the city of San Diego. However, the working group discussed that when a parking in-lieu fee program is implemented, it could be structured so that a community parking district would be able to keep track of generated revenue.
The boards of both the PAC and the NPPC ultimately approved the Parking Management Plan after intense debate and several heated exchanges in which a number of people were referred as to ignorant and counter-productive.
Having attended the board meetings of the North Park Project Area Committee, North Park Main Street, the North Park Planning Committee and the North Park Community Association during the presentation of the Parking Management Plan, I did not recall any people being referred as to ignorant and counter-productive. It was stated though that the Working Group members learned about parking by working with a consultant, and the many disadvantages of discarding the current plan that took three years to put together and starting new efforts towards another parking management plan. It is important to point out that the boards of both the North Park Community Association and North Park Main Street have also accepted the report.
Mr. Leichtling was accused by board member Judi O’Boyle of “turning one part of the community against another.”
During the course of the meetings, Mr. Leichtling (or any of the other opponents to the parking management plan) did not offer solutions to the current parking dynamics of North Park. In addition, Mr. Leichtling referred to the parking management plan in several occasions as being “not a bad report.” The parking management plan was written by community volunteers who put in many hours of their time, and not by a consultant. There was representation from four community organizations including residents from the impacted area. Parking can be an incredibly confusing and emotional issue if we allow it to be, but actions resulting in turning one part of the community against another are not part of the overall solution.
René Vidales
North Park
René
I respect all your effort and Professionalism, but I also want to add these items to your comments:
“Why should North Park business districts get any greater support than North Parks’ residents?…”The city does not fund the Business Improvement District.”
Sure, but the NP-PAC has in the past prior to 2008 “contracted” with MainStreet to the tune of $50,000 per year (if my memory serves) for their help…to promote the BID… NP-RID would be happy to have the CITY “contracted” with them to promote the folks that live in our RID’s… and BTW: it’s NOT JUST 30th & Univ. Ave that is being affected, it’s near our Big Schools, and all the other BID locations that are filling our Residential Streets “Because they can”. I challenge NPMS (and the other BID’s to post an excel spreadsheet of how much money they have received in the last 10 years so the folks that live in North Park can see how it was spent.
“The people who live in the impacted areas are woefully underrepresented.”
I’ve said from the beginning, that the Parking Comm. should be made up of just folks directly impacted, not folks that live outside the immediate area. Just Residents controlling the Residential areas and BID members controlling the Business areas. It should not be a minority of folks deciding for the Majority what’s best for them; WITHOUT any real outreach. For example what do the 500 members of the NPCA really think about “our” Parking issues (they were not asked)? It would have been so easy to make the effort and include all the members of the NPCA in the NPCA’s Board decision. But that was never even was suggested…WHY NOT?
“Mr. Leichtling pointed out that the city allows new businesses to open even if they do not provide parking for their customers. Instead, he argues, they pay in-lieu fees, which go into city coffers rather than directly to North Park.”
That’s partially Correct! Now business without enough parking can just get City exemptions and as soon as the City OK’s an in-lieu parking fee program they will!
“However, the working group discussed that when a parking in-lieu fee program is implemented, it could be structured so that a community parking district would be able to keep track of generated revenue.”
WHO CARES, if there is NO PARKING BEING PROVIDED NOW; where will these NEW patrons park, ON OUR RESIDENTIAL STREETS LIKE ALL THE OTHER PATRONS ARE DOING NOW, that is where!
The boards of both the PAC and the NPPC ultimately approved the Parking Management Plan after intense debate and several heated exchanges in which a number of people were referred as to ignorant and counter-productive.”
–> I don’t remember anyone being referred to as ignorant either… All name calling (and I did use the term NIMBY to make a point) is unprofessional and is just a “bullying technique” which many in NP are now using to describe NP-RID, Myself and it’s members as “my Followers”! It is just more “High School Clique speak” and is childish!
“It is important to point out that the Boards of both the North Park Community Association and North Park Main Street have also accepted the report.”
The Community Assoc. BOARD approved it by 1 vote 4-3, 7 folks are not the NPCA! The NPPC also passed it by 1 vote, a tie breaker with the Chair voting “for” passage, and all the audience was asking for was a delay of a month to gather public feedback and change the name from Plan to Report!
I sent this email after the meeting of the NPCA:
Thank you for your efforts at providing a “fair” discussion at tonights NPCA meeting! I might suggest
next time that you strive to give both sides of the argument equal time as I felt that the Nays got about 1/4 the time of the Ayes…
Now perhaps you understand the “plight” of the folks that live in the BIZ (Business Impact Zone) why NP-RID cannot accept the NPCA as anything but a NIMBY Org… Lucky and I spoke to one of the Board Members outside, she basically said that she did not understand what she was voting on and it did not affect her since she lived nowhere near “us”… Her vote the issue! So Board members that did not really understand what they were voting on, now have added to the burden we the folks in the RID (Residential Improvement District) now have to live with! I’m ashamed that “my NP” neighbors don’t really give a d*** and are more concerned that some folks have invested 3 years of their time and that the other Org’s supported a “Report” so they should too!
Again all we asked for was for them to take 1 month and let their members study the “report” (they even called it that) and then decide the issue, why was it necessary to “rush” the Report after it had been sitting for a long time?
The answer is the Cluster meetings for the 5 year plan and the UAMP Scoping meeting that were BOTH announced a short while later…
“During the course of the meetings, Mr. Leichtling (or any of the other opponents to the parking management plan) did not offer solutions to the current parking dynamics of North Park.”
I SUGGESTED A PARKING DISTRICT PAID FOR BY THE SAME FOLKS CAUSING THE PROBLEM, NPMS & THE OTHER BIDS… We were told it would take at least 2 years, and it would have to be really big like 40 BLOCKS! So GOOD LUCK, and oh, BTW: where are all the folks going to park until there is a district in place? This speaks to the main problem with the 2010 “Plan”, it gives folks the impression that there is a “Plan” in place. There is not a Plan in place, and all the Report does is suggest a list of things that a group selected sometime in the future could do… by then, it is “Game Over” with much more Parking Blight in our RID’s…
“Parking can be an incredibly confusing and emotional issue if we allow it to be, but actions resulting in turning one part of the community against another are not part of the overall solution”.
NEITHER IS DUMPING THE BID’S “OVERFLOW” PARKING in our Residential Improvement Districts… BTW: As the NP-PAC Board member that initially suggested the NP Parking garage be built, and served on it’s Board until it was built, I think it is unfair to say that I have not offered solutions; that is just plain NOT TRUE! Where would we be now if we had not built the 377 car NP parking garage? The answer is in a much more BLIGHTED RESIDENTIAL situation than we are in now!
Here are two (2) more suggestions:
1. How about a moratorium on all new business’s until they can provide their own parking, (that is NOT ON CITY STREETS)?
2. (I sent this 3/05/10) Remodeling the existing Penny’s Building into the New NP “Book” Library, while also retaining the existing Library site as the NP Computer Resource Center and also creating a multilevel parking structure in the existing surface lot (behind the Penny’s Building) designed so that the upper floor could also function as another urban park when those parking spaces were not needed…
This project would create much needed infrastructure, provide additional open space and allow the new Businesses along University Ave to offer validated parking (much like Horton Plaza) for their patrons, while also helping to reduce the parking Blight that now exists in the Residential Impact District.
Because the existing NP Parking structure will be maxed out very soon; either we will be proactive NOW and create the next phase of NP’s growth or do nothing and all suffer because of it. I believe that we should have a meeting with a few folks from both NPMS and NP-RID to explore this idea. If everyone thinks it has merit, then the next stage would be for us to encourage the NP-PAC to do a cost analyst of this project for additional Community review and comment!
If nothing else, we will all explore some additional options which will serve to unite NP’s Neighborhood Core.
_____BTW: I made that suggestion at the last NP-PAC March meeting and the City is getting a cost analyst of the building…
If we do not provide parking solutions then all of NP will suffer; it is just not any longer acceptable to Blight our RID’s.
“NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL”
Don Leichtling
Founder NP-RID