Plan Advances to Limit Apartments in North Park

In yet another skirmish over urban growth, North Park residents Thursday won tentative approval of a community plan that would reduce the number of housing units that developers can build in the inner-city neighborhood.

The San Diego Planning Commission unanimously approved the plan, which calls for a maximum of 30,000 housing units in North Park--an area bounded roughly by Balboa Park, Interstate 8, Interstate 805 and Upas and Juniper streets. Current zoning would, theoretically, permit as many as 49,000 housing units.

In recent years, North Park has become a political battleground over the issues of explosive urban growth as single-family homes have been torn down and replaced by multifamily dwellings. The streets and schools were designed to serve neighborhoods of predominantly single-family homes.

But those homes sat on land that was zoned to permit apartments and condominiums. And developers have been eagerly buying up those homes, tearing them down and replacing them with apartments and condominiums. The pressure to build became even more acute as neighboring areas--Golden Hill, Mid-City and the uptown communities of Hillcrest and Mission Hills--moved to restrict development.

Permits for building in North Park jumped from 388 units in 1983 to 933 units in 1985, city statistics show. While developers were building 28% more units in San Diego in 1985 than they did in 1984, the surge in North Park was 117% during the same period.

The result has been unrest in North Park, dividing the community. Some homeowners complain that the new apartment buildings are ugly. They also say the multifamily developments create a burden for public services--roads swell with traffic and schools are forced to add temporary classrooms.

Other North Park property owners, however, fought efforts to reduce the zoning and retard development.

“They want higher density than this plan allows,” Carol Landsman, chairman of the North Park Planning Committee chairman, said Thursday. “They bought property with zoning expectations, and now they feel they are losing the opportunity to develop their property.”

Work on updating the North Park community plan began four years ago, Landsman said. In March, the City Council approved an interim ordinance that prevented most construction of apartment buildings in single-family neighborhoods until the revised plan was completed.

The revised community plan, approved Thursday by the Planning Commission, would reduce the zoning in the residential areas of the community--those farthest from the major streets of University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard. Meanwhile, it also consolidates commercial uses along those traffic corridors and allows high-density housing there.

The plan also calls for changes in some streets to better accommodate increased traffic volume. Bicycle paths are called for in the plan.

“I think it is a very sensible plan,” said Ron Roberts, Planning Commission chairman. “This is a very major change in this community and a major change in existing zoning. It will mean the end of high density.”

The plan does not end development in North Park, said a city planning staff member. There are currently 23,000 housing units--homes, apartments and condominiums--in the community and the proposed plan would set a ceiling of about 30,000. That means 7,000 more units can be built, the staff members said.

But the proposed plan is still a drastic reduction from the 49,000 units that would have been permitted under the existing zoning.

“That is a 40% decrease in ‘theoretical’ zoning,” Roberts said. “This provides for a more livable community.”

The tentative approval pleased Susan Hockenga, chairman of the North Park Community Assn., which has fought to limit the growth in residential areas.

“I’m happy the commission approved the plan,” she said. “We spoke in favor of it.”

“It hasn’t been a battle, it’s been an education process,” Hockenga said about her group’s push for the new plan. “We now have homeowners who can articulate how we feel we should grow. Now we will make sure we follow through implementation.”

The plan will be forwarded to the City Council for final approval in October, and Roberts predicted that the battle will continue as property owners realize they could lose the zoning--and development potential--on their land.

“As in our earlier hearings, they (council members) will be besieged with people,” he said.