Struiksma About-Face on Growth Curbs Gets Mostly Cool Reaction

Dropped like firecrackers into a Sunday School picnic, San Diego City Councilman Ed Struiksma’s call for putting the brakes on San Diego growth brought more criticism than praise Thursday from colleagues, developers, environmentalists and political consultants.

Kim Kilkenny, spokesman for the Construction Industry Federation, tempered his initial angry reaction to Struiksma’s proposal and said that the building industry “will remain calm” in the wake of Struiksma’s sudden conversion from pro-growth to no-growth sympathies and the councilman’s call for an immediate freeze on the issuance of building permits until each case can be reviewed.

However, Kilkenny said, the industry remains “categorically opposed” to a building moratorium, even for a short period, “and I doubt that a citywide moratorium would be legal.”

Struiksma countered by denying that his call for a freeze on the issuing of building permits was a moratorium, or, as several critics--including Kilkenny--said, a political ploy.

Cites Subdivision

“I am not talking about a moratorium at all,” Struiksma said Thursday. “I only said that there was a strong probability there will be a rush on building permits, and that, with the exception of single-family homes, the rest would have to go through a discretionary process,” designed to ensure that adequate public facilities existed to serve the new development or that sufficient fees were assessed on the development to provide the needed facilities.

In his Wednesday press conference announcing his growth control stance, Struiksma cited a 187-unit Linda Vista subdivision that will be assessed $13,009 in park fees “when the same development, if it were in North City West, would have paid $502,000 in facilities benefit assessment fees.”

Struiksma said he supports “an end to the free ride” for development in urbanized areas of the city, and repeated Thursday that “I went out and did what I thought was the right thing to do. If she, Mayor (Maureen) O’Connor, as she claims, has been contemplating this since January, then why hasn’t it been brought out, why hasn’t it seen the light of day? Now everybody is going to be talking about it.”

O’Connor conceded Thursday that Struiksma’s announced support of interim growth controls and a November, 1988, referendum setting a cap on development citywide had “thrown a little panic in the community, accelerated the debate a little bit.” But she said the 5th District councilman’s statement contained no new ideas that were not already under discussion by citizen committees representing all sides of the growth issue.

Of Struiksma’s motives, O’Connor said: “He’s either gotten religion or read a new poll.”

David Lewis, a political consultant who has represented both Struiksma and the building industry in past campaigns, saw Struiksma’s announced endorsement of growth controls as a “quantum leap” in a change that has been occurring in the councilman’s position over the past years.

“Certainly, he has made no secret of the fact that he wants to be mayor,” Lewis said of Struiksma, but he would not venture a guess on whether Struiksma’s statements were the opening volley in a mayoral campaign against O’Connor in 1988. “Perhaps all it indicates is that it is OK for a Republican officeholder to adopt the overwhelming opinion of the electorate.”

Called ‘Grandstanding’

Developer Terry Sheldon saw Struiksma’s proposal as “grandstanding” and “irrational,” warning that if development is stopped in urbanized areas, “rents are going to increase drastically. I can see rents doubling in the next five years.”

Councilman Mike Gotch and environmental activist Lynn Benn were both surprised and pleased with Struiksma’s statement on growth control. Both also saw it as a political move toward a run for mayor.

Councilwoman Celia Ballesteros said she considered it “impolite, to say the least,” that Struiksma dropped his proposal like a bomb without first consulting with fellow council members to determine what their ideas and plans might be.

“My feeling is that overly broad (growth control) policies to cover the whole city are not wise,” she said. “He is trying to cut his steak with a cleaver and not break the china. He seems to be saying, ‘Do as I say or I’m going to tie the hands of the City Council to prevent the consideration of the matter.’ ”