Let Downtown Grow

Downtown San Diego has come alive, surpassing the most ambitious dreams of those who would not let it die.

Now a broad proposal to halt growth threatens to paralyze the ongoing renewal of downtown and leave unfinished the completion of a city that is both beautiful and workable.

The proposal is called PLAN, or Prevent Los Angelization Now!

It is the brainchild of University of San Diego professor Peter Navarro and the limited growth movement, the same no-growth advocates who were defeated in the 1988 election when they attempted to severely limit the number of homes that could be built in San Diego County.

On the surface, their proposal may seem reasonable to anyone who experiences a traffic delay. PLAN states that traffic congestion on San Diego’s road system cannot exceed what city traffic engineers call “service level D” during rush hour.

If new development would cause an increase in traffic to levels “E” or “F,” the developer must fully “mitigate” the results. If mitigation is not possible, the project must be denied.

When applied to downtown, however, this idea would be in total contradiction to everything that has been achieved during the city’s rebuilding process over the last 15 years.

Not surprisingly, a study by the deputy city manager shows that a majority of downtown’s streets reach service levels “E” or “F” during the evening rush hour. Altering the effects of new development on rush-hour traffic would be virtually impossible for individual developers.

It is doubtful that a single new project in center city could fully offset its traffic impact.

Downtown is not Rancho Bernardo or Jamul.

One of the major reasons a downtown works is density. High density makes public transportation economically feasible. Density in a well-designed, well-planned urban core helps prevent urban sprawl.

A group called the San Diego 2000 Committee has prepared an alternative to PLAN, entitled the Traffic Control and Comprehensive Growth Management Initiative.

Rather than setting service-level limits that would freeze development, the initiative offers a strategy for raising $643 million in revenue from new development that would help pay for the mass transit lines and roads needed to complete the Regional Transportation Plan.

The initiative provides solutions, not more restrictions.

A popular catch phrase today is “reality check.”

It is time for everyone concerned with downtown to stop and take a look at the reality of the devastating implication of PLAN, before we hastily bring a halt to the progress of downtown’s past, and the promise of its future.

ROBERT J. LICHTER

San Diego