For those who have ever attended a Community Planning Group assembly within the metropolis of San Diego, I salute you. CPGs perform as advisory our bodies to town on land use, growth and transportation choices for his or her neighborhoods. The conferences could be intense, particularly if a controversial housing or transportation challenge is on the agenda.
As a former Metropolis Council consultant for District 3, representing downtown and the neighborhoods surrounding Balboa Park, I can attest to the inconsistencies in how these teams function. I sat by numerous CPG conferences, some pedestrian, some very contentious.
After serving within the District 3 workplace, I used to be elected to my neighborhood CPG, the North Park Planning Committee, and can serve till March 2023. I do know CPGs from either side of the desk and I do know there should be a greater approach to embrace neighborhood members in resolution making.
Like many participatory elements of our native authorities, the method to get entangled is convoluted, inaccessible to most, and lacks the flexibility to collect enter equitably. Every neighborhood group has its personal bylaws, necessities, and modes of operation. Some CPGs require that you just attend previous conferences to be able to vote within the board election. Absolutely there’s a approach to make them extra uniform and extra equitable.
For me, the necessity for reform additionally facilities on the fact that these teams can reduce the voices and enter of lower-income neighborhood members, renters, households, and different marginalized teams. These teams are most impacted by the housing disaster and lack of transportation choices in San Diego and their views are sometimes ignored.
When evaluating CPGs pre-pandemic to their present kinds, nevertheless, we are able to see quite a lot of enchancment by way of accessibility and alternatives for involvement. As a substitute of individuals having to bodily attend a gathering — generally held at metropolis amenities or neighborhood facilities — San Diegans now have the choice to log right into a digital assembly and nonetheless interact in matters of debate which are necessary to them. This can be a step in the correct path.
There are additionally quite a few irregularities in these teams that make them out of compliance with the Metropolis Constitution. A 2018 San Diego County Grand Jury report rang the alarm about CPGs governance and transparency. That very same yr Flow into San Diego outlined options of their Democracy in Planning report after detailing how the CPG course of will not be solely anti-democratic, however unlawful.
Then in 2019, the Metropolis Lawyer issued a memo outlining recommended reforms and the earlier Metropolis Council set a few of these reforms in movement. Now, District 1 Councilmember and CPG veteran Joe LaCava has taken this on as a coverage precedence.
LaCava has laid out methods we are able to and may reform planning teams. These reforms embrace making CPGs liable for their very own paperwork and web site, eradicating attendance necessities to vote and run for the board, and requiring CPGs to pay for charges in the event that they attraction a growth challenge.
Whereas not a requirement within the proposed reforms, there will likely be sturdy encouragement for CPG boards to mirror the demographics of their neighborhoods, particularly on the subject of property house owners and renters. As you’ll be able to think about, being a renter versus a property proprietor may give you a really totally different perspective on housing and transportation planning.
Professional-housing views, typically shared by renters, could be met with accusations of being within the pockets of massive builders. In North Park, about 70% of residents are renters, which implies of the fifteen seats on the North Park Planning Committee, ten of them ought to be held by renters. With in the present day’s present board make-up, I’m the one renter.
My voice feels largely welcome at North Park Planning Committee, however I do know that isn’t all the time the case. I’ve attended many a planning group assembly the place renters are stigmatized, handled as if their opinions don’t matter or as if they don’t seem to be invested of their neighborhood.
As a renter who is very invested, I welcome extra neighbors and know that extra housing in North Park will increase my possibilities of with the ability to buy property in my neighborhood in the future. Many people who lease is probably not accustomed to CPGs and little or no outreach is finished to have interaction this inhabitants, so encouraging boards to mirror their neighborhood demographics is significant.
The proposed adjustments by LaCava will convey CPGs into compliance with the Metropolis Constitution and produce consistency to those advisory our bodies. With clearly communicated expectations and uniformity, these teams can perform higher, construct belief, and ship extra neighborhood advantages.
I firmly imagine that we’d like extra voices in our metropolis authorities, however they have to be engaged in a approach that’s pragmatic, equitable, and constructive. These reforms are an awesome begin.
Tyler Renner is director of media for Folks Helping The Homeless (PATH) and served on the District 1 council employees.
