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GAY SAN DIEGO August 12–25, 2011
COMMUNITY VOICES
“You can cross the Cabrillo bridge, pass through the stately portal and find yourself in another world—that is partly the charm of it. It’s the grand emotion and it’s founded, I think, on something real and vital.”
—George W. Marston JIMMY SULLIVAN SENSE OF PLACE C
ouncilmember Todd Gloria recently showed his enthusi- asm and support for a plan that would essentially destroy the historical character and design
of the Cabrillo Bridge in Balboa Park. The proposed plan is the vision of former Qualcomm founder turned developer, Irwin Jacobs, who wants to add what is essentially a monolithic freeway off-ramp to the Cabrillo Bridge. Jacobs plan is to connect the east end of the bridge to a new parking garage behind the Organ Pavilion and thus eliminate any vehicular traffic from the main Plaza de Panama. The Plaza de Panama is the central park- ing area that is adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art, Timken and Mingei Museums and the Prado restaurant. There is an overwhelming sense of unanimity on the vision of returning Plaza de Panama to a pedestrian plaza; however the solution that Jacobs design team has proposed to con- nect the historical bridge to the rest of the park is a disaster. Jacob’s vision for his mono-
lithic off-ramp involves demolish- ing 80 feet of the east end of the Cabrillo Bridge which would visually destroy what has been the iconic gateway facade into Balboa Park. His plan is especial- ly misguided considering there is already an approved Master Plan from 1989 which accomplishes the same goal of eliminating the parking in the plaza, yet without compromising the historic gate- way façade at all. In addition, that master plan had been developed with almost 10 years of the appro- priate public and city staff input as well as a committee from the American Institute of Architects.
Jacob is determined however to complete his own version of the master plan in time for the 2015 Centennial celebration of the 1915 Panama-California exhibition. He has even gone so far as to name his vehicular off-ramp concept “The Centennial Bridge”. Oddly enough Jacobs’s renderings conveniently leave out any images of actual vehicles on the off-ramp and show it only surrounded by mature trees and grass. Other parts of Jacob’s grand scheme include a large paid parking structure directly behind the Spreckle’s Organ Pavilion and the digging of a deep ditch con- necting the off-ramp traffic into the new parking garage by way of the Alcazar Garden.
Jacob’s ill-conceived plan would not only permanently alter the iconic entry and bridge, it would violate the U. S. Depart- ment of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Preservation. In fact, if his plan were imposed and executed, Balboa Park could actually lose its National Historic Landmark status. If all of this sounds like a massive project to solve a very small problem (we’re only talking about the removal of 50 parking spaces from Plaza De Panama) that’s because it is. Jacob’s construction project would turn Balboa Park into a nightmare of a construction zone filled with dust and debris for the next 4 years. And the aftermath, which includes the decimation of 100 year old growth trees, would leave behind a landscape replaced with retaining walls, concrete park-
gay-sd.com Proposed parking development in Balboa Park destroys history
ing structures and barren area all around the new construction. Sure the demolished areas would be planted with new shrubs and trees, but you would be lucky to see those trees mature to 50 feet within your children’s lifetime. Jacobs plan has been met with much opposition from the public. At a recent City Council meeting there was nearly four hours of public comment with hundreds of people protesting and expressing opposition to the off-ramp. Vocal objections were also made to privatizing the parking in Balboa Park, once known as “the Peo- ple’s Park”, to become yet more paid parking lots. At the end of the meeting a “Memorandum of Understanding” was formally proposed and signed between Mayor Jerry Sanders and Irwin Jacobs. Councilman Todd Gloria praised the plan, voted in favor of the off-ramp and was chosen as the main point man for Jacobs. Todd Gloria’s support of the plan was disappointing yet not surprising given his apathy for historic preservation and his ongo- ing iniquitous relationship with private developers. In fact it has become glaringly obvious that Mr. Gloria has decayed into the worst kind of politician, one who’s own self-interests and climb to power appear to supersede any allegiance to his own constituents or commu- nity. How else could he explain this latest debacle of approving such a monstrous abscess to a revered and
see Place, pg 9
A true rendering of the proposed off-ramp that would destroy the visual gateway to Balboa Park. Photograph by Sande Lollis.
FROM PAGE 7 SPECTRUM
that this law forces schools to teach curriculum different from many family’s core beliefs. This law is being shaped as an attack on family values and an attack on children. We’ve heard these arguments
before. And we need to take a stand now to mobilize and make sure this initiative does not qualify for a ballot box vote. This is exactly the kind of ballot initiative right- wing groups look to put on the bal- lot to drive up voter turn-out in an presidential election year. We need to bring a stop to this now. People can get involved now. If you see one of these anti-equal- ity signature gathers, it’s impor- tant to report them immediately and you are asked to call this toll- free “Decline to Sign Hotline” at 1-877-440-9585.t
—Allan Acevedo is co-founder and president emeritus of Stonewall Young Democrats of San Diego. He has worked on multiple political campaigns and served on numer- ous boards including the San Diego Democratic Club, California Young Democrats, Gay-Straight Alliance Net- work, and Equality California PAC.
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