6 San Diego Reader November 3, 2016
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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS By Reader stringers BALBOA PARK
Cottages to blossom House of Pacific Relations to grow to 34 Groundbreaking for new cottages in Balboa Park’s House of Pacific Relations is slated for November, giving nine nations dedi- cated spaces in four duplexes and one stand- alone building. House of Philippines will
ing schedule. Enrique Morones, community activist and founder of the Border Angels, called for Mexico to have its own house and started a petition on
Change.org that has gar- nered around 735 signatures. Morones said he founded the nonprofit
House of Mexico 20 years ago and then had to fight for inclusion in the Balboa Park houses. “Mexico should have its own house,” he said. “But it’s good that we’ll finally have a presence there — long overdue — and eventually we will get our own house.” Art Castro, an architect and the current
president of the House of Mexico, said his group is pleased with the outcome, happy to share a duplex with India, and almost fully funded. “We have to conform to the historic build-
ing design and to preserve as much public land as possible,” Castro said. “We are build- ing these knowing they are probably the last cottages built there.” The decision about who gets
the single house came down to seniority, Novinger said. And any group that wants a cottage must raise money to pay for its construction, estimated at around $2 million for the five cottages. “We are almost fully funded,” Novinger said. Three duplex cottages will be
More cottages will be added to the already-tight area west of the organ pavilion.
stand independently, while Peru, Palestine, Mexico, India, Lebanon, Turkey, Panama, and Korea will have 600-square-foot spaces in the four duplexes. (Colombia was slated for a spot but withdrew; Korea took over the spot.) George Novinger, president of the New International Cottages Committee and of the House of Peru, said the committee is look- ing forward to moving into the houses — and disbanding. “We set up a short-term nonprofit in 2007
to go through the bureaucratic process to get the houses approved,” he said. “Everyone who wants a cottage will get a cottage.” The original cottages were built in 1935 as
the world pulsed with nationalism and World War II was on the horizon with the emer- gence of fascism in Europe. The cottages were intended to showcase nations and cultures (thus, Palestine) and to promote friendship and tolerance. The House of Pacific Relations (“pacific” as in “peaceful”) has grown from the original 15 members to 34, with a number of the permanent members using the Hall of Nations on a rotating basis. They’ve faced big challenges in trying to get more space because the area is small, well defined, and historically significant, Novinger said. Mexico is currently one of the homeless houses using the Hall of Nations on a rotat-
added just south of the main com- plex, near the United States and Ukraine houses. The five cottages then will have a central shared
courtyard, according to the city’s environ- mental impact report. The remaining duplex and single cottages will be added just north of the Hall of Nations Building and the House of Iran, according to city documents.
MARTY GRAHAM OCEANSIDE
Some of that soda money Pepsi beats out Coke for contract “I feel like quitting my job and moving, “ said one longtime City of Oceanside staff person upon hearing the city would most likely be switching from Coke to Pepsi as their official soft-drink provider. “I’ll just have to bring my own Coke cans,” she said.
soft-drink vending provider since 2000. “We put out a request for proposal. Obviously only two responded, Coke and Pepsi. Coke said they were pretty much happy with the way things are now. Pepsi offered more,” said Eddow. The city has been guaranteed by Pepsi a
minimum of $5000 per year — a percent- age of beverage sales. In addition, Pepsi will pay $92,350 in rent over the next two years for usage of the small space of its vending machines. “It was more than what Coke pays now,” said Eddow. The funds generated will be directed into the city’s Park and Recreation Department budget. If approved by the city council, Pepsi will
have exclusive rights to sell their products in all of the city’s offices, parks, and commu- nity centers, with the exception of the police station. “Due to security reasons, the police sta- tion is on their own as to who they let in [their building],” said Eddow. Pepsi cannot, however, use
their exclusivity to place their brand names on signs or ban- ners at city facilities such as the pier, park benches, trash cans, or skate parks. “They can only place signs on their machines, in accordance with our sign ordinances,” said Eddow. The city currently has 25 Coke vending
Alvarez wasn’t alone in his confusion, as
some of the same questions were asked and answered repeatedly. Councilmember Marti Emerald asked toward the end of the hearing if they were on solid legal ground in changing a ballot measure (Prop D). The city attorney’s office clarified that this amendment was in no way changing Proposition D. The impetus for this amendment began in
June when the Point Loma community fought back when four four-story condos went up in a residential neighborhood (Emerson and Evergreen streets) where a one-story house once stood. The builder had brought in dirt to create a new grade from which to mea- sure the height. Protests, public meetings, and closed-door meetings with the mayor’s office followed.
The red indicates the Point Loma/Ocean Beach area subject to the 30-foot height limit.
machines. Pepsi is free to expand that num- ber. Pepsi is also required to offer soda alter- natives, such as coconut water, tea, bottled water, juice, or Gatorade. “Pepsi people been snooping around here
looking at our machines since last year. I should have known it was going to happen,” said the Coke-drinking employee. “Nobody will ever get up from their desk and say, ‘I’m going to get a Pepsi.’”
KEN HARRISON POINT LOMA
How tall is too tall? Council revisits how to measure coastal height limit On October 24, the city council voted 7-1 in favor of amending the Land Development Code to get developers in line with the intent of 1972’s Proposition D. The amendment will take the form of a footnote added to Section 131.0431, spelling out that no resi- dential multifamily structures are allowed to be taller than 30 feet within Point Loma’s coastal overlay zone. Councilmember David Alvarez was the
The city’s property manager, Doug Eddow,
said they didn’t bother to survey the preference of the hundreds of city employees — Pepsi came in with a better deal. Coca Cola has been the city’s official
dissenting vote (councilmember Scott Sher- man was absent). After questioning Develop- ment Services Department director Robert Vacchi and a senior planner, Alvarez said, “I still don’t have clarity. I’m not sure if you’re telling me when the 30 foot [limit] applies and when it doesn’t.”
Four people spoke out in opposition to the amendment at the October 24th hearing. One person said he was in favor of the amendment but wanted to make clear two things: letting builders fake the grade in Point Loma was “illegal” and it was “a mistake made by the Development Services Department” in col- laboration with the city council. According to Development Services Department planner Raynard Abalos, the ordinance should go into effect before the end of the year for areas outside of the coastal overlay zone in Point Loma. It won’t impact anything within the coastal overlay zone until the state coastal commission has its say. The last time the city council voted on how to measure in the coastal overlay zone in 2011, it took the coastal commission two years to certify the update. “Application of the coastal height limit
overlay zone in the Peninsula community plan area has created two separate and dis- tinct height requirements and methods for calculating height,” said Abalos. “Structures within the coastal height limit overlay zone must comply with both height requirements. In base zones that allow a height that exceeds 30 feet, the coastal height limit overlay zone allows a project to alter grade, sometimes resulting in a structure that is taller than 30 feet from the existing grade.” Abalos showed slides while he explained
the differences between the two conflicting height requirements: zoning requires that continued on page 8
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