6 San Diego Reader December 15, 2016
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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS By Reader stringers
MISSION VALLEY Ganja Valley
Camino del Rio South becoming pot shop center?
Camino del Rio South seems poised to become home to a third medical marijuana dispensary — and it’s rumored that there may be a fourth in the works.
Blake Marchand has applied to the city
for a conditional use permit to set up shop at 2835 Camino de Rio South and has indi- cated that once he gets approval he intends to complete the purchase of the building.
OCEAN BEACH Park treehouse lacked only walls City removes belongings hidden among limbs
San Diego County’s Regional Task Force on Homeless estimated in January 2016 that there were 8692 homeless people in San Diego.
Can’t sell this stuff anywhere (yet)
Marchand said he knows of another would-be dispensary that has an applica- tion started. His shop will be a half mile from two other legally permitted dispensaries: the Healing Center in the 3300 block, and Emer- ald Courtyard in the 3400 block. They are among just 15 legal dispensaries in the city of San Diego.
On December 8, the city released pro- posed rules for recreational marijuana dis- pensaries; they appear to be identical to the medical marijuana shop rules.
The process of seeking a permit — which
doesn’t promise that you’ll get one — is ardu- ous, Marchand said.
“You have to give the city $8800 to start and then it takes months for them to do the research and get back to you,” Marchand said. “If your account drops below $5000, the work stops until you put more money in.” With the four-per-district limit, having an application in and waiting for a response doesn’t mean you get the permit, he said. For Marchand, who intends to close the purchase of the three-story building, time is money. “You have to pay the owners to keep the building in escrow and hope they can be patient,” Marchand said. “If you don’t have a lot of money or investors, you couldn’t do this at all.”
Other tenants in the building went to the Mission Valley planning group meeting on December 7 to express their concerns about
And while many are living in tents and on sidewalks, Ocean Beach has some crafty homeless people that seemed to have been living in a tree at Dusty Rhodes Park at the corner of Nimitz and Sunset Cliffs boulevards.
a dispensary in the building.
“It makes things less professional when your clients smell weed everywhere,” said Lisa Falls, an art therapist. Becca, who runs Life Energy Massage Therapy, said she was worried about a change in the ambiance of the building, which she called “a wonderful oasis.” “I’m not taking a moral stand,” Becca said. “I would never be in a building with a liquor store in it either.” She was particu- larly worried because she recently brought in two massage therapists who would probably not want to be somewhere where people are smoking pot in the parking lot.
“The normal thing for a dispensary is to have armed security and cameras all over the place,” she said. “Parking would be unbelievably bad.”
MARTY GRAHAM
The tree hid well the platforms, bikes, tarps....
overnight. So I contacted the department for a status check. C y n t h i a Comacho, a Park & Rec center director, told me, “Staff will be working on removing the items from the tree. If they start putting things up there again please let
me know so I can have the police look in to it also.”
The following day, December 6, the treetop camp was dismantled and the tree emptied.
“Police did not need to be notified,” Comacho told me. “The items [crew removed from the tree] appeared to be someone’s personal belongings. Not sure how many bags they got out of it, as it was all just put in the dumpster.”
DELINDA LOMBARDO
CITY HEIGHTS Planners displeased with bikeway plans “It’s for Hillcrest and SDSU, and we’re just a corridor.”
At a planning-group meeting on December 5, City Heights residents gave mixed reviews of the city’s revised plans for a stretch of El Cajon Boulevard.
All kinds of clutter up in this tree was not visible at a glance
With its fenced-in dog park, family- friendly playground, gazebo, barbecue grills, and shade trees, Dusty Rhodes Park is a magnet for homeless people. San Diego Police Department officers routinely sweeps the park in the mornings and evenings for campers but weren’t aware of the “giving tree” until several residents brought it to their attention.
Early last week it was filled with backpacks, bikes, strollers, bags of clothing, tables, shoes, tarps, blankets, furniture, tents, cabinets, and other stuff, including several wooden boards that served as platforms perhaps for sleeping. Two residents reported the issue to the
City of San Diego via its Get It Done App, because according to the website, if litter is “an immediate hazard,” they ask that you call it in. I was told by a Park & Rec representative that they were aware of the issue. The following day, I went back and it appeared that more items were added
Several City Heights Area Planning Committee members blasted the proposed route and its mixed uses, saying their town is being used as a conduit for communities at either end.
“It’s for Hillcrest and SDSU, and we’re just a corridor,” said Kenton Finkbeiner. “It’s really not meeting the needs of our community.”
His colleague, Jim Varnadore, agreed. “We’ve been somebody’s passageway for too long,” Varnadore said. “What we should be thinking about is safety that protects pedestrians, not what a few bicyclists want.” The plan would take away left turns to the south and parking along one side of El Cajon Boulevard between Highland Avenue and 50th Street in order to add bike lanes and a few pedestrian amenities.
Maria Cortez, a neighborhood advocate who lives on El Cajon Boulevard, didn’t like that the bicycle lanes mean that businesses lose their parking. “The bikes don’t go on El Cajon [Boulevard]. The bikes aren’t going to stop at markets on our street,” Cortez said. “I would like to see some improvements but not by taking away parking.”
Maureen Gardner, from the city’s traffic
engineering group, presented the three alternate plans for the stretch from Highland Avenue to 50th Street.
“In order to provide bicycle lanes, parking has to be removed on one side of the street,” Gardner explained. “We heard a lot of pushback on the loss of parking....” One version of the plan eliminates southbound left turns to cross-streets, alleys, and driveways from El Cajon.
“It’s an inconvenience but it really enhances safety,” Gardner said. The plan eliminates 57 percent of conflicts between cars, walkers, and bikes, she said. (A pedestrian collision study by Chen Ryan Mobility analysts found that such turns were the key factor in at least 38 percent of crashes where the driver was at fault.)
MARTY GRAHAM CARDIFF
Hippie shop readies for fade-out
Shopping center rent spike threatens other businesses A self-described “hippie shop” that’s been around for 37 years will be closing next April. Cardiff by the Sea’s Good Morning store is being forced out because of a tripling in rent.
Darreld Kitaen
Owner Darreld Kitaen, 80, has been selling “treasures” — walls covered with cards, jewelry, trinkets, incense, and, as he proudly says, “over 800 trolls.” Kitaen said his lease expired eight years ago for his 360-square-foot shop, but he’s always been able to negotiate his month-to- month rent with the center’s manager. He now pays $1000 a month, including his “triple net” costs (extra fees paid for maintenance, taxes, and new improvements).
“I knew when this new guy bought the center he was going to want to upgrade. We’re the last shopping center with a view of the ocean,” said Kitaen. With new façade improvements being planned, the new landlord, who lives out of the country, is now asking for $3000 a month for a five-year lease. On the corner of Aberdeen Drive and San Elijo Avenue, the opening of Best Pizza and Brew added a modern designed façade for its restaurant, contrasting with the rest of the center’s 1970s-styled, beachy blue aluminum overhang.
Recent high rent increases have already hit three of the center’s shops: VG’s Donuts, Cardiff Office bar, and Cardiff by the Sea continued on page 8
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