Community News
Rancho Peñasquitos
North End Redevelopment -
Cresta Bella, Doubletree Resort...
Additional information can be found at
SAVEPQ.org.
Posted 4/4/07, JPolitte - The
next RPPB meeting is tonight, April 4, 2007 at 7:30pm in the Sandpiper Rm. at
the Doubletree Resort.
Agenda.
No news to-date on the Cresta Bella redevelopment or the Doubletree's plans.
Posted 3/14/07, JPolitte -
The RPPB elections are over and District 1, The Glens, has a new representative,
Dan Barker. Another resident of District 1, Jeanine Politte (me), ran for one of
the Home-Based Business seats and also won. Over 100 folks voted in this
election, the largest by far, which tells you that there must be something
coming and Redevelopment is its name. Both Dan & I are founding members of the
PQ-NE Action Group, committed to promoting and preserving a safe and livable
environment for the residents of The Glens and The Villages. I want to
make sure that our neighbors and friends are fully aware of what changes are
proposed and if the community plan is to be changed, that the infrastructure is
improved to accommodate those changes. To those of you who voted for Dan Barker
& myself - Thank You.
With that said, I wanted to update you on the DoubleTree Golf Resort. Their
representatives have contacted Joost Bende about possibly making a presentation
at the April Planning Board meeting. As soon as we have a confirmation on that,
I will post it here and on the www.savepq.org
website.
Posted 2/4/07, JPolitte - The
Cresta Bella & Doubletree redevelopment projects are still alive. The February
7, 2007 Planning Board meeting is at the Doubletree in the Sandpiper Room at
7:30pm. Although the
agenda
does not list either of these projects as business items, be assured that the
PQ-NE Action Group is attending each meeting and asking for status updates on
both projects.
Roni Hicks & Associates, the PR firm for the Doubletree project contacted us
again in early January wanting to meet with additional neighbors, but only to
show the same plans we saw in September '06.
In my email correspondence I wrote "Upon sharing the information from the
September Meeting with friends and neighbors - one major thought was expressed -
"I thought this was over." Many of our neighbors thought that after the round of
focus groups and then all the workshops, the community felt their voice had been
heard and that they wanted the Golf Course and Resort to stay and did not want
residential, period. Our concerns are still the same - traffic, infrastructure,
school and safety impacts. At this time, I don't think anyone wants to hear the
same story over and over again. If your plans have not changed since September
then maybe its time to bring it to the Planning Board formally."
Their response was "Should
Cornerstone choose to submit an application to the planning board, I can assure
you that it will look different than the initial one that was shared at our last
round of meetings. We are conducting one final round of neighbor meetings to
get additional feedback, the last round provided us with many invaluable
insights and provided residents like yourself who participated an opportunity to
shape the plan."
The Glens (District 1) seat of the PQ Planning Board (RPPB), presently held by
Dan Lee, is up for re-election on March 7th. I'll have more on the election at a
later date, but needless to say - the residents of the Glens need to get out and
vote for a candidate that will represent their best interests and not that of
the developers.
Posted 10/29/06, JPolitte -
No real news on the progress of the Cresta Bella development and the Doubletree
owners representatives have approached the Planning Board again with the same
plans that they showed to the community the week of Labor Day. Members of the
PQ-NE Action Group continue to monitor and follow the progress of the
projects at the corner of Peñasquitos Drive and Carmel Mountain Rd. They also
attend the planning board meetings regularly asking for updates from the RPPB.
If you haven't signed their petition yet, they continue to gather signatures.
Visit their website at SavePQ.org
for additional information and updates.
The next Rancho Peñasquitos Planning Board meeting is this week, Wednesday
November 1st, 2006 at the Doubletree Resort, 14455 Peñasquitos Drive, El
Dorado Rm. at 7:30pm.
Agenda
Posted 9/23/06, JPolitte -
Some of your neighbors met with Ken Ryan, EDAW, and Jason King, Roni Hicks &
Associates, the week of Labor Day at their invitation. I'm here confirm that
they will be back to propose a change to the Community Plan. They were fishing
for our opinions on whether their latest idea would fly. The idea seems to be
the same one proposed to a group from our planning board a few months before;
build homes on the golf course and move the hotel around the corner a bit,
towards the highway, so they could add more commercial, maybe a nice restaurant
or two where the parking lot is now.
Here are some of the ideas they shared with us:
They want to replace the golf course with approximately 200 homes (the number
they are bouncing around for now), no golf course at all - not even 9 holes. The
homes will be 1-2 stories single family detached, on lots sizes of 5,000 - 7,000
sq. ft. The only entrance on their plan was at Cuca Street, in and out. Price
range: $700,000 - $1 Million. Their plan showed 12 pocket parks distributed
throughout the neighborhood (golf course) and there would be a greenway along
the border where the golf course presently backs up to existing homes,
approximately 50% park and open space, they said. When asked, what density level
are you proposing, they did not know.
The hotel would be a bit smaller (presently 174 rooms, proposing 150 rooms) but
could be 3 stories tall instead of the existing two stories. Commercial could
also be added to the hotel. They are also proposing possible high end
restaurants next to the hotel. They did not know what square footage of
commercial the owners would be looking to develop.
The existing fitness center will be gutted and a new community center with
tennis, swimming pool and meeting rooms will replace it. They call it state of
the art with an Olympic sized pool in roughly the same location on the property
as it sits now. No guarantee on rates for members and if a membership discount,
that they suggested, would make it reasonable for the local community or even if
the local community would be granted access - the devil would be in the details
and written into any development agreements, etc.
Ken Ryan stated that the owners did shop the hotel & resort out back when the
original focus groups were being held. They said that all activity at that time
was from land speculators who had not intention of keeping the property as it is
now. It will cost the owners approximately $6-$7Million to refurbish the golf
course and the owners have no intention of doing that. After the local meetings
they planned to talk with the owners and if they chose to move forward with
initiating a community plan change, they would be back to present at the
planning board meeting, possibly in a few months.
The community will need to stand up to be counted and heard on this project if
you do not want the change to our community plan. To get up-to-date information
on the Doubletree project and the Cresta Bella project...
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and how it will impact the community, visit
www.SavePQ.org, the website for the
PQ-NE Action Group. The group is gathering signatures on a petition to
have our voices heard that we do not want the Community Plan to change. We
also need your help - so please visit the website and see where you might
be able to get involved. Thank you.
|
Posted 8/31/06, JPolitte -
The Rancho Peñasquitos Planning Board meeting will begin at
6:30pm on September 6, 2006 at the Doubletree Resort.
The Sunrise Powerlink Debate is scheduled to begin at 7:30pm. This is
your last chance to voice your opinion on SDG&E's plans in front of the
RPPB as they will vote on whether or not to support the plans following the
debate and comments. For more
information on Sunrise Powerlink Project:
Rancho Peñasquitos
Concerned Citizens
SDG&E
Sunrise Powerlink Project The
Public Forum scheduled at approx. 6:40pm will be a great time to voice your
opinion on the Doubletree Resort's plan to put a couple hundred homes on the
golf course or ask questions about the Cresta Bella project. It will be a great
opportunity to inform the larger audience also.
A new version of the RPPB
By-Laws using the City's newest By-Laws template is being reviewed in the
1st hour of the meeting. See
RPPB
9/6/06 Agenda for details.
Posted 8/24/06, JPolitte -
The Doubletree is coming back to meet with select neighbors to
show their latest proposal. The meetings originally scheduled for earlier this
week have been rescheduled for Sept. 5th & 6th at varying locations. According
to an email I received from Jason King, a Public Affairs Mgr. with Roni Hicks &
Associates, the PR firm working with EDAW. The plans will include: up to 175
single family detached homes on the golf course, a Community Center with an
Olympic sized pool, fitness, tennis & meeting rooms, and a smaller boutique
hotel. Verbally he told me no golf course, but there would be some green space.
He also
said the property owner has not made a final decision on how to move forward,
just that they want to remain engaged with the community during this process.
That's exactly what they said before & during the workshops held last year and
they obviously didn't get the message from the community that we don't want the
Community Plan to change allowing them or any other entity to increase the
number of homes in the area beyond the community plan designated densities.
The next PQ Planning Board Mtg. is Sept. 6th at 7:30pm at the Doubletree,
Sandpiper Rm. I will post the agenda as soon I have it.
A new group, the PQ-NE Action
Group has initiated a website,
SavePQ.org, to keep the
community up to date on redevelopment projects in the area. The group's mission
is to work with our elected officials to preserve the community plan. Dale & I
are both involved in the group. Please visit the website and learn more.
Posted 7/2/06,
JPolitte
- PQ Planning Board cancels July 5th, 2006 meeting due to the
holiday and the lack of any formal business on the agenda for this month. The
next scheduled meeting will be August 2, 2006.
Get ready for action --- The Doubletree representatives have presented a
plan to the PQ Planning Board that replaces the golf course
with a few hundred single family homes. Yes - no more golf course! Joost Bende
stated at the last Planning Board meeting that those who reviewed the plans told
the developers to go back to the drawing board. The community response during
the workshops was that we do not want to lose the golf course or the resort. The
group also suggested they would like something more on the lines of Torrey Pines
Golf Course & Lodge. They were also told that if homes were included in the plan
that access into the new community would need to be from Carmel Mtn. Rd. and not
Peñasquitos Drive.
Most of us felt the workshop questions were formatted to gather answers that
were acceptable to the owners and that they had no intention of keeping the golf
course & resort. So for now they may be back at the drawing board or they are
preparing to initiate a land use plan amendment to the PQ Community Plan, which
is the process required by the city, just as Cresta Bella
did.
Traffic Data --- SANDAG estimates that a single family detached home will
generate 10 ADT (average daily trips). I know that when my boys were in school
and participating in sports or other extra-curricular activities our ADT was
probably closer to 15, and once they started to drive themselves the number
went up higher.
Now add the additional units that Cresta Bella wants to build (up to 1,000 units
replacing the existing 248) and the additional homes that might replace the golf
course, and a few years down the road when California Properties wants to
redevelop the Villages (between Carmel Mtn. Rd. and the interstate) into a
newer, higher density property - that's a heck of a lot of additional
trips per day on our already overburdened roadways.
Posted 6/4/06, JPolitte -
PQ
Planning Board meeting agenda for 6/7/06 was sent and Joost Bende's email
message states that he will be updating us on the Doubletree Golf Resort. Dan
McAllister, San Diego County's Tax Collector will also be making a brief
presentation.
Posted 4/24/06,
JPolitte
- Earlier this month, the Cresta Bella developers/owners decided to
step back and reevaluate the direction that they want to take the Peñasquitos
Leisure Life Apts. redevelopment. Dan Lee, the Glens Rep on the PQ Planning
Board announced this at the end of the April '06 planning board meeting and
Joost Bende, Planning Board Chair, emailed an announcement confirming their
intentions on 4/7/06. I'm sure this isn't over - so keep your eyes and ears
open...
The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for May 3, 2006.
Posted 4/5/06,
JPolitte
- The Corridor News' editorial team gives a
THUMBS DOWN to Cresta Bella's developers for not showing up at last months
Planning Board Meeting. 4/6/06
Posted 3/27/06, JPolitte -
Cresta Bella is not on the Planning Board agenda for April 5, 2006. Anyone who
wants to voice their opposition to Cresta Bella is invited to do so during the
open public forum. Of equal importance to Rancho Peñasquitos, SDG&E's Sunrise
Powerlink is on the business agenda, other items that will affect regional areas
other than the north end; and a Community Fund Update, election results adopted,
and the election of planning board officers. I've linked to the
agenda
for those who are interested in coming.
Posted 3/8/06,
JPolitte
- The developers of Cresta Bella did not show at the last Peñasquitos
Planning Board Meeting on March 1, 2006. There seems to be some discrepancy as
to whether their representatives had stated at the Feb, 2006 meeting that they
would bring changes to their plans to the March meeting. Most of us who attended
the February meeting would agree that what we heard was - they would be back in
March with the changes that the planning board had recommended. The Corridor
News has an article
"Cresta Bella plans to get overhaul" that might interest some of you.
Most homeowners in The Glens and the Villages have already voiced their opinion
at the Doubletree Workshops - DO NOT change the density within the Community
Plan for the parcels located at the Doubletree, Peñasquitos Leisure Life or
Peñasquitos Villages. Today we're discussing Cresta Bella, tomorrow it might
be the Doubletree and in 6-7 years it will be Peñasquitos Villages. All
three properties should be reviewed as one big redevelopment plan for the
community. Any change to the Community Plan, should take into account all three
properties. Or if we agree to increase the density of one parcel, does that set
precedence for us to accommodate the other parcels with the same increased
density? We need to plan for the impact that all three will have on our access,
property values, schools, traffic, and infrastructure.
I believe that most local residents agree that the buildings at Peñasquitos
Leisure Life need to be demolished and replaced with something new within the
existing Community Plan which calls for no more than 344 units.
If Cresta Bella's developers continue to ask for a change to the Community Plan,
we need to demand a complete and independent EIR (Environmental Impact Review)
be completed to show how the added density will impact:
1) Transportation/Circulation -
Traffic ADTs (Average Daily Trips) and capacity of existing roads to handle the
added traffic; public transportation.
2) Neighborhood Character/Aesthetics - building design/style/heights;
landscaping requirements; solution to additional street parking (Just look at
the number of cars that park on the street around the area between
12:00am-7:00am on weekdays and from 4:00am-7:00am on weekends. Then look at the
cars parked around Canyon Rim Apts. to see what our neighborhoods will look
like.) 3) Schools - do we have the
capacity to add 400 - 1,000 students, additional children in Extended Student
Service Programs? 4) Public Safety -
Police & Fire response times within the recommended acceptable range; will the
city be able to add the recommended # of officers/firemen for the added
population; will the crime per capita within the affected community area
increase with increased density. 5)
Human Health - Impact the demolition of the existing buildings will have on the
health & safety of local residents; air quality; noise
6) Utilities - water; sewer capacity; impact on underground lines, pipes,
cables, etc. 7) Environmental
impacts on wildlife & habitat. 8)
Economic impact on existing property values and the residents in the surrounding
areas. 9) Alternatives to proposal.
... just to name a few concerns.
For those of us up in The Glens, the extention of
Peñasquitos Drive beyond Almazon Street into the Black Mountain Ranch
development is listed to be completed when financing becomes available.
Peñasquitos Public Facilities Transportation Financing Plan
(Draft 2006), view pages 23-24. Do you want
this road to go through? Lets just open it up so everyone from Black Mountain
Ranch can come through our neighborhood to get onto the I-15 and avoid the
Camino Del Norte interchange. I know that I sure don't want to sit on
Camino Del Norte to get onto I-15 every morning, how about you? Posted 1/29/2006, JPolitte - The PQ Planning Board Meeting will begin at 7:45pm on 2/1/2006, due to community events. Agenda Posted 1/28/2006, JPolitte - It's been a somewhat quiet month, but things are about to heat up. California Properties Leisure Village Apartments' representatives will present their latest plans for the Cresta Bella development at the Rancho Peñasquitos planning Board meeting this Wednesday, February 1, 2006 at 7:30pm, Sandpiper Rm. at the Doubletree Resort. Note: this project has not been approved by the planning board or the City of San Diego City Council. I suggest that all concerned PQ residents be at the Planning Board Meeting whether you are in support of this project or DO NOT want to see our quiet community change forever.
 Cresta Bella Website For those of you knew to this website - Peñasquitos Leisure Life Apartments are located between Carmel Mountain Rd. and Cuca St. and between Peñasquitos Drive and Gerana St. According to their initial filing documents the site is currently occupied by 248 low/moderate income dwelling units and they want to redevelop the property to include 625 - 800 units. Some of these units would be remain designated for low income residents. They also wanted to include some commercial units near the Carmel Mountain Road / Peñasquitos Drive intersection. The approval of their plans require a change to the land use plan for the community of Rancho Peñasquitos which must be approved by the community planning board. Cresta Bella Initiation Document Posted 1/2/2006, JPolitte - Dale & I would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year!!! Dale continues to hold Open Houses in the area - so if you see his signs up in your neighborhood - stop in and say hello. Dale has a couple of clients who are interested in purchasing a home in Rancho Peñasquitos or the surrounding areas - so if you or you know of someone interested in selling their home, please call Dale at 858-472-5080. Wednesday, January 4, 2006 is the the next PQ Planning Board meeting at the Doubletree, in the Sandpiper Rm. at 7:30pm. Although Cresta Bella and the Doubletree redevelopments are not on the agenda, there are a number of important items on the agenda that you may be interested in and should attend to get additional information. Agenda |
Rancho Peñasquitos Headlines
DoubleTree Project Sparks Interest in Local Elections; by José Lopez,
Pomerado News Group, 3/14/07. Dan Barker & Jeanine Politte, PQ-NE Action Group
Board members are elected to RPPB.
"Powerlink project debate set for Sept. 6 in PQ" By Elizabeth Marie Himchak,
Pomerado News Group, 8/31/06
"Local
crimes linked to meth use" By Donna Hartings, Pomerado News Group, 8/23/06
"Officials: Penasquitos a safe place to live" By Elizabeth Marie Himchak, Pomerado
News Group, 8/17/06
"Tax Collector solicits opinions for bill's 'new look'" - contains
planning board report on Doubletree. By Elizabeth Marie Himchak, Pomerado News
Group, 6/15/06
"Cresta Bella plans to get overhaul" By Elizabeth Marie Himchak, Pomerado
News Group, 2/9/06
"Cresta Bella Proposals due Feb. 1" By Valerie Marie Himchak, Pomerado News Group, 1/26/06
"Residents prefer Doubletree as it is, 3 meetings held in Peñasquitos"
By Shannon Snow, Union-Tribune Staff Writer, December 9, 2005
"DoubleTree update on council's agenda" By
Valerie Marie Himchak, Pomerado News Group, November 30, 2005
"DoubleTree's neighbors want resort to
remain" By Valerie Marie Himchak, Pomerado News Group, November 16, 2005
Doubletree neighbors like resort By Andrew Good,
Pomerado News Group, October 20, 2005
S.D. planning panel gives OK to condo conversions
By Shannon Snow, Union-Tribune Staff Writer, October 14, 2005.
Meeting attendees oppose development of
golf resort By Shannon Snow, Union-Tribune Staff Writer, October 13, 2005
Neighbors of the Doubletree Hotel say they want the resort to stay
By Adrienne A. Aguirre, North County Times Staff Writer, October 12, 2005
Doubletree Resort's future to be discussed By Andrea Moss, North
County Times Staff Writer, October 11, 2005
Workshops aim to get consensus on resort By Shannon Snow,
Union-Tribune Staff Writer, October 8, 2005
Workshops will outline plans in PQ By Andrew
Good, Pomerado Newspaper Group, Corridor News 9/15/05
DoubleTree owners exploring new
uses for property By Pat Kumpan, Pomerado Newspaper Group, Corridor News 7/27/05
Doubletree resort is gauging community response to plans By Booyeon Lee Union-Tribune
Staff Writer July 23, 2005
Safety & Infrastructure Issue Headlines
Heavy on calls, light on resources - Strapped San Diego Fire Department refused
accreditation By Frank DeClercq, San Diego Union-Tribune 3/26/2006
Other Headlines & Opinions on Community Plans/Changes Citywide
Sustaining downtown's quality of life by Nico Calavito, Opinion published in
San Diego Union-Tribune 3/28/06 |
