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Letters to the Editor |
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01/01/2005 |
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Originally Published in the Presidio Sentinel - Vol. 5, NO. 1, January 2005
Letter to the Editor of the Presidio Sentinel:
It was my privilege to purchase the Mission Hills Shopping Center in April 2003. As a native-born San Diegan and longtime resident of Mission Hills, I am especially sensitive to the importance of this block to our neighborhood. For 23 years, I have raised my family in Mission Hills and have watched in dismay as the Center property deteriorated.
On December 11, 2004 our design team participated in the Annual Holiday in the Hills. We had a tremendous gathering of neighbors join us to view renderings and a model of the Paseo de Mission Hills project. Whoever said, "A picture is worth a thousand words," understood our crowd very well. In a festive environment, we gained the confidence of most who came to discuss the Paseo project and share their ideas about the development. I want to thank Abby Shethra of Abigails Catering and Kim of Espresso Mio for providing cookies, lemonade and coffee throughout the sunny day.
Our gathering on the 11th was just one of more than a dozen public meetings and get-togethers we have attended in the neighborhood over the last 18 months. I am very proud of the planning process we put together. The following is part of what David Gardner, Chair of Uptown Planners, has written regarding our community outreach process:
"... Uptown Planners did recommend approval of the project, but did so after a long public process. A process I feel was one of the most professional and conscientious approaches by any developer I have witnessed before the Uptown Planners in the last five years of being on the Board. Long before an application was submitted to the City, the development team and the architectural team were out in the community. I personally attended three separate community meetings prior to them formally entering the planning process. The first meeting was held at the Mission Hills Cafe on the site and was attended by a wide range of people. The architectural team introduced us to the property, we walked around the block, we discussed the history of the area, and then we talked about the current condition. Then they gave us a big sheet of blank paper and every table had an opportunity to recreate the block. The architectural team then took those sheets and came up with the Paseo project. Several months later, the architect, in his own environment, invited the public to see what they had come up with. This time I am sure 60 or more were introduced to the design, which was surprisingly lower in scale than what had been envisioned by many. It also incorporated a generous historic sensitivity and rehabilitation element by preserving some of the most prominent characteristics of the original development... in doing so they managed to preserve residential units on the second floor as affordable housing, an element by the way, in which Mission Hills has very little of lately... and then, yes, the developer went about creating a condo development of 61 units so they can recoup their investment. It is not the tallest building in the area, but it is the most central block in the business district, and thus the most appropriate for the highest intensity of development and prominence in the "village-like" model community that Mission Hills is perceived."
The first week of December 2004, along with our invitation to over 1,800 households to join us to view the project, I included a three-page letter which responded to the false rumors being spread by the small group who are opposed to our project. It was important to set the record straight.
I want to thank all the people who contributed during the public participation process! Our redevelopment project has strong support from the hundreds of neighbors who actively participate in developing a vision for the block and who clearly understand why this project offers the best approach for achieving a new appearance to the entrance of our charming neighborhood. Without the supportive, ongoing involvement of the community volunteers who donate long hours to the Mission Hills Residents Design Committee, SOHO, the Mission Hills Business Improvement District and Uptown Planners, each of which suggested productive design changes, we could not have created the well thought-out project that is currently proposed. Please visit our Web site www.paseomissionhills.com to view our design and to stay in touch with our team.
Robert Lawrence
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