OCEAN BEACH – Some residents fear that victims of the city’s budget-cutting efforts to reduce a projected $258 million deficit will see the elimination of the Ocean Beach Cottage Emerging Historic District.
That district consists of 72 historically contributing properties, Craftsman bungalows, cottages and other buildings typical of the American Arts and Crafts Movementbuilt in OB from 1887 to 1931.
However, the Planning Commission has ruled that although the Ocean Beach Cottage Emerging Historical District was established to include and regulate only those 72 designated properties, the entire area of the Ocean Beach Community Plan instead, it is located within the historic district, which includes OB’s other 7,800 housing units.
Retired attorney Craig Klein advises OB residents and helps them navigate the city’s complicated zoning rules, which are now being adjusted to allow for more affordable housing to be built.
“It took us over twenty years for the Ocean Beach Cottage Emerging District to finally be adopted and recognized by the city,” Klein said. “It was argued to the Planning Commission that the Historic Cottage District includes every parcel located within OB’s community plan.
“That’s why we were able to defeat proposed Complete Communities projects in OB, such as the 21-unit, three-story project at the corner of 4705 Point Loma Ave., of which only three units would have been affordable.”
Entire communities is a multi-faceted city program that encourages development near public transport, combining housing, mobility, parks and infrastructure. Opponents of the program argue that Complete Communities is being used to allow greater housing density than is permitted and appropriate in some areas.
An update by the city to its historic housing rules is underway, balancing preservation with the need to build more housing. Proposed reforms are part of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposal.Conservation and progressinitiative.
Some proposed changes are relatively non-controversial, such as allowing more flexibility in appointing types of experts to the Historical Resources Board. However, others are considered by some to be heavier.
One proposal would give the city council more power to overturn HRB decisions. That would allow for a “de novo” appeal, allowing the council to consider all aspects of a decision, rather than limiting what it can review.
Historic preservation groups like Save our heritage organization claiming that such de novo appeals would “politicize” decisions, arguing that the council lacks the expertise to make its own historic preservation decisions.
In response to the city’s proposed historic reform package, SOHO wrote in a letter to the Planning Commission: “SOHO supports the city’s intent to make the preservation program clearer, more equitable, and more accessible to the public.
“Unfortunately, several provisions undermine these objectives. Rather than improving transparency and fairness, they introduce new procedural obstacles, limit public participation, and reinforce or widen existing inequities. For these reasons, SOHO respectfully urges the Commission to withhold its recommendation for adoption in its current form.
The letter added that SOHO was “deeply concerned” about the risks of allowing the council to replace expert determination with political judgment, which would “undermine the professional integrity of the designation process.”
“This represents a fundamental issue of democratic accountability and citizen participation. Recommendation: reject this proposed new cause of action.”
OB’s development history
Ocean Beach was developed between 1887 and 1931 as a seaside resort and vacation home area. The first maps showed wide streets running from the hills to the ocean, and narrower service streets parallel to the ocean.
The second development, Ocean Beach Park, brought streets and lots to the edge of False Bay, where the long-term road connected the area to Old Town and Roseville at Point Lorna. A trolley in 1909 confirmed the use of West Point Loma, on False Bay, as a permanent access.
The area has wide sandy beaches, rock and cliff formations, hills overlooking the ocean, active sports fields in the city park and recreation at the Robb Field fill of the river channel, a dog beach and passive grass parks.
Until the 1980s, it was a self-sufficient community with a civic center, post office, library, elementary school and urban recreation center, and a three-block commercial shopping center.
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