The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
In addition to the stricter guidelines Mayor Jerry Sanders is proposing for condo conversions, the City Council will also hear a challenge to the conversion of a Mira Mesa apartment building today.
The Citizens for Responsible Equitable Environmental Development, or CREED, is appealing the conversion of 156 rental units on Carroll Canyon Road into condos. CREED argues that the city needs to study the cumulative impacts of condo conversions on the city’s traffic, environment and affordability. Since 2004, more than 11,300 apartment units have been transformed into for-sale homes, and another 7,400 conversions are currently scheduled.
Additionally, each conversion should be subjected to an environmental impact report to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, the group argues.
City Attorney Mike Aguirre has supported a cumulative impact study as well, saying the state’s environmental law dictates that there is a need for that review. However, Sanders’ land czar Jim Waring said the appeal was based more on “ideology and present economic perception” than good policy.
Appeals for more than 80 condo conversions were scheduled for today’s meeting, but only the appeal on the Mira Mesa project will be heard. The others will be postponed until the proper noticing has been given, a council aide said.