WHAT’S INSIDE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK IN PB
MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT
A new coffeehouse in Pacific Beach called 99 Cups is ready to take on the local competition and brew up some unique offerings. PAGE 7
Crown Point resident Trish Boaz makes sure to talk the talk and walk the walk when it comes to advocacy for environmental issues and protection. PAGE 11
SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER GROUP
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2014
BEACHANDBAYPRESS.COM
Short-term vacation rentals fuel debate By DAVE SCHWAB Pressure is building in Pacific Beach to consider possible measures to curb short-term vacation rentals (VRs), which some in the community see as increasingly problematic. “The number of VRs in PB has skyrocketed since 2007, and their negative impacts are being more widely felt,” said Marcie Beckett, who lives next door to a rental in her single-family neighborhood. She claims the rental is occupied by a “revolving door” of 18
to 20 people. “They just don’t belong in single-family zones.” Beckett contends the purpose of single-family zones in the city’s municipal code is to “promote the character, livability and basic quality of life in the zone and to minimize adverse impacts to adjacent neighbors. “These vacation rentals run contrary to that,” Beckett said. “Even if you could somehow control all their nuisance aspects, i.e. noise, lack of parking, et SEE RENTALS, Page 6
TAKING THE PLUNGE District 2 City Councilmember-elect Lorie Zapf (right) is backing a petition drive that she hopes will build support to restore the historic Plunge swimming pool and rally other improvements at Belmont Park. Courtesy photo
Zapf leads public charge to restore the Plunge to working order By DAVE SCHWAB Lorie Zapf, City Councilmemberelect for District 2, a vast area that represents Mission Beach and many other seaside communities in San Diego, is backing a petition drive asking residents to support fixing the Plunge pool and continue other improvements at Belmont
Park. The petition drive was launched Nov. 9 during a rally held by Zapf and Mission Beach community leaders. The rally launched the gathering of signatures in support of the neighborhood plan to fix the historic Plunge pool and do other necessary upgrades to Belmont Park.
“We got 300 signatures in less than three hours from residents, business owners, and tourists,” said Alex Bell, Zapf ’s director of communications. Bell said the City Council took up the item of the proposed Belmont Park lease extension in closed sesSEE PLUNGE, Page 7
DeMaio concedes razor-thin loss to Peters in ugly congressional battle By DAVE SCHWAB In a somewhat surprising turnabout, with nearly all of the provisional and mail-in ballots now counted after election night, incumbent Scott Peters was ahead to stay by more than 5,400 votes in the hotly contested 52nd Congressional District race. Democrat Peters’ Republican challenger, Carl DeMaio, conceded defeat in the razor-thin election on Nov. 9. It formally ended one of the
SCOTT PETERS
CARL DeMAIO
country’s most-watched Congressional races. "I am honored the constituents of California’s 52nd Congressional District chose to send me back for another two years,” said Peters, who thanked his family and wife Lynn,
his campaign team and hundreds of volunteers whom Peters said “worked nonstop to remind voters in every corner of the district about the importance of this election.” Peters also thanked DeMaio for “his commitment to public service and government reform. While we disagreed on many issues, I congratulate him on running a tenacious, aggressive and tough campaign.” Peters said he pledged to “continSEE ELECTION, Page 5
MAKEOVER IN THE WORKS The Catamaran Hotel has demolished its former restaurant and is in the throes of an ambitious new overhaul that is set to debut in early 2015. Courtesy photo
Catamaran levels former restaurant, launches ambitious new overhaul By DAVE SCHWAB In early 2015, the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa will unveil its new multi-milliondollar restaurant with a chefdriven concept introducing California casual cuisine. The yet-to-be-named restaurant at 3999 Mission Blvd. will operate under the direction of executive chef Steven Riemer, who has 25 years of culinary
experience, including The Lodge at Torrey Pines. “The Catamaran has had an Asian-fusion theme, and that has slowly segued into what I call California comfort cuisine, things we’re familiar with here: backyard barbecues, tri-tip steak, seafood and produce — big salads — that kind of thing,” said Riemer, noting the SEE CATAMARAN, Page 6