BUCCANEERS FALL Bonita Vista defeated Mission Bay in the Div. III championship game at Southwestern College on Dec. 5. The Bucs had a great season going 6-2 at home in their new stadium and 10-3 overall. SEE PAGE 7
SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER GROUP
Reimagining Mission Bay Park in PB
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2015
Santas celebrate the season
By DAVE SCHWAB There's one thing nearly everyone in the room was agreed upon with planning for De Anza Cove's revitalization: It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The room was the Mission Bay High School cafeteria. The occasion was the first ad-hoc subcommitee meeting Dec. 9 on the De Anza Revitalization Plan. The revitalization plan is a longterm effort to “reimagine” what Mission Bay Park (MBP) is — and could be. MBP is one of San Diego's premier tourist and recreation destinations, containing 4,000 acres of beaches, parklands, picnic areas, marinas, resort hotels and SeaWorld. The regional park has faced dramatic increases in recreational demand and mounting civil and aquatic engineering problems. An existing master plan for MBP seeks to protect and expand the park's natural resources while mitigating negative impacts on adjacent residential neighborhoods. “This is going to be a long but fruitful process,” promised landuse attorney Paul Robinson, chair of the 11-member Ad-Hoc Committee, whose task is to work with the city and consultants on developing a vision and guiding principles for a De Anza Revitalization Plan to amend the existing Mission Bay Park Master Plan. “We're so excited to be kicking SEE MISSION, Page 12
BEACHANDBAYPRESS.COM
Rewrite for new rentals ordinance SD Planning Commission sends back proposal By DAVE SCHWAB
More than 2,000 runners, walkers and dogs participated in the annual Santa Run down Garnet Avenue on Saturday, Dec. 12, before the Pacific Beach Holiday Parade. The 5K participants wore ‘Sunny San Diego Santa suits,’ which included hats, short-sleeve jackets, shorts, belts and beards and created a sea of Christmas red that flowed through downtown PB. PHOTO BY THOMAS MELVILLE
On Dec. 3, the city Planning Commission “tore up” a proposed new city ordinance on Short Term Vacation Rentals (STVRs) cobbled together following months of public testimony and directed city staff to return Jan. 28 with a new set of proposed regulations. The city ordinance commissioners nixed what would have created a new use category for STVRs while amending an existing one. It would have established a separately regulated — and new — use category for whole home rentals: "Short Term Vacation Rentals.” The ordinance would also have put Home Sharing (owner-occupied rentals) in the same use category as the current Boarding and Lodging category. It proposed limits on visitor frequency, occupancy and eligible housing types in both Home Sharing and STVRs. Architect and Planning Commission chair Tim Golba acknowledged that STVRs are a daunting issue that staff will be challenged to remedy. “There’s not a whole lot here to find common ground on,” Golba said. During their deliberations, commissioners pointed out they didn't SEE RENTALS, Page 2