The San Diego City Council voted on Oct. 21 to recognize something that Barrio Logan has never had — an official community planning group.
The move, however, raised eyebrows among members of SDMAC, the San Diego Military Advisory Council.
At SDMAC’s Oct. 22 meeting, President Jamie Moraga said her civic-military group is “disappointed” that the makeup of the new planning board does not have a representative from the maritime businesses, which occupy a large portion of Barrio Logan.
It’s the latest move in a tug-of-war between business interests and residents of the working-class neighborhood where the U.S. Navy ship repair industry is concentrated. The council attempted to rezone the neighborhood in 2013, but business interests sent the matter to the voters, who overturned the zoning in a citywide referendum in June.
A representative of Councilman David Alvarez, whose district includes the neighborhood, said there is “plenty of opportunity in the future” for interested community members to run for board seats and serve on the board. On top of that, anyone may attend meetings of the new advisory board, said Lisa Maytorena Schmidt, Alvarez’s deputy chief of staff.
The council OK’d a slate of 15 people to serve on the new board, including six resident members, six business members, a property owner and two members of the school and nonprofit sector. Representatives of the U.S. Navy and the Port of San Diego will sit on the board as nonvoting members.
The new board will be led by Mark Steele, a Barrio Logan-based architect who has decades of experience in the community planning process.
The council’s vote was 9-0. The measure still needs a second reading in front of the council, Schmidt said.
“While SDMAC is disappointed in the failure to add any members from the maritime industry, we will continue to work with all parties in the region to meet the needs of the entire community,” said SDMAC’s Moraga.
