Balboa Park Update: Plaza De Panama Jacobs' Plan is Dead!!

I've been working and compiling and digging through photos for this one for a week, so I'm obviously not reporting breaking news, but last week was a momentous week for San Diego. The Jacobs Plan ("Plaza de Panama Plan")--which included cutting into the Cabrillo Bridge and creating a bypass bridge to a to-be-constructed parking garage--was declared dead. Technically, there was a whole bunch of hemming and hawing that it's on hiatus, that fundraising has ceased, that the major donors had pulled out, that construction expenses exploded, that SOHO and other lawsuits were to blame. The way I see it, SOHO should take credit. Balboa Park Heritage Association and Balboa Park lovers like David Lundin should take credit. Everyone who attended Council meetings, planning meetings, took to social media, called their Councilmembers, wrote Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor at all the local rags against this horrific plan-- we should all be CELEBRATING and TAKING CREDIT. 

There were so many things wrong with the plan, not least of all adding a PAID PARKING GARAGE to Balboa Park. Did you think they'd leave all the remaining spots free? People cringe at the mention of Bob Filner, but he was fundamental in getting rid of the Museum of Art lot, throwing down some paint and bollards and patio furniture, and it changed the park for the better. But in addition to this Jacobs plan already manipulating our reps and the aforementioned reasons, it would've removed the Alcazar lot and which is critical for disabled parking and the archery range, dozens of 100 year old trees, and there was all kind of not-quite-as-published information like allowing sponsored naming rights throughout the park and the fact that the City limited their input to $49 million dollars in bonds because any more would require a City-wide vote. Anyway, all that is dead. What a relief. What isn't dead is that the park still has an estimated $80-$120 million in DEFERRED MAINTENANCE. Where's that generosity of Mr. Jacobs and the Plaza de Panama Committee for that??   

Anyway, this is all good news for all of us. If you love the park, consider volunteering or donating or even just following the actions of Balboa Park Heritage Association, who are trying to prevent proposals like this by setting goals like changing the City Charter to ban paid parking in the park FOREVER and get a chunk of TOT (so-called Hotel Taxes) dedicated to all the deferred maintenance. You can also support Save Our Heritage Organisation, whose preservationists were instrumental in saving this beloved gem.

Here are a few of the articles that ran last week:

Voice of San Diego: The Plaza de Panama Plan Is on Hiatus

KPBS: Bids To Remake The Plaza De Panama Are $20M Higher Than Expected

KPBS: Halt To Plaza De Panama Revamp Frees Up $10 Million For Balboa Park

U-T: Balboa Park's no-car project is a no-go

CityBeat: The Plaza de Panama revamp is dead. Let’s keep it dead.

More after the jump.

Oppose the Demolition of the California Theatre!

It's no secret that I have a strong distaste for many in our local government of late. The same guys who think a tax-funded parking garage belongs in Balboa Park, the same people who basically offered Spanos a $1 lease for life on land most recently valuated at $180 million, and the same people who continually hire Ortiz to fix our roads and sewers (only for their streets to crack, sink, leak or otherwise fail, like clockwork, 2-3 years post construction). Needless to say, I don't have much faith in them doing right by the people and resources of this City. Maybe the Historic Resources Board will be our last hope, against City staff recommendations. This could be the last chance to stop the demolition of the California Theatre and the Caliente mural in one fell swoop.

More eloquent words from my friend, Jaye McCaskill, President of SOHO:

Please do whatever you can to support the preservation of San Diego's California Theater -- the city's only remaining grand theatre of the 1920s that has yet to be restored and brought back to life. Out-of-town millionaire developers are claiming "financial hardship" as their reason to demolish the theater, and are instead proposing to build a phony-baloney quasi-reconstruction of only some of the historic architectural elements (which we know from multiple past experiences is all talk and never comes close to looking like the original). To add insult to insult, once again the fix seems to be in at the City, with Historic Resources Staff supporting this horribly flawed development project. If you can make it to the Historic Resources Board hearing on Thursday morning, please let the members of the HRB board know that you expect them to adhere to higher ethical standards than City staff and to do whatever they can to protect this severely endangered historic resource. If you can't attend the meeting, there are other things you can still do. Please read below and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! (And also please note that the venue for the HRB meeting is not the usual place or at the usual time.)

You can read the full text of SOHO's e-mail here.

Most importantly, plan to attend the HRB meeting at 9:30am on Thursday, January 26, in the North Terrace Rooms, City Councourse, 202 C Street.

Please act now by contacting the HRB and other officials to oppose this unlawful demolition of a grand San Diego landmark. We also need you to attend this crucial HRB meeting. Your emails and your presence at the meeting matter! At the meeting, you also can either speak or cede time to SOHO.

Take Action Now. Write:

Historical Resources Board (historicalresources@sandiego.gov)

HRB Secretary Shannon Anthony (SAnthony@sandiego.gov)

Mayor Faulconer (kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov)

and your City Council member HERE.