To Members of the City Council:
I urge you to vote NO on the proposed massive
expansion of the Westfield UTC mall plus two new residential towers. The
UCPG, our local planning group, rejected this project 14-2.
Hold the Hearing in the Community
Should you be in any doubt, I urge you to postpone the vote and hold a hearing on this project in the evening in September in the community so residents can attend. This project would create huge changes to our community with major negative impacts. Please, you owe it to our community to come and listen before you make such a momentous decision.
False Advertising
Westfield claims this is “sustainable development”. It is not. This is automobile-dependent development: a super-regional mall designed to draw traffic from as far away as Carlsbad and Poway. It will increase traffic congestion on local roads, freeway ramps and freeways, decrease air quality and increase greenhouse gas emissions.
This project would:
1. Vastly increase traffic: almost 18,000 new vehicle trips EVERY
DAY. This will increase congestion
on local streets, freeway ramps and freeways.
2. Cause a substantial deterioration in air quality for
those who live and work here.
3.
Build two residential towers up to 23 stories high that would dwarf nearby
buildings and low-rise residences.
Thousands of nearby units are already planned or newly built.
4. Set a precedent that would open the floodgates of development far beyond
what is allowed in the Community Plan. This project would almost double Westfield’s
development rights. Other developers would certainly then want their development
rights increased – in fact, a number already have requests in process.
Limits in the Community Plan would become meaningless.
5. Risk killing the goose that laid the golden egg: UCSD, high tech
and biotech in the Golden Triangle are the economic engine of San Diego. Don't congest the area with mall
traffic.
6.Increase pressure for two road projects that are widely opposed: the widening of Genesee Ave. and the proposed road through Rose Canyon Park (the Regents Road bridge project).
Sincerely,
Name
Address
