Petition signatures aimed at getting the San Diego City Council to overturn its approval of a 23.6-acre mixed-use housing, retail and office development in Carmel Valley are scheduled to be turned in Wednesday to the county Registrar of Voters Office.
If a group called Protect San Diego’s Neighborhoods collected enough valid signatures opposing the $750 million One Paseo Project, the City Council would have to rescind its approval or place the issue before voters. They need around 34,000 signatures to qualify.
A spokesman for the group, Jeff Powers, told City News Service that “we’re over the threshold.”
However, more than 23,000 forms have been received by the City Clerk’s Office from people asking that their signatures be withdrawn from the petition. That’s roughly eight times more than have ever been received in a referendum effort.
Powers said that historically, only 20 percent of such requests are granted.
The opponents contend One Paseo will destroy the affluent community by attracting an influx of vehicle traffic to an already congested part of town.
The 10-building development will encompass nearly 1.5 million square feet of floor space, including shops, offices, a movie theater and more than 600 housing units south of Del Mar Heights Road, between El Camino Real and High Bluff Drive.
The opponents also claim the City Council ignored community planning groups that voted against the project. Council President Sherri Lightner, who represents the area and opposes One Paseo, said the project is three times denser than allowed for in the area’s community zoning plan.
The developer, Kilroy Realty, contends that floor space and building heights have been reduced, and a systems of connected traffic signals will manage traffic through the area.
In a statement, Kilroy accused signature-gatherers of deceiving residents to get them to sign petitions.
Supporters also say the development fits in with the “City of Villages” land use concept approved by the City Council several years ago to guide so-called “urban in-fill” projects.
— City News Service