A proposed mixed-use development in Encanto moved closer to reality Tuesday when the San Diego City Council voted 6-0 to have staff begin negotiations with a proposed builder.
The project, slated for what’s now an 8 1/2-acre empty lot at Euclid Avenue just south of state Route 94, would include 44 single-family homes and 84 apartments, retail space, a 32 North Brewing Company pub/restaurant, a coffee shop and two acres of open space and trails for the public.
Councilwoman Myrtle Cole, who represents the area, said the long-vacant site was very important to the community.
“It’s going to be a catalyst for even greater things,” Cole said. “It’s a gateway to our district, and that gateway has for far too long been an abandoned dirt lot.”
The plans by Affirmed Housing emerged from a trio of proposals that were vetted by Civic San Diego, which assists the city with development in certain neighborhoods, and a selection committee.
Civic San Diego and Affirmed Housing will have about six months to go over details. The deal includes a pair of three-month extensions, if necessary.
Opponents of the project rallied at the site and later called for the council members to delay the project and allow more community input.
In other action today, the council approved a series of proposed amendments to campaign finance rules. Suggested by the city’s Ethics Commission, some of the changes eliminate a need to alphabetize donor names, change the deadline for campaigns to pay vendors to 180 days following an election, and allow candidates to solicit contributions on Jan. 1 of the odd year before an election.
In a memo to the council members, commission Executive Director Stacey Fulhorst noted that the current one-year time period for fundraising before an election created an initial three-week flurry of activity that sometimes led to a failure to comply with other campaign laws.
–City News Service
