The SCAC is holding our annual potluck social, open house, at 6:30 on Wednesday, Dec. 20.

We look forward to meeting and greeting and hearing a quick update from our Mayor, Councilman, County Supervisor, Assemblyman, SDUSD Board Trustee, Jennifer Morrissey (MTRP), David Ege (Librarian extraordinaire) and some of our past guest speakers. I am so excited that we are doing this again this year. Thank you to the Library staff (pictured above is preliminary design plans for new SCB Library) for setting up our meeting space and cleaning up after our meetings. They help provide a welcoming atmosphere. Please RSVP to me if you plan to attend (not required but desired) at: [email protected]

As I am writing this I feel the excitement in the (cold) air for the upcoming holidays.

Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, winter solstice, the New Year, and other special events. Decorations are going up all around San Diego County.

When our kids were much younger I would drive them around in the evening to look at all the “lights” and “decorations” in various neighborhoods. We had a game we played: the first one who saw decorations would say “I see….” And then point it out. We would all look and oooh and awe; that person got a point. After about an hour the person with the most points would get to pick where we would go for hot chocolate. Some of my favorite memories … ok, maybe it is just the hot chocolate and marshmallows that I really enjoyed the most! But it got us out and appreciate what people do that puts joy in the world.

I admit that I am a bit confounded about what is “happening” to our neighborhoods.

I am talking about how things are progressing on the thinking that zoning and height restriction laws don’t matter anymore in our residential neighborhoods. And that the City wants to have property owners responsible for the sidewalk maintenance and liability of the area if someone gets hurt.

So here is what I am perplexed about: We buy a house/home in a residential area of our choosing for various reasons, based on, among other things, how the area is maintained, front/side/back yard, view, schools, libraries, shopping centers, grocery and hardware stores, flood and fire hazard zones, Maybe nearby restaurants: fancy or not.

The City has the duty to take care of public places like parks, libraries, streets, sidewalks, parkways, street lights, street signals, street signs. These things we will call “public works projects”.

On the deed to our property there is a legal description of the property and the area we are responsible for. Now the City has said because we need more affordable housing, property owners can put up one or more ADU (additional dwelling unit/s). We have garages meant to house our cars (ok, sometimes they are storage units but you get the point). When the laws are not enforced, that impacts everything and the neighborhood changes. With ADUs it is most likely more cars will be parked on the street and there will be more traffic. The City now wants to transfer the responsibility of maintaining the parkways and sidewalks to the adjacent property owner. That means if someone trips and falls because the sidewalk is uneven, whether due to the tree the City has planted, shifting of the earth (which happens for various reasons) the property owner can be sued.

A real estate change of ownership status must have an offer and acceptance, what happens if the property owner does not accept this property the City wants us to be responsible for?

Having a neighborhood changed for the convenience of the City is not a good enough reason to allow ADU’s in residential neighborhoods, nor does it make sense to have high rise buildings, of more than 2 stories, in a residential area. That’s why there are zoning and height restriction laws. We need to adhere to the laws that were in place when we made the decision to buy our property. Or at least, we need to have it on the ballot.

Now I am all in favor of helping people, “all lives matter”, but I hate to see our neighborhoods dramatically changed from what was the intent of the zoning and height limitation laws at the time we made the decision to purchase our property.

Now, you are probably wondering what the difference really is when condemnation is the government or quasi-government, taking your property v the City wanting to place the burden of maintenance and liability on your property. The “burden” in my opinion (and I am not an attorney or legal professional) of having the property owner responsible for the maintenance at the risk of being sued and THAT is attached to our ownership, which is a “form of taking”. The City is making us responsible for their action, or in-action. Just doesn’t seem right. What are your thoughts about this?

Our speaker at the Jan. 17, 2024, meeting will be County Supervisor Joel Anderson.

If you would like to be on the Board of the SCAC please let me know. Happy New Year!