Politics & Government
Update: Group Endorses Park Station, But Didn't Consider Its Traffic Study
Move San Diego, via its MOVE Alliance, says mixed-use project is the first it has endorsed.
Updated at 4:45 p.m. Feb. 17, 2012
Park Station, the proposed downtown project that features a 19-story high-rise, has gotten the seal of approval from a local nonprofit that encourages “sustainable transit.” But its executive director says traffic impacts weren’t considered.
The group Move San Diego early this month announced Park Station at the Crossroads of La Mesa as its first MOVE Alliance endorsed project.
Paying an application fee of $2,500, Park Station now boasts a logo from the MOVE Alliance, with MOVE standing for Mobility Options Viable for Everyone, according to the group.
“When completed, Park Station will replace the existing auto-oriented property with a smart, walkable community that supports sustainable growth in La Mesa,” said Elyse Lowe, Move San Diego executive director.
“Most importantly, this project offers increased transit-oriented benefits because of its proximity to existing transit, such as three bus routes and a trolley station, as well as future rapid bus and high frequency local bus service by 2020.”
Park Station—a 6-acre mixed-use development north of the Civic Center—has recently submitted its latest traffic element to the city of La Mesa for use in its EIR—environmental impact report.
The EIR is a key step before the project between Baltimore Drive and Spring Street can be approved by city planners, boards and the City Council.
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Move San Diego's Lowe on Friday confirmed that South Baltimore contacted her group, and said the $2,500 covers costs of administering the program.
However, she said: “We did not use the traffic study in our analysis.”
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Several weeks after endorsing Park Station, she said, MOVE Alliance also gave its blessing to Kilroy Realty, developer of One Paseo, a 25-acre project in Carmel Valley.
“The MOVE Alliance will provide public support for Park Station as an example of a project that successfully aligns transit, walkability, high-density housing and other smart-growth techniques to increase quality of life in the San Diego region,” the group said in a Feb. 2 press release.
Move San Diego says it continues to seek applications for proposed development projects in the “entitlement phase.”
Alliance partners include Move San Diego, Walk San Diego, Council of Urban Design Professionals and the California Center for Sustainable Energy “in addition to local experts on transportation and community planning,” the group says.
According to its 2010 tax filing (attached), Move San Diego is “dedicated to the preservation of San Diego’s environment through the design of sustainable transportation, smart transit and improved infrastructure.”
Elaine Camuso, spokeswoman for Park Station, said Thursday that the developers of Park Station “reached out to MOVE San Diego, asking them to analyze the project and consider an endorsement. This is the same process that we would follow for other types of endorsements or for certification programs such as LEED” of the U.S. Green Building Council.
The MOVE Alliance said it endorsed Park Station in recognition of smart-growth principles:
- Residential density to support existing and planned transit, including the trolley and the planned Bus Rapid Transit Route.
- Mixed-use opportunities with plans for commercial, retail and residential.
- Within walking distance of the Village of La Mesa and provides new amenities for La Mesa residents to reduce vehicle miles traveled.
- Proximity to area employment centers (including El Cajon and Grossmont Center).
- Within a quarter-mile of existing transit.
- And pedestrian- and bike-friendly with new bike lanes and bicycle storage.
“Also important to the alliance’s endorsement is the developer’s commitment to incorporate a Transportation Demand Management program into the management of the site, to include a Transit Information Center; special parking for ride sharing programs, van pools, and fuel efficient vehicles; shared parking strategies; and electric vehicle charging stations,” said the group.
Move San Diego also said the developer has proposed a promenade leading from the proposed project to the trolley station, “creating a safer and more inviting walk to transit.”
Park Station is a proposed redevelopment plan by the site’s property owners, the Kitzman family. The planning efforts are being managed by Urban Housing Partners, Inc. Park Station has earned the formal endorsement from the MOVE alliance and in turn, receives permission to use the Alliance’s “seal of approval.”
Meanwhile, Park Station has launched a Twitter account and Facebook page, but with few tweets, followers or posts.
In late January, La Mesa Today quoted Bill Chopyk, the city’s community development chief, as saying the first traffic-impact study submitted by South Baltimore LLC, Park Station’s developer, “asserted the project would have no impact on traffic.”
“For a project of this size, that’s hard to accept,” Chopyk said.
Five weeks ago, senior planner Chris Jacobs told La Mesa Patch that Park Station was in its fifth revision of a traffic study, since “assumptions behind the studies remain an outstanding issue.”
But Camuso said: “The traffic study is completed and has been sent to the City of La Mesa. At this point, the city staff would be your best contact for any questions about the study.”
Thursday afternoon, the city’s Chopyk said: “The traffic impact analysis is one component of the EIR. It is currently a draft document that we are working on and is not available for public review at this time. We expect the draft EIR to be released for public review later this year.”
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