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RB Planning Board wants to have a say in projects

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The Rancho Bernardo Planning Board is formally asking the city to give it notification about upcoming projects and for the ability to offer comments even when city officials deem it unnecessary.

When classified as “ministerial,” major construction and remodeling projects — mostly business-related — are reviewed and green-lighted by city officials downtown with no community input.

“Not allowing review of these major exterior changes have cast our Planning Board in a position of appearing weak and non-functional in those cases where many believe they should have been informed of the planned actions,” RB Planning Board Chairman Mike Lutz wrote in a June 20 letter to Tony Kempton, an associate planner in the city’s planning department. The board approved sending the letter when it met June 16.

“The review process allows the community to express their concerns or support of the project and identify any issues that may negatively impact our community, such as traffic,” Lutz wrote.

He added, “Our community is being impacted and feels disenfranchised by not being given the opportunity for the Planning Board to review these projects. This Planning Board represents the community and should be a good source of land and structural changes for the Rancho Bernardo residents.”

Lutz’s examples of recent ministerial projects in which the board was not consulted include:

• Remodel of the Rancho Bernardo Town Center and addition of a 5,000-square-foot building, which the board learned about through the Rancho Bernardo News Journal.

• Total renovation of the former Coco’s restaurant in The Plaza, which many have said will become an IHOP restaurant. “This work is well under way and no information as to what will be there, when and why upon completion,” Lutz wrote.

• Razing and rebuilding of the former Elephant Bar so it could become Phil’s BBQ. “This work, although well publicized, was never subjected to resident review and has resulted in signage and parking issues that could have been better addressed,” he wrote.

• Razing of the former Traveler’s Inn and Hooters restaurant to make way for the Sharp Rees-Stealy medical complex. “This project is very large and has major visual and traffic impacts and yet ... was not reviewed to any extent by the Planning Board and affected residents,” he wrote.

• Abandonment of a by-pass road between the Rancho Bernardo Inn and Country Club of Rancho Bernardo to make way for an expanded RB Inn parking lot. “This occurred ... without any public opportunity for comment and, although it was based upon a mutual agreement between the two affected entities, many residents have likewise been affected,” Lutz wrote.

• Several changes in the Rancho Bernardo Industrial Park that have allowed non-compatible tenants to become established in conflict with the park’s original intent and restrictions, most notably churches and recreational facilities.

• Conversion of the former Burger King to a McDonald’s, which created traffic issues.

• Widening of Rancho Bernardo Road between Bernardo Center Drive and I-15.

Lutz said the Rancho Bernardo Community Plan “specifically states the City is to seek input from the Planning Board of such matters” and it “details the (board’s) residential, commercial and industrial objectives ... Yet even with this, (city officials) bypassed us, essentially making it a ministerial project.”

The issue was raised during the board’s May meeting, when several board members and some residents in the audience questioned Kempton about the city’s lack of seeking board input or even notifying it about major community projects.

“We’re blind-sided,” board member Jim Denton told Kempton in reference to projects residents ask board members about after work has begun and the community-elected volunteers have no details to share.

“There is no need for a planning board ... if every project is ministerial,” said board Vice-Chairwoman Robin Kaufman. “There are too many ministerial projects in our community.”

Kempton said residents can ask the planning department about projects, but as some asked how are they to do that when they know nothing is going to occur until after work has commenced.

Board members said RB’s group cannot be the only one in the city feeling the way they do and asked Kempton to see what can be done citywide to remedy the situation.

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