Nextdoor Post

Dear St. Paul’s family,

After the City Council vote on January 28 to approve our construction project, there was a long series of posts on the neighborhood social media site NextDoor. With input from our consultants, I crafted this letter and posted it to correct some of the misperceptions. You might find it useful in case you are questioned about the project.

Hello neighbors, 

I have been following this conversation with interest, as the Dean/senior pastor of St. Paul’s Cathedral. I want to say how grateful the Cathedral family is for the terrific support we have received from many of you throughout the long process of public meetings around the 6^th & Olive project. The unanimous support of both the Planning Commission and the City Council tells us that the project is on the right track for San Diego. Recent statements by multiple political leaders in the city and state reinforce the fact that it is exactly what San Diego needs at this time. 

We are looking forward to seeing Greystar break ground and move ahead so that the Cathedral will be able to continue and expand our ministry to the community. And while I hope we will be able to avoid further delays, we are prepared to be patient. We have been here for 150 years and expect to be here for another 150, so we take a long view! 

I want to offer a few key facts about the project and to correct several misunderstandings that seem to have gained traction within this forum:

1. The building will consist of 204 rental apartments (not luxury condos for purchase), and 18 of the apartments will be designated as affordable for Very Low Income households. The residents of the affordable units will have access to all the same amenities, including parking, as the market-rate tenants.
2. St. Paul’s will not receive rents from the apartments but will own space on the lowest two floors of the new building. These floors will house our Cathedral offices and new community gathering spaces.
3. The Park Chateau apartments were not in good shape and would have been slated for demolition and redevelopment with or without the Greystar project. While relatively inexpensive for the neighborhood, the Park Chateau units were neither designated as affordable nor income-restricted. Development of a residential building shorter than the approved 6^th & Olive building would mean there would be no affordable units on the site.
4. The project is consistent with all City land-use regulations, including the Uptown Community Plan. Please follow this link to the City of San Diego Development Services Department Staff Report to the Planning Commissionand this link to the DSD Staff Report to the City Council. These independent reports include detailed analyses of code compliance.
5. The project’s environmental document complies with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The environmental impacts associated with 6^th & Olive are consistent with or less than the impacts analyzed in the certified EIR, and the Greystar modifications will not result in new or more severe significant impacts than those identified in the certified EIR.

Look for activity to start soon on the site. We’ve been making preparations in the three months since the project received unanimous approval from the Planning Commission, and now that the appeal of that approval has been unanimously denied by the City Council, we are ready to move forward. I look forward to many years of service to Bankers Hill and San Diego, equipped and empowered by our new ministry base.

Your sister in Christ,

Penny