The politics at issue here are the politics of big-money and good-old-boyism involved with so-called “Light Rail Transit” (LRT) planning in our region. There's nothing really “light” about LRT in terms of either the costs or time it takes to deliver.

The following are comments presented to the Land Use and Housing Committee on February 12, 2003, concerning General Plan Update Work program for the Planning Department. The group's purpose is to update the General Plan and Community Plans to become consistent with the Strategic Framework Element, aka “City of Villages.”

The following is a condensed version of remarks from a speech I made to a San Diego Chamber of Commerce audience, entitled “Balancing Progress With Preservation.”

How did they plan great cities before we had fancy computers to draw colorful maps? Are cities planned better since? These questions were brought into focus recently when I attended a meeting where developers were presenting their ground-truthing for the County's General Plan 2020 update.

What do soccer moms, bored teenagers and weary commuters have in common? They are identified as just a few of the "victims of sprawl" in "Suburban Nation," a book by leading new urbanist designers and implementors: Andres Duany, Elizatbeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck.

I do not disagree that this "Strategic Framework Element" for the General Plan contains some good language. But good language that is not enforceable and sets no standards is just that: pretty prose and nothing more.

Unprecedented discussions about San Diego’s unaffordable housing have taken place since a July 2001 City Council direction that staff create proposal for a "flexible inclusionary housing program with incentives."

Bills are being pursued in the State legislature ... to give more land-use power to the San Diego Association of Governments by establishing it as the official, state-mandated regional government.

On May 1, 2002, Watt Commercial Properties had workers chop down three mature jacaranda trees in downtown San Diego.

The history of California’s beautiful landscapes has been greatly shaped by the awesome power of fire.

While most people would find solace in some swatches of remaining rolling hills and open space, each of those remaining private undeveloped areas of any size has plans and projects already permitted and/or in the pipeline.