Did everyone get a chance to sign the One Paseo Petition? Follow the link. We're not against development, but the proposed project is too big. Kilroy needs to consider a smaller project. Please sign to encourage Kilroy to propose something appropriate for our community!

I found a website called hugeasscity.com, which is a pro-urbanization blog for Seattle. Their posting "Coming to Othello Station: The Future", discusses a project called The Station at Othello Park. This blog, which is about creating more dense projects like One Paseo, says that the Station project "is a big one, 420,000 total square feet, with 350 rental apartments and 40,000 square feet of retail." So, a group that is in favor of dense development calls 350 apartments and 40,000 sq ft of retail a big development! What would they call the 600 unit, 270,000 sq ft retail, plus hotel, plus 500,000 sq ft office?!! I suspect they'd call it huge, or a monstrosity.

But that's not the point I'm trying to make here. The point of this article is more about what the developer promises versus what is delivered. In this case, the developer showed this picture before development:

What's being promised? A green place with wide sidewalks, inviting stores and space for bicycles. We'll see how that works out.

In the meantime, here's a picture of the construction nearly complete, with everything cleaned up and all the debris removed. Notice how much large the project is, how many levels are being built and the huge crane for moving materials. In fact, this is just like one of the residential blocks proposed for One Paseo, with 5 stories of residential over retail:

Finally, here is the completed project, which may be mostly the same as the original image, but again, not quite the same. In some way, all the concrete and stucco isn't as uplifting as the marketing idea, it's really just become a large housing block:

It's amazing how the original marketing image can look so inviting, while the completed project can look so, well, so urban. We need to remember this when Kilroy shows us marketing images of what life in Carmel Valley will be like after the completion of One Paseo and it's Main Street shopping plaza.

Read the letter at the Carmel Valley News, "Plan submitted for One Paseo much different than the 'dream'." It shows the concerns of a retired San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Captain from the Carmel Valley Fire Station 24. Can we trust Kilroy to give us an accurate assessment of how increased traffic will impact Fire and Police services? A previous supporter's letter in claimed that the environmental impact report (where traffic is considered) was done by some mythical "independent" agency. In reality, it's done by Kilroy (or their consultants.) Why are their so many people willing to trust a developer to do the right thing?

This is a video of La Jolla Crossroads so you can get a feel for how big One Paseo will be. Again, not the kind of life I imagined in Carmel Valley, it's not the San Diego Village I'd hoped for.

We all know that there's a psychological toll of automobile traffic, so why would be knowingly agree to dramatically increase the traffic in Carmel Valley? From the article:

As society hurtles forward in an age of instant messaging and one-click shopping, motorists paradoxically find themselves moored between bumpers for hours a day, with a psychic toll that experts are still trying to tally.

Yet, we support the One Paseo plan to bring 25,000 to 35,000 additional cars onto Carmel Valley roads every day? Sure, the developer tells us that we'll eventually have a bus line, or they'll time the signals and all will be better. Right. The reality is that the new bus line is in the 2050 transportation plan, and the traffic on Del Mar Heights Road is limited by the freeway congestion. If the freeway is already packed, it doesn't matter if the local signals are timed, you're still stuck.

When they build One Paseo, the project will be massive. This video shows One Paseo under construction, or, what it will look like. Watch this one from about the 30 second mark, where they go outside into the street. The project isn't exactly the same, but the building heights are very similar to what you'll find on the proposed Carmel Valley Main Street.

We need to remember that this is a marketing story, intended to sell a controversial project to the community. Kilroy's brochures and website show us young couples holding hands and people shopping in lush plazas, with taller structures minimized or not pictured. The reality is that One Paseo puts downtown scale into a suburban location. They want nearly 2 million square feet, including hi-rise office towers, looming residential blocks and massive parking structures, in a fairly small lot. This will turn our "Village Main Street" into an "Urban Mall". Search online for "One Paseo" and "Atlantic Times Square" for a comparison, the videos are especially amazing.

Let's tell Kilroy that this is not the project we want and it's time for them to provide us with an appropriate, reduced alternative. Give us a project that maintains our community character and ensures that growth doesn't overrun local schools, streets and parks. San Diego is a City of Villages, and we want our Village!

We all know that Del Mar Heights Road in Carmel Valley gets totally messed up at certain times of the year, imagine it with One Paseo completed, when there will be an additional 30,000 cars on the road! On top of that, imagine more development at the Town Center, they're approved already for another 150,000 sq ft of retail (9,000 cars). And, the new Pacific Highlands Ranch shopping center, out by CCA, could add even more! Our suburban San Diego paradise just might turn into a parking lot.

I read in a newspaper article that One Paseo would generate about 30,000 additional cars on the road each day. Of course, Kilroy said that it couldn't be possible, the number must be much lower. Out of interest, I looked up the City of San Diego Trip Generation Manual (pdf), which lets you calculate the numbers yourself based on City standard data. In just a few minutes of looking, I found the numbers were right around 29,000 to 30,000 additional trips per day. Try to imagine another 30,000 cars on Del Mar Heights Road!

Heres a picture of an urban street in Boston (link to Original Article here.) This Boston street is mostly 4 stories of residential above retail stores, while parts of the One Paseo Main Street are taller than this! This sure doesn't look like a suburban Village to me!

One Paseo's Main Street has very high density, similar to what you'd find in New York City. Look at the picture here (click the image to see more detail and read more information), it's a nice, walkable street in downtown New York City. The buildings on the right hand side of the street are 3, 4 and 5 stories of residential over retail shopping, exactly what Kilroy has proposed for One Paseo in Carmel Valley! Does this look like a suburban San Diego street to you, or something more like an inappropriate Urban Center?

One Paseo is not a done deal. We need to tell Kilroy that what they're proposing is not right for our home. We want a suburban Village, not this Urban beast.

I love the way the Builders' Institute of America, San Diego, is willing to just come out and say that people in the construction industry should write letters and attend hearings to get projects approved even though those pesky neighbors don't like it:

BIA members that like [Project Green Light] projects support those projects by writing letters or attending local government review meetings in person...to counter-balance vocal project opponents.

And, hey, if you're not a good public speaker, they'll even train you to appear in government hearings!

Don't feel comfortable in Government hearings? Don't worry, it is actually quite easy. But to ensure you feel prepared, BIA will host a series of training programs that gives you the basics so you are confident participating in Project Green Light.

It's all right there on their website, see the BiA Project Greenlight page! Perhaps this is where all those letters of support for the One Paseo project are coming from? Doesn't it seem like the people who have to live with the development for the rest of their lives, the citizens of Carmel Valley, should decide if this makes sense?

This is a video of a construction walk through of the Atlantic Times Square project in Los Angeles. It's about the same density as the proposed One Paseo development in Carmel Valley, San Diego. Except One Paseo has 3 times the development on 3 times the land! So, roughly speaking, One Paseo is like 3 of these set side-by-side! While the Kilroy people will tell you that you're getting a Main Street for Carmel Valley, it's pretty clear that this isn't the village Main Street that we all desire. Instead, we're turning San Diego into an urban nightmare: A Los Angeles Infill Project.

There's a move afoot to turn San Diego into Los Angeles, and One Paseo is just the beginning. Once the developers realize they can push through this kind of massive development in the name of "Smart Growth", well, that's the end of San Diego as we know it.

This isn't One Paseo, but it could be. It's really Atlantic Times Square, a Los Angeles Infill Project that has almost exactly the same density as One Paseo. You will find this same building height, 5 stories of residential over retail, on the proposed Main Street for Carmel Valley, San Diego. Does this look like a peaceful village main street to you? It's time to demand better! Tell Kilroy that we want our Village Main Street, not this monstrous Urban Mall.