Resistance to a proposed four-story apartment/commercial building in Point Loma continued to build as nearly 300 community members packed a town hall meeting Oct. 29 at the S.E.S. Portuguese Hall.

The building, planned for 1004 Rosecrans St., at Talbot Street, would feature 1,700 square feet of first-floor commercial space, three stories totaling 56 apartments, and basement parking with up to 45 spaces. It is on a site formerly occupied by the San Diego County Credit Union.

A four-story apartment/commercial building proposed for 1004 Rosecrans St. in Point Loma is drawing community opposition. (Bing Maps and Point Loma-OB Monthly)

The project is under review by the San Diego Development Services Department for a building permit. The application was submitted in August.

The property is owned by a business entity called North Star Homes LP. The listed agent for North Star Homes is Michael Contreras, owner of MC Properties, according to the California secretary of state’s registry.

MC Properties’ website says it manages apartment properties in Spring Valley, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Lakeside, El Cajon and Fallbrook.

Members of the Peninsula Community Planning Board arranged the town hall meeting and gave a detailed presentation about the project before opening the floor to questions and answers.

Local residents and PCPB members also expressed concerns about the project during the boards online meeting Oct. 17.

The proposal would use a density bonus through the city of San Diego’s “Complete Communities” initiative, which aims to bolster housing and mobility. It could allow the building to exceed the citys 30-foot height limit for coastal areas as well as a constraint on floor area ratio (the size of a building in relation to its lot).

The density bonus is awarded for inclusion of residential units deemed affordable for lower-income households. For the Rosecrans building, eight of the 56 proposed apartments have been designated as affordable.

Peninsula Community Planning Board member Eric Law addresses the town hall audience with backing of (from left) board member Margaret Virissimo, Christine Smith of Neighbors for a Better San Diego and Cathy Gallagher,owner of Jennings House Eatery. (Tyler Faurot)

During the Q&A segment of the meeting, when a resident asked what constitutes “affordable,” PCPB member Eric Law and Christine Smith of Neighbors for a Better San Diego (a group that describes its mission as protecting single-family neighborhoods from overdevelopment) said the formula used to determine affordable rent is 30% of the area median income, or AMI — currently around $120,000 a year — divided by 12, which comes out to about $3,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment.

A murmur of disapproval rose from the crowd.

Contreras did not provide a comment to the Point Loma-OB Monthly. Law, who heads PCPB’s project review subcommittee, said earlier in October that board queries to the owner also had gone unanswered.

Contreras and MC Properties have been the focus of past criticism about sharp rent increases and allegations of tenant neglect.

Sally Bixler, president of the Point Loma Assembly, whose main building houses Point Loma Playhouse across Talbot Street from the project site, said that while sublevel parking spaces are included in the plan, they would be intended only for commercial use and not reserved for residents.

That also caused a stir in the audience.

“Anyone who lives here knows there is no room for 100 cars in the village,” Law said.

Bixler said the lack of parking would further compound traffic along Rosecrans and Talbot, creating an “unsafe intersection” for the nearby Cabrillo Elementary School and historical Jennings House Eatery.

Cathy Gallagher, owner of the Jennings House, which sits immediately adjacent to the project site, said the buildings construction and size would be a death knell for her business.

I barely made it through COVID hanging by my fingernails,” Gallagher said. “The building, the underground parking, it will destroy me. It will be a year and a half to a two-year project. My regulars aren’t going to want to sit in my building with that happening. After two years I’m not going to make it.”

Cathy Gallagher speaks about how her Jennings House Eatery on Rosecrans Street could be impacted by the proposed apartment development nearby. (Tyler Faurot)

Gallagher added that the size of the building, which she estimated would be taller than the tree outside her restaurant, would block natural light in the cafe and decimate its ambiance both inside and out.

She hearkened to construction of the Village Lights canopy across Rosecrans Street in 2021, which she said blocked the sidewalks leading to the Jennings House and kicked up dust, driving down foot traffic.

Cabrillo Elementary Principal Rebecca Vogel declined to comment to the Monthly. Bixler said at the meeting that Vogel was invited to attend but could not because of a family emergency.

The use of density bonuses in housing development is far from unique to this project, nor is community opposition.

Earlier this year, resident Patty Lewis filed an appeal, supported by residents organized under the name Coastal Caretakers, against a 20-unit apartment complex slated for Point Loma Avenue at Ebers Street in Ocean Beach. The San Diego Planning Commission unanimously halted the project until necessary revisions could be made.

Across Mission Bay, two bigger residential projects in Pacific Beach have drawn similar opposition from residents in that area.

One is a 239-foot, 22-story development proposed for Turquoise Street that would feature 213 apartment units, 10 of which are designated for very-low- to middle-income families, above ground-floor shops.

That project, which is being reviewed by Development Services, would bypass San Diego’s voter-approved 30-foot coastal height limit through a state density bonus law that supersedes local voter initiatives and planning rules. The law allows developers to add to their buildings for offering certain quantities of housing considered affordable for lower-income residents.

The project has drawn skepticism from City Councilman Joe LaCava and Mayor Todd Gloria, who called for further review of its eligibility for the density bonus.

Another high-rise that has already been approved is a plan to build a 60-unit, 60-foot residential building on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach. It is set to break ground in February. Nearly all the units will be deed-restricted for households with very low and extremely low incomes.

The state density bonus law was established in 1979 and has been expanded over the years. It requires cities to grant waivers and incentives for projects with units deed-restricted for low-income households. It was updated last year to clarify that it supersedes local voter initiatives.

Richard Berg, a spokesman for the Development Services Department, previously told the Monthly that the Rosecrans project’s permit review includes whether it meets city parking and traffic standards.

However, the process is ministerial, meaning the applicants do not need to seek public input and that review by city staff does not need to include public hearings.

That has brought more frustration from community members.

One speaker at the town hall said she was disappointed that city staff members were not in attendance.

“If it is their position and their program, they should be present,” she said.

Mike Bixler, Sally Bixlers husband, said he was deeply offended by the exclusion of community input.

“We cant see a public document, and I don’t know how this vision of loneliness could get this far without any public input at all,” he said.

San Diego mayoral candidate Larry Turner addresses the crowd at an Oct. 29 town hall meeting in Point Loma about a proposed apartment/commercial project. (Tyler Faurot)

San Diego mayoral hopeful Larry Turner, an Ocean Beach resident who is challenging Gloria in the Nov. 5 election, attended the meeting and briefly addressed the audience.

“This is happening all over the city,” Turner said. “I hear from all the other people in the community … we are missing that representative element. You should demand more from elected officials.”

Law told the crowd that to halt the Rosecrans project, the community will have to “act in some fashion.”

Community member Mark Cervantes said interviews are underway for a law firm to represent the community in any litigation over the project.

Pacific Beach resident Scott Chipman said stopping these kinds of developments will take a combined effort across different communities.

“This has to be a joint effort to take back control from Sacramento and downtown,” Chipman said at the town hall. “This is nothing compared to what could be coming. We need to join all of the planning groups together.”