After 30 years without an overhaul, Clairemont’s revamped community plan was signed into law by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria on Friday, paving the way for 14,000 new homes.
The San Diego City Council approved community plan updates for two neighborhoods, Clairemont and the College area, last week, the first comprehensive overhaul for both in more than 30 years.
“Updating community plans means listening to San Diegans, weighing different perspectives, and planning for the future our city needs,” Mayor Todd Gloria said. “The Clairemont and College Area plans reflect years of community input and set a clear path to build more homes, improve safety and mobility, and invest in public spaces that help neighbors stay connected. This is how we grow thoughtfully, create opportunity, and make sure San Diego works for everyone.”
The Clairemont update adds additional capacity for 14,000 new homes in areas close to trolley stations, and allows mixed-use opportunities in Clairemont Town Square and Clairemont Community Core, according to city documents.
It encourages walkable neighborhoods, new homes close to transit, and improving safety and mobility through protected intersections, expanded areas for walking and biking and “flex lanes” that can adapt to meet different traffic needs.
Additional recreational opportunities such as neighborhood parks, pocket parks and joint-use areas are also part of the update.
While the updated community plan puts ideas on paper, it is up to property owners and developers to buy into it, so it could take years for the vision for Clairemont’s future to come to fruition. For now, local leaders are championing the important step in the process.
“Clairemont is such a vibrant place where people want to come live, and this plan update will help us meet the needs of Clairemont’s current and future residents,” City Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell said.
For illustrative purposes only. Conceptual rendering of Balboa Trolley Station Village (looking north).
The updated plans went through years of public input, including two draft plan releases, community workshops and reviews by community planning groups, the Planning Commission and the Land Use & Housing Committee.
“These plan updates reflect years of community conversations about how to strengthen neighborhoods, improve mobility for all users, create options for more homes and enhance public spaces,” City Planning Director Heidi Vonblum said. “We’re grateful to the community members who shared their time, insights and feedback throughout this process. Their participation helped shape plans that will guide thoughtful, long-term growth in Clairemont and the College Area for decades to come.”
Clairemont and the College Area could see thousands of additional housing units in the near future, reports NBC 7’s Audra Stafford.
San Diego has 52 community plan areas and the city has now completed 19 community plan updates since 2008.
The Mid-City Communities Plan Update is currently underway, with updates to the Rancho Bernardo Community Plan and the Otay Mesa-Nestor Community Plan anticipated to begin next, officials said.