Drama in the 'hood (Berkeley, El Cajon: section 8, apartment, city hall)

[NYSD1995]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/m...bn08guard.html

Why the California Club is allowed to operate is a complete mystery to me. It's a magnet for low-lives and practically across the street from an elementary school and a church.

Best part of this article - they say the California Club is in Rolando, but it's actually in El Cerrito. Then they say that Seminole and Art street is in El Cerrito, but it's in Rolando.

[NYSD1995]

I emailed the UT and they fixed the neighborhoods.

[Sampaguita]

Nice. Just what I needed to read. Stupid people who need a game boy THAT badly.

We live just down the street from that card club. It's surprisingly quiet but all the cars overflowing onto our already-narrow streets are a PITA and I hate, hate, hate that sign!

Isn't there some ordinance that stipulates that when their lease or something of that nature runs out, they, as a card club, will not be able to renew and would therefore have to move?

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by Sampaguita

Nice. Just what I needed to read. Stupid people who need a game boy THAT badly.

We live just down the street from that card club. It's surprisingly quiet but all the cars overflowing onto our already-narrow streets are a PITA and I hate, hate, hate that sign!

Isn't there some ordinance that stipulates that when their lease or something of that nature runs out, they, as a card club, will not be able to renew and would therefore have to move?

No idea... there is another card club in North Park on ECB that has been there as long if not longer.

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by Sampaguita

Nice. Just what I needed to read. Stupid people who need a game boy THAT badly.

We live just down the street from that card club. It's surprisingly quiet but all the cars overflowing onto our already-narrow streets are a PITA and I hate, hate, hate that sign!

Isn't there some ordinance that stipulates that when their lease or something of that nature runs out, they, as a card club, will not be able to renew and would therefore have to move?

Develop a neighborhood organization. Transform your "No mini-dorm" organization into a general El Cerrito Progress group. It will probably take years, perhaps even a decade for the city to change it's ordnances and for the current lease to expire. But if you actually want to do something that's the way to go.

Of course, we all know that as individuals and neighbors we only have so much energy and outrage to stop the decay and undo the damage of previous bad planning, but if you formed a community orgainzation you could list all the issues that trouble you, prioritze them, and then start pounding on doors at city hall. Also, take volunteer action too, like litter clean up. Not so much because that will solve the issues you have, but because it will give you credibility downtown. For the folks in City Hall, God - in this case the city - helps those who help themselves.

Oh, and enlist your bordering neighborhoods, College, Rolando, and Talmadge. Because everyone is troubled by the serious ugly that effects so much of El Cajon Boulevard. I'd like to say the El Cajon Business Improvement District should be your ally but I believe they stop at 54th street, and two, that other club in North Park would be a member of their organization.

[Sampaguita]

The El Cerrito Community Council is very active and is constantly making efforts on the residents' behalf. I don't know that forming yet another sub-committee will help. I am willing to bet that members of the ECCC are already talking about this.

From time to time this card club does come up in meetings but the consensus is that the owners have been good about keeping their area/sidewalk fairly tidy. We've really not had any problems with them. In the 4 yrs we've lived here, we've never heard of any problems.

This incident happened after the club had closed (2am is closing). The owners probably aren't thrilled about this.

A few of our neighbors said they heard the shot.

Choosing to live in this area comes with its ups & downs. I'm just glad we have a community that is pro-active.

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by Sampaguita

Choosing to live in this area comes with its ups & downs. I'm just glad we have a community that is pro-active.

Definitely work with existing groups. No need to re-invent the wheel.

Speaking of pro-active and it's opposite. Barrio Logan doesn't even have a planning advisory board, while La Jolla is so intensely involved with their board the political intrigue rivals a university faculty lounge. It's positively Berkeleyan.

I guess though the general issue is that El Cajon Boulevard is a problem. It's so auto-centric it will always be pedestrian unfriendly. It's a magnet for crime. It's unattractive. Parts of it are too industrial - I'm thnking of the auto service businesses between I-15 and 54th Street. And frankly, I don't think the surrounding communities are well-served by the businesses located on the Boulevard.

Let me ask this question, what errands do any of us actually do on ECB?

I sometimes go to the Vons and Smart and Final up Sassberto's way, and I get a cheap haircut on the boulevard.

The El Cajon Business Improvement District is trying to figure out how to keep the shops from turning vacant along the Boulevard, while in Kensington they are trying to squeeze in more retail and office space along Adams Avenue.

I guess being a converted highway probably dooms ECB to its current fate. Though the city does have a plan to allow the building of highrise apartment buildings along the boulevard, with 8 story buildings at ECB and Park, to 5 story buildings east of I-15. Maybe in a few decades the conversion to residential might change the feel of the street.

[Sampaguita]

That's the problem...they keep putting up businesses that most residents in El Cerrito - north of El Cajon - don't really have use for.

Except for weekly visits to the Living Room, occasional meals at Toshi Sushi we don't really frequent any of the business along El Cajon. I will say that we LOVE LOVE Hadi who owns the used car lot on 55th & El Cajon (Paykan Auto). He & his mechanic service our cars...incredible service. They even drop our cars off for us when they're done!

I've always been somewhat surprised that with Talmadge & El Cerrito there are not more businesses like those popping up in Kensington. I suppose it has a lot to do ECB.

ECCC fought against a development project that would have put mixed use (housing, section 8 housing & businesses) from the corner of ECB & 54th to the card place. I don't remember the numbers but density would have been increased to ridiculous levels. The big issue is that they were going to butt those businesses up against the backs of residential homes.

My husband was the community rep selected to work with the developers to come to some kind of plan that might be acceptable. It ended up just going away. There was a lot of mixed reaction especially for the families who would have been directly affected by the buildings shadowing/looking into their backyards.