SAN DIEGO — A plan that will add thousands of jobs and tens-of-thousands of homes in Mira Mesa was unanimously approved by the San Diego City Council Monday.
The plan will create more housing and promote sustainability. It will guide neighborhood development for the next few decades.
Many of the strip malls will be changed into pedestrian-friendly urban villages.
"It's sort of a more modern idea of how you would build," said Jeffry Stevens, the chair of the Mira Mesa Community Planning Group.
The plan
- Stevens said the urban villages would have businesses on the ground floor and housing above
- The plan would add up to 24,000 housing units overall
- The pedestrian-friendly aspect of the plan includes more bike lanes and travel by air with an aerial skyway
The plan would increase Mira Mesa's population by about 50,000 people. Critics said they worry the neighborhood won't have the infrastructure or parks to support that many new residents.
"We have two kids and the school is really nice here and it's quieter," said Lana, a Mira Mesa resident. She worries the plan will ruin her neighborhood's quiet appeal.
"I feel like the high-rises would attract a different kind of lifestyle possibly so you might lose some of the suburban feeling of living in this area," she said.
However, she feels more walkability would be a plus.
"Having bike lanes, maybe some lines that are safer so you don't walk along a big stream of cars so that's something that probably can be worked on in the future," she said.
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