S.D. Planning Comm. okays UCSD Hillel

By Donald H. Harrison

Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO – After a 17-year process of waiting and modifying, the proposed Glickman Hillel Center at UCSD won unanimous approval on Thursday, April 27, from the San Diego City Planning Commission and next goes to the San Diego City Council for final approval.

Twenty-six persons testified in favor of the proposed 6,479-square-foot, three-building complex at a triangle of land at 9009 La Jolla Scenic Drive North and  another 10 persons testified in opposition to the project which will include a student center, a library and chapel, and leadership offices.

With chairman Stephen Haase absent, the six remaining planning commissioners expressed sympathy for the concerns of neighbors who told of their concern about traffic, noise and parking.  However, the commissioners said the benefits of the project tipped the scales in favor. They mentioned the facts that approximately one-third of the project area will be used for park space, with pedestrian walkways; that the three buildings are of similar scale to the residential area nearby; and that the landscaping, with heavy use of indigenous Torrey Pines, matches the foliage of the area. The current vacant lot is an eyesore, many proponents tesitified, and the new project will beautify the area.

In a meeting at City Hall that was delayed 45 minutes by a fire drill, the Planning Commission decided to add a requirement that as much space for bicycle racks as possible be added to the site, and suggested, but did not require, that Hillel hold quarterly meetings with representatives of the neighborhood to discuss any possible noise or traffic complaints.

Among the 26 people who testified in behalf of Hillel were numerous Jewish communal leaders, among them: Rabbi David Singer, the director of UCSD Hillel; Michael Rabkin, the executive director of Hillel of San Diego, which oversees centers at UCSD, San Diego State University and Cal State San Macos; Tammy Gillies, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League; Emily Jennewein, former president of Hillel and of Congregation Beth Israel; Herbert Solomon, who was the first chairman of the San Diego Housing Commission; Steven Weitzen, a past president of Congregation Adat Yeshurun; Laurie Black, whose late father in law Larry Lawrence negotiated the lease for construction of the Lawrence Family JCC decades ago, and Elaine Galinson, whose father Joseph Glickman is the lead, $5 million donor for the future construction of the Beverly & Joseph Glickman Hillel Center.

A representative of Congressman Scott Peters (D-San Diego), who once served as the San Diego City Councilmember representing La Jolla, also spoke in favor of the project.

Opponents, almost mantra-like, said that they did not oppose Hillel, which they described as a wonderful organization, but rather were opposed to the location of the facility. Other pieces of property near the campus could have avoided what they termed a conflict between a residential neighborhood and a student center.

There were Jews among the opponents who told of their positive experiences at Hillel when they were students, but said notwithstanding their religious sympathies they had to speak out against the center for what they said would be harmful impacts on the community.

Opponents pointed out that in the 17 years that the project has been under consideration, and scaled down, it has repeatedly been rejected by neighborhood planning boards. Further, they said, under a revised community plan, the Hillel House if proposed today would not qualify for construction in the La Jolla Shores neighborhood. It was only being considered because the proposed project was “grandfathered” under old rules, they said.

Having Jewish speakers benefited the opposition because, in the 1950s before UCSD was built, La Jolla was known as a community that did everything it could through restrictive covenants and discriminatory real estate practices, to prevent Jews from moving into the area.  In nearly two decades of debate over the project, there have been charges that some anti- Semitic attitudes remain in La Jolla.

After hearing nearly two hours of testimony, commissioners one by one declared their support for the project, saying that ultimately it would enhance the neighborhood and provide a good architectural transition between the UCSD campus and the nearby residences.

Although all the commissioners ultimately voted for the project, Commissioner Vicki Granowitz, who described herself as the single Jew on the commission, said she had great sympathy for the residents, notwithstanding the fact that Hillel had been an important part of her life growing up.

Granowitz said Purim carnivals typically are events that draw many people, and she was assured by Hillel’s attorney, Robin Madaffer, that Hillel will live up to an agreement to host a maximum of 220 people on the site four times a year.

She asked for, and received, guarantees that providing security for the students would be important part of Hillel’s design process. Rabbi Singer said there will be controlled access to the buildings and ongoing monitoring of the site.

The commissioner also suggested meetings with the neighbors four times a year – to which Madaffer replied that Hillel would hold a meeting with neighbors to decide what kind of meeting arrangements would be preferred.

Commissioner William Hofman, who made the motion to support the Hillel project, said there was no need to require quarterly meetings, because he believes Hillel is an organization that wants good relations with its neighbors. “I trust them,” he said.

As the matter will next go before the City Council, where the issues will be heard again, Thursday’s meeting at the planning commission was something of a dress rehearsal.

Since the last time that the San Diego City Council took testimony on the issue, there have been changes in its membership, perhaps most notably with the representation of the La Jolla community itself having changed hands. Former City Councilwoman Sherrie Lightner was an opponent of the Hillel project. Having been termed out, she was replaced on the 9-member city council by Barbara Bry, a member of the Jewish community, who has not yet taken a public position on the plan.

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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com