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Who is the developer? Peter L.P. Janopaul III
J. Peter Block Companies, are made up of many limited liability corporations set up by Peter L.P. Janopaul III. Peter Janopaul is the principal pushing this 777 Beech Street development behind the historic El Cortez. Who are the lobbyists for this developer for the 777 Beech project (the proposed 12-13 story abomination)? What are their backgrounds? Jennifer Tierney, a principal in the Gemini Group, registered 8/5/2005 http://www.gemini2twins.com/Executive_Profiles/executive_profiles.html John Kern, the former Chief of Staff to former Mayor Dick Murphy, registered 4/13/06 Brian T. Seltzer, a principal in Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek law firm, registered in past Januarys as a lobbyist for the J. Peter Block Companies. However, for 2008 Seltzer registered on March 31 as a lobbyist for Janopaul entities (JSD 1, LLC and JSD 2, LLC) because Seltzer had lobbied Deputy City Attorney Malinda Dickinson seeking "Approval of the application to develop 777 Beech Street" in the prior 30 days
Michael Zucchet, former city councilman, is not a registered lobbyst. However, he became J. Peter Block Company's V.P. for Development as of 5/15/2006. His wife once worked for Tierney's Gemini Group according to Zucchet's 2004 Statement of Economic Interests on file with the City. http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060716/news_1m16zucchet.html What are the steps in the approval process that the developer has to follow to obtain for permission to build on the 777 Beech Street property?
Done 1/19/06 (74 condos). Corrected/revised (84 condos) 5/17/06.
Is the El Cortez an historic site? Yes, it is both City of San Diego Historic Site #269 and a National Register Site. http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/programs/historical/pdf/register.pdf What is the Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) and what does it do? "CCDC is the public, non-profit corporation created by the City of San Diego to staff and implement Downtown redevelopment projects and programs. Formed in 1975, the corporation serves on behalf of the San Diego Redevelopment Agency as the catalyst for public-private partnerships to facilitate redevelopment projects adopted pursuant to redevelopment law. Through an operating agreement, CCDC is the Agency's representative in the development of retail, residential, office, hotel, cultural and educational projects and public improvement projects. Each of CCDC's seven-member board of directors is appointed by the Mayor and City Council to three year terms". http://www.ccdc.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/aboutCCDC.home What is the Mills Act? The Mills Act is legislation that lets owners of historically designated buildings reduce their property taxes in exchange for restoring and maintaining those buildings. Each city must adopt the Mills Act. Owners sign a ten-year, endlessly renewable legal contract with their city stating what the responsibilities are. The Mills Act is named for Senator James R. Mills, who sponsored the legislation over 20 years ago. Before he became a well-respected politician, Senator Mills was a noted historian, author, and preservationist. Why did the City vote to bring the Mills Act to San Diego? Because it's very smart. By giving back a percentage of tax money, it creates incentive to restore older properties. A Mills Act contract reduces the amount of property tax collected by the city, but the city doesn't miss very much money. That's because for every dollar of property tax collected, about 55 cents goes to the school system and 11 cents goes to the County of San Diego. Each city gets back only between 14 and 18 cents. It is the County Assessor's Office that calculates the tax savings for Mills Act contracts. And the County knows that restoring historic buildings is good for everybody's property values. The homeowner wins, the city wins, and the neighborhood wins. Mills Act Property Tax Abatement Program - Incentives and Architectural Review What is the City of San Diego's policy for the Mills Act? The Mills Act Agreements for Preservation of Historic Property Policy No. 700-46 What is the El Cortez Mills Act status? The Mills Act benefits of the El Cortez were placed in non-renewal by the CCDC which is a legislative limbo that allows the preservation incentives to be stripped away. The El Cortez is one of 6 properties in the redevelopment zone, which have had these benefits stripped by the CCDC. Public notices were not properly served by the CCDC! What reason does the CCDC give for placing these properties in non-renewal? According to the CCDC, the Mills Act would never have been applied to the El Cortez, as they see no reason for further preservation or maintenance of a National Historic Site. The CCDC refers to the Mills Act benefits as “public financial assistance” and views the Mills Act as some form of redevelopment or construction financing scheme. An odd analysis for a state incentive program aimed at maintaining and preserving historic sites! In addition, the CCDC has stated that the Mills Act benefits were applied to the El Cortez “by mistake”. Coincidentally, 6 of the 9 Mills Act properties downtown managed by the CCDC have had their Mills Act benefits placed in “non-renewal” for the same reason, a bureaucratic “mistake.” Has anyone benefited from the Mills Act at the El Cortez? YES. The developers (Peter Janopaul and Anthony Block) benefited from property tax breaks for two (2) full years before the CCDC decided to fix the mistake. When did the CCDC serve notice of non-renewal? The CCDC served notice of non-renewal the same day the very first homeowners closed escrow! Did the developers, Peter Janopaul and Anthony Block, disclose the non-renewal of the Mills act to prospective buyers when they converted the El Cortez apartments and sold them as condos?
What is the Centre City Advisory Committee (CCAC) and what does it do? http://www.ccdc.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/resources.ccac Who is on the Historical Resources Board (HRB) and what does the HRB do? http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/programs/historical/members/bios.shtml Who is on the Planning Commission and what does it do? http://www.sandiego.gov/planning-commission/members.shtml What is SOHO and what does it do? SOHO is a private membership historic preservation group. They receive some public funds for their services to San Diego City and County. http://sohosandiego.org/main/aboutsoho.htm Peter Janopaul is a SOHO Board member: http://sohosandiego.org/main/people.htm The San Diego Reader published (June 10, 2004) an interesting article on SOHO entitled "Wallet Preservationists": http://www.sdreader.com/php/cityshow.php?id=C061004 What is the National Historic Register? http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/ The El Cortez, after it was rehabilitated in 2000, became designated as a National Register Site on 1/17/02. (This allowed the developer to receive valuable historic rehabilitation tax credits.) It is also an honor to be so designated, and San Diego is proud of the El Cortez today and its place in the fond memories of those who visited it in years past. What can you do to help prevent development on this historic site? EMAIL, WRITE AND/OR FAX all of your elected representatives shown on the “Take Action ” page on this website and let them know how you feel about blocking the public view of this iconic San Diego historic building and the blight on the Cortez Hill neighborhood if this abomination is constructed on the El Cortez terrace. |
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