The Rancho Bernardo Community Council has voted against supporting a petition sought by Westwood residents to implement an overnight two-hour parking limit.
The same petition is slated to be voted on by the Rancho Bernardo Planning Board at its 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19 meeting in the RB Swim & Tennis Club, 16955 Bernardo Oaks Drive.
Following audience and council members’ comments at the Jan. 5 meeting, the community council voted 4-11-2 on a motion stating the council would support the petition despite the council’s position that a ban was unlikely to alleviate the problem. Stated reasons included the police department’s inability due to available staffing and allocation of resources to enforce a two-hour parking limit. The two abstainers due to conflict of interest were Tom Lettington, an impacted Westwood resident who signed the petition, and Katie Newbanks, a Waterbridge resident.
The council once again heard from supporters living along or near impacted streets and opponents from the Waterbridge condos and Westwood Townhomes.
Waterbridge residents spoke against the two-hour limitation between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. because theirs are among the 100 or so vehicles filling the streets along Poblado Road, Botero Drive, Oculto Road and adjacent cul-de-sacs. They and their guests park in the neighborhood across the street from the complex because of insufficient available parking within the complex, in part blamed on a space deeding system. Many units only have one space but more than one vehicle.
Waterbridge resident Karen Parlin recounted all her complex has done since the summer to find another place for its residents and guests to park and said condo officials were to meet on Monday with city staffers to see if the complex can get a tandem parking variance in order to increase parking. She said it is about 75 spaces short.
Parlin alleged Waterbridge residents have been “bullied” by the Westwood residents, whom she said are unhappy with the extra vehicles due to “inconvenience” caused them. “We are all one Westwood for goodness sake, show some decency,” she said to the audience.
“This is the most unpeaceful neighborhood I’ve lived in,” said Waterbridge resident Katie Cheng, adding Waterbridge residents’ tax dollars pay for maintenance of the Westwood city streets and have a right to park there.
“We are a big city and cities change,” Cheng said. “We need to adapt and realize we’re all together in this.”
Westwood Townhomes I HOA board member Jason Wessels also spoke against the petition, saying if passed it would push the vehicles into his area that is farther up Poblado.
Westwood resident Greg Birch, a petition signer, said he has safety concerns due to street width and other alleged activity that he says has been going on for the last 10 years of his 28 in the neighborhood. “This has been an issue for a long, long time and it’s really unfortunate a small portion of residents in Westwood have to suffer due (Waterbridge’s) parking issue,” he said.
Lin Borgen, whose elderly father lives in Westwood, said she supported the petition because if passed, it would force Waterbridge to solve its problem.
Council member Kelly Batten said she understood Westwood residents’ frustration, but banning overnight parking “is not going to solve the problem.”
Member Bettyann Pernice said she was voting in opposition because Waterbridge was not the only one contributing to vehicles on the street. She said if Westwood residents would clean out their garages and use their driveways that would take many vehicles off the impacted streets too.
Members Hugh Rothman and Mike Maiorano were among the four who spoke and voted in favor of the petition supported by 75 percent of the 122 impacted households, a city requirement in the petition implementation process.
Maiorano said the ban might not be implemented — the council’s vote is advisory and the city has the final say — but he said because of the process that has gone on for a year, “I’m glad to see at least some good movement (by Waterbridge) and things might happen (to increase its parking).”
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