Bishop Buddy Scrapbook 1941-1945

7

THE SOUTHER CROSS, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1 , 1944 Council Should Rescind

Dioc e of San Diego 1.528 Fourth Avenue San Diego California (Zone 1) February 28, 1944

Recently the San Diego City Coun- cil rescinded an a c t i o n it had taken the previous week. Could not the same Council reconsider its vote and grant such rezoning to the entire Bridges Estate as to permit the San Diego College for \Y/ omen to get started by September 1944. The Hon- orable Mayor and Councilmen might ponder well the following decision handed down by a State Supreme Court on a similar petition. Many such decisions could be adduced but the following carries the argument to its logical conclusion. A Supreme Court Decision The property in controversy was a proposed parochial grade school. In that case one of the claims advanced by the city officials was that the pro- po~ed school site was in a high class residential district in which many of the residents had expended large sums of money in improving and beautifying their property; that the erection of a school on the site in question would lessen the value of property of many of whom had bought their property and built mansions thereon for homes ' after tlie passage of the ordinance, and had spent large sums of money in mak- ing lawns and setting out shrubbery. Notwithstanding this and other argu- ments put forward in support of the ordinance, it was held invalid, the court saying, that inter alia ( 140 Or. 600, 15 P 2d 39 5 ) : "The right to own prop• erty is an inherent right, one of those rights with which men are endowed by their Creator. This right of ownership is subject to the superior rights of the public to appropriate such property for certain public uses on payment of just compensation. The right to own car- ries with it the right to use that prop• erty in any manner that the owner may desire so long as such use will not im- pair the public health, peace, safety, or general welfare. The kind of school proposed to be erected will not inter- fere with the public health; it cannot affect the public peace; it surely will not endanger the public safety; and by all civili,ed peoples, an educational in- stitution, whose curriculum complies with the state law, is considered an aid to the general welfare. These proposi- tions cannot be successfully disputed. It is not a question alone of what mone- tary damage plaintiff may sustain, but also a question of the invasion of one of plaintiff's inherent rights. **Under the O ainance, the plaintiff could not buy a tract of land in any residential district in the city of • • • • • • • and know at the time of the purchase whether a building for school purposes might be erected thereon. There are no specifications in the ordinance as to how or where a site for a school may be located, prior to the action of the city council. Its location would be a mat- ter entirely within. the arbitrary power of the city c6uncil, the city planning commission, or 5 0 per cent of the property owners in a district of which the boundaries are arbitrarily fixed by the ordinance, and that power might be exercised or not at the whim or caprice of these bodies."

Fine Arts Colle

The Rev. John F. Bums, O.S.A. 3585 Thirtieth Street San Diego, California Dear Father Bums:

At the invitation of our Most Rev- erend Bishop, the Superiors of the So- ciety of the Sacred Heart came to San Diego one year ago, made a thorough surv~y of the city, studied maps, visited possible locations, and expressed their choice for the Bridges property which ~ad ~een offered for this purpose. Con- s1denng transportation facilities the . . . ' msp1nng site, the commodious man- sio~, and the impossibility of building durmg the war, it was felt that the Bridges estate could be made to serve the_ greater number .at the present time. Neither the Loma Portal residents nor anyone else was asked for financial aid although that would not have been out of order. The Society of the Sa~red Heart is prepared to come and start on a small scale now and later to spend up- wards of one-half million dollars to foun~ a Liberal Arts College for the benefit and convenience of San Diego anc:L the surrounding cities. • It ~as conclusively proven, by writ- ten evidence submitted to the Council that educational institutions of thi~ kind enhance the value of surrounding property. Planning Commission Obstructs When the m a t t e r was first broached to the Planning Commission th_e chairman of that body made cer: tam recommendations, namely, that the college stay inside the fence of the Brid~es property and not attempt to acquire the desirable plot of vacant land across the street on Alcott. The chairman of the Planning Commission further recommended that restrictions of one-hundred feet deep all along Chatsworth Boulevard and fifty feet :le~p along Curtis be also imposed. Later, at the hearing, a reversionary :lause to the effect that if the said prop- ~rty should ever cease to be used for !ducational purposes or for purposes :>ther than permitted by Zone 1, the

Let me offer sincere congratulations on your ~plendid portrayal of THE NAZAREi. •E. You ~Tote a soul-stir- ring drama--one that never los sight of our Divine Lord's teachings. That to me is outstanding in the script. A fine variety of characters and elegant costuming, effec- tive taging, all play their beautiful parts-but one never loses sight of the Divine Lover. It should be added in truth, that the cast of characters did justice to the theme. They did not permit one dull moment and entered into their parts with real Catholic appreciation. Even though the production represents painstaking work on your part and beautiful cooperation by the cast, all can be deeply consoled with the successful results in this triumph of art. Please col!vey my triple blessing and 1 gratitude to all who took part. Devotedly your servant in Christ,

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Bishop of San Diego.

CFB:pc

Zoning Impasse The Editors have received so many indignant protests from far and near regarding the recent action of the City Council in rejecting the petition for rezoning a portion of the Bridges Estate in Loma Portal to permit a San Diego College for women, that a pre- sentation of the facts appears in order. To start· at the beginning, over two years ago the Most Reverend Bishop of San Diego presented to the Relig- ious of the Sacred Heart in San Fran- cisco the crying need for a San Diego college where young women of the city, regardless of Creed, could pursue a collegiate course in the Fine Arts. The growth of this city demands such an institution. The Religious of the Sacred Heart, known for their great learning, specialize in higher education for women. They conduct no hospi- tals nor orphanages, but confine them- selves solely to the work of education for which they were founded. Most cities are willing to grant them conces- sions iq view of the hundredfold re- turns. These Religious have flourish- ing colleges for women in New York, St. Louis, Chicago, Omaha, Grand Co- teau, Louisiana, and San Francisco. Their superior ability as educators 1s recognized by intelligent people.

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