U Magazine, Summer 1987

San Diego growth debate

Following the debate, a panel of community participants serving as a jury ofsorts voted 4-3-1 in favor of growth con– trols. Audience members who completed a ballot distri– buted at the beginning of the forum voted by a 176 to 89 margin in favor of growth controls as well. The idea for the USDForum program sprang from a feeling on campus that there were no established forums of high quality to debate and discuss significant issues facing San Diego. USO President Author E. Hughes and School ofLaw Dean Sheldon Krantz, who chairs the forum planning committee , agreed last summer tha t the idea ofa continuing forum to debate significant issues facing San Diego met the University's objective ofserving the commu– nity and would help San Diegans build a better future for themselves. In an effort to make the growth debate access ible to as much of the community as possible, study guides soon will be made available to schools, policy makers and the general public. The two-hour program also was videotaped by Southwestern Cable Television and broadcast in June. Copies of the tape are available to individuals by contact– ing the Office of Communications, USO, Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110. The forum committee plans to continue the debate series during the next academic year. Public morality, bor– der issues and airport location are among the topics under consideration. Ideas for future debates also maybe mailed to USDForum, Office of Communications, University of San Diego, Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110. •

Law professor Richard "Corky "Wharton, attomeyfor the growth managementjorces , emphasizes a point.

demanding limits on growth, as seen in managed growth initiatives recently adopted by voters in Carlsbad, Ocean– side and Vista. "Those who espouse a free market are just copping out," Worden said. "The inevitable result of that is that a desirable area like San Diego draws people un ti! it deterior– ates so much that people don 't want to come here." Worden suggested implementing a one and a half to two– year building moratorium until city and county officials can devise and implement a new, effective plan. Kim Kilkenny, legislative counsel for the Construction Industry Federation, the other witness representing the anti-controls forces, said a moratorium on growth would result in 150,000 to 200,000 workers , mostly in middle income positions , losing their jobs. He also forecast a jump in the county's unemployment rate to 14 percent from the current 6 percent level. "Everyone will suffer with that kind ofscenario, " he said. Kilkenny said the city's current growth management plan is reasonablywell designed , but fails in its implemen– tation stage. "The failure is in implementaton - developer fees are paid, they're just not transferred into making enough facilities," he pointed out.

Professor Wharton summarizes his case as ajury of com– munity representatives listens.

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