The Serra Mesa Planning Group meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month at the Serra Mesa / Kearny Mesa Library (9005 Aero Drive) from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. Usually an online option is available. SMPG meetings are open to all. Agendas and minutes posted HERE.
Community Planning Groups, recognized by the City Council, advise the city on land use issues. The Serra Mesa Planning Group (SMPG) is composed of 15 members, elected in March for staggered two-year terms. SMPG operates according to bylaws (available here) approved by the City and in accordance with the Brown Act (California’s open meetings law). Planning Group members are indemnified by the City of San Diego when conducting official business.
SMPG receives notices from the City of projects, environmental reports (if required of the project), and hearings. Generally the project’s representative(s) will attend a SMPG meeting and make a presentation. This gives the board and the audience an opportunity to ask questions and make comments. SMPG reviews a project based upon the policies found in the Serra Mesa Community Plan (available here). Additionally, SMPG reviews projects located in the Kearny Mesa and Mission Valley planning areas but adjacent to Serra Mesa. In all cases SMPG assesses projects to determine if impacts have been addressed.
After reviewing a project SMPG will make a recommendation to the decision maker (e.g., Hearing Officer, Planning Commission, and/or the City Council). In some cases SMPG has recommended approval contingent upon specified conditions. Sometimes a developer will modify a project to accommodate SMPG’s conditions.
When needed, SMPG represents the community’s interests by attending hearings before the final decision maker – a Hearing Officer, the Planning Commission or the City Council. There have been projects where the decision maker approved the project with some or all of the conditions specified by SMPG. There have been other projects where SMPG’s recommendation was not accepted.
SMPG plays an important role in representing the interests of the community to the City.