Presenting your project
We seek to make our community planning process accessible and transparent to all applicants. Here you’ll find information to help guide applicants in preparing submissions, engaging our design review committee, and presenting to the full board.
Guide for Applicants
Get a preliminary review
Before a bringing your presentation to the full Uptown Planners board, we strongly recommend bringing your project to one of our standing committees for initial review. Our standing committees seek to assist applicants in making their projects as fully developed and prepared as possible for presentation to the full board and our community audience.
Our standing committees are Design Review, Public Facilities, and Historic Preservation. These committees can help applicants hone their plans to better match community goals set forth in the Uptown Community Plan, Uptown specific area plans, the Regional Transportation Plan, the city’s Climate Action Plan and Vision Zero commitments, and other city and county requirements.2
Submission requirements
A Building Conditions Report is required for all Tentative Map and Map Waiver applications for residential condominium conversions. Building Condition Reports will also be required for all Final Maps, Parcel Maps and Certificate of Compliance requests for residential condominium conversions where the Tentative Map or Map Waiver has been conditioned to require one.
Be sure to include the following pursuant to City requirements:
1. Detailed description of the number of existing units to be converted.
2. Site Plan showing parking, trash enclosures and other site amenities.
3. Show existing parking remaining, new proposed additional parking and the city required parking per current city codes.
4. To scale proposed exterior elevations with materials called out and context of the project within the community.
5. Color board showing proposed new exterior materials as well as existing to remain.
6. Solar Energy Plan.
7. Affordable Housing Plan
8. Senior/Disability and Accessibility Plan.
9. Screening of new mechanical and rooftop elements per Uptown Community Plan.
Condo Conversions
If you are converting a building to a condominium, certain upgrades are required such as electrical systems, windows to current escape and rescue standards, smoke alarms to prevailing code, landscaping per Land Development Code Section 142.0410 and replacement of “integral building components” with a life of five years or less.
A site development permit (process Four)-will be required for any residential condominium conversion project where the applicant seeks a deviation from any of the Development Regulations contained within Section 144.0507.
Please be aware that the Uptown Planners may refer to its standard conditions before voting to approve your project. Meeting these conditions will help you meet with success during the review process.3
Get your submission on the agenda
Before a presentation can be calendared, applicants must prepare the following and send to the Uptown Planners chair using our contact form or chair@uptownplanners.org:
1. List specific title to presentation and 3-4 sentences describing what the presentation will entail.
For example,
CITY OF SAN DIEGO WATER DEPARTMENT CUSTOMER ADVOCATE – Presentation by Jane Doe, City of San Diego Public Utilities Department, about: 1) Understanding your residential water/sewer bill; 2) Overview of fixed and variable fees and charges; 3) Go Green! Online self-service option; 4) Overview of key infrastructure and services; 5) and what you can do when your utility bill is higher than expected; 6) Drought Response.
2. Indicate how long are you requesting to make your presentation, not including Q&A from the general public and the Uptown Planners board. Presentations are generally 5-10 minutes and limited to 10 minutes.
Please note that the Chair will make the final decision on how much time a presentation will be allowed depending upon that meeting’s agenda. As per The Brown Act, the agenda for any meeting will be posted on the front page of this website three calendar days before the meeting.
Once the Chair receives both of the above items, the Chair will send you a email confirming when you are calendared.
PLEASE NOTE THE DEADLINE FOR BEING ADDED TO AN UPTOWN PLANNERS AGENDA IS EIGHT DAYS BEFORE THE CALENDARED MEETING, BY 5:00PM. ANY REQUESTS RECEIVED AFTER THIS DEADLINE WILL HAVE TO BE CALENDARED ON A FOLLOWING MONTH’S AGENDA.
Finally, to ensure the proper distribution and/or possible online posting of any supplemental information for a presentation, it should be submitted to the Chair no later than five days before your calendared presentation.
Meeting Location Details
Board meetings are typically held at the Joyce Beers Center, 3900 Vermont St, San Diego. Special meetings may be held at larger venues located in Uptown. Committee meetings are held in other accessible public spaces such as the Hillcrest/Mission Hills Public Library, 215 Washington Street, San Diego.
Please contact the board chair via our contact form if you have any special requests or needs for a meeting.
Design Review Committee
Who We Are
The Design Review Committee is a standing committee of Uptown Planners. Committee meetings are open to both board members as well as members of the general public. The committee discusses and provides feedback to applicants on a variety of proposed, in-process, and existing projects in our neighborhood. Committee members’ feedback is provided to applicants in order to help them bring better-resolved projects to the full Uptown Planners board for review and approval.
Our Value to Applicants
Project approval by a community planning group can be an important step in the larger process of San Diego development. The Design Review Committee exists to assist applicants in preparing their project for approval by the full Uptown Planners board. For many projects, an applicant may wish to make preliminary presentations to the Design Review Committee before bringing the project to the full Uptown Planners board. Preliminary feedback from the Design Review Committee can help identify issues and answer questions in advance so that the full board review is streamlined.
Other Ways We Engage Projects
Along with providing recommendations to the Uptown Planners board regarding proposed projects, the Design Review Committee is also open to hearing about your future project and happy to provide preliminary input. This committee provides applicants the opportunity to receive feedback intended to help guide projects to an appropriate, cohesive final proposal before their presentation to the full Uptown Planners board.
Other Land Use and Policy Areas
The Design Review Committee also reviews existing and upcoming planning, zoning, design, and development issues. The committee seeks comments and participation from members of the local design community. We also encourage developers and public planners to engage the committee with conceptual ideas and planning policy.
Attending the Design Review Committee is an excellent way to learn about and participate in neighborhood issues related to land use and planning and may provide insight into future projects coming to our community.