A Halloween Horror Story

10/31/18

What if I told you life right now in Poway was similar to the photo. You already know that because you live here. Nice neighborhoods with trick or treaters going down safe streets where you know your neighbors and we all watch out for one another. I think that is the Poway we moved here for.

But the future of Poway looks totally different. What is on the horizon is the Halloween story...

These nice neighborhoods are going to be replaced with traffic and housing density all along Poway Rd. There are changes allowed with the Poway Corridor Plan that has high density housing and taller buildings on Poway Rd, some slated to be right behind those who live on Wanesta or in Heritage Hills, Oak Knoll and other southern neighborhoods streets. Along with the changes coming, we get today's news the the pool FINALLY is opening, but that there are cost overuns of $600k and we still don't really know why. We never get any details out of city hall, but it is not for lack of asking....

The Plan allows for less parking than in 2017 and up to 35 homes/acre and makes no changes to account for the traffic except adding bike lanes. If the city allows it in the plan it will happen. The current council all voted for it and based on their history, the only reason to allow it in the plan is because they are planning for it to happen. I got a mailer today about the Outpost development, but that is the old 2017 and earlier standards and frankly, doesn't look like the Poway I know and love.

The new plan is much different. With denser housing projects going in and lower parking requirements, where do the excess cars park? Well right in our neighborhoods. We see what happens from planning mistakes in the past all along Oak Knoll and Robison, Carriage and others. Our wake up call is now. I talked to 2 residents yesterday that said it will never happen in Poway. I showed them the plan and it already is happening. We looked at the overlays and it makes so much sense why the low income medical center was placed in the old Wendy's location, because the other parcels are going to be homes. I think this is the most important election Poway has had in years.

The future of our way of life is at stake. Once you build these types of projects, you do not get your community back. We have to look to the future and the future is looking like Mira Mesa and Carmel Mountain instead of Poway. These changes are happening in District 1 and will affect all of Poway.

 I am running for District 1 member because I live in the neighborhood, do not want the character of our city to change and have a solid history trying to get the council to make Poway better. I have fought to not waste our money, fought to maintain our parks, fought to stop the over development and asked the hard questions of our council. You can get more information on me, my love for Poway and why I am running for office on my website at https://ryan4poway.com I am asking for your vote to protect our way of life, maintain our parks and fields, save our money and keep the small town community for the future.

 

Stories from the Trail, A podcast

9/27/18

I sat for a podcast session with the John Riley project last night.

We start out with crazy stories from the campaign trail, a couple dog stories, but get to the real issues like water, power, finances and the future of Poway. If you want to get to know me, this is the way to do it, we cover most everything including why I want to represent you and why I am running.  Jon Ryan on Riley Podcast

9/14/18

In case you cannot see clearly from the photo, this is from the new Poway Corridor plan. This scheme is obviously brought up by someone who does not live in South Poway or District 1 and it is quite frankly NUTS.

This is the turn lane from Community to Poway Road. The Corridor plan says explicitly:

 Poway Road and Community Road Right- turn Lane

"To further improve safety and reduce conflicts with eastbound cyclists and pedestrians crossing Community Road, the northbound vehicular free-right turn lane will be removed. The reclaimed space can be used to implement a gateway feature, public art, or a parklet. Look it up, it's in the plan page 6-11. I have combined the photo and the text because I had to check twice to make sure somebody actually is proposing to make traffic way worse to ease conflicts with eastbound cyclists."

Are you kidding me? Do you know how much traffic turns right at that intersection per day? If you live here you do...That is the Brigantine on the right. They are going to create a huge traffic nightmare to ease the conflict with eastbound cyclists. The second picture is how that intersection looks today. For anyone who doesn't know, I am a huge cycling fan and supporter (though I cannot cycle far due to a disability) so I understand the concerns of the cyclists but i imagine if that intersection gets 10 cyclists a day, it would be a super busy day, so creating a traffic bottleneck makes no sense.

This just shows that we need Poway residents who drive these roads to be on the council and we need to reconsider what is in this plan. We can prevent this only if we have representation that drives in South Poway. We need a change on our board and that is why I am running, because I know the area and know this would be a mess.

 

Residents Criticize New Councilmember

8/22/18

The meeting on Tuesday was not the normal Council Affair. Several residents and candidates complained about the appointment of the new Councilmember made right before the election season in Poway started. The appointment I believe offers a significant incumbent advantage. I had gone to the meeting knowing that I was not the only resident that was angry that the council appointed someone who had only lived in Poway for three months and I was ready to say something about it. I was not the only one and by the time I got to speak, the subject had been well covered. For all full breakdown on what happened, see this UT article Appointed Councilmember faces criticism

 

WHAT? Massive Power Bill High Usage Charge

8/16/18

Get ready for massive Sticker Shock the next week. Power bills are going out and MANY people are getting tagged with a high usage charge. This is obviously my best picture but it coveys how many of us feel this week!

Part of this is about the baseline...My baseline for last month was 302 KwH. I asked SDGE how many people without solar only use that little. The person I talked to said almost nobody. My house is never below 82-84. I believe most of us in Poway should have the same baseline according to what they told me...If you don't please let me know. I am curious.

Now I ask you, our mayor and current councilmembers including my opponent in District 1 has mostly been there for 8 years at least. Have they done anything to help us with power, cable bills or water bills? It seems we have no plan and bow to all these monopolies. I will work as hard as necessary to do something instead of rubber stamp monopolies taking advantage of us. I know there is a better way. I encourage you to ask your current representatives what they have done in 8 years to prevent this. Do not accept, well its the state, well its the ...(insert excuse here) We need a change in leadership and I vow to try my hardest to make this better! Issues like this are why I am running, we have to make our lives better going forward.

Sad news..This weekend 2 more trees fell at the dog park along with one tree at Community Park.

8/15/18

Both of the trees were removed which means a lot more shade lost. One of the trees near the water post at the large pen fell on Saturday around 6 pm, luckily did not come close to injuring any people or pets. The other tree fell outside the park into the fence of the large pen. Both trees have since been removed A few months ago, a tree fell in the small dog park and luckily again,no major injuries. Here are pictures of the trees that fell and the huge gaping holes they leave behind. Maintenance at the parks has been behind and it is extremely sad that we are losing these trees that have been around for decades this summer. I think it is because they are not getting enough water, since many of the parks are looking pretty ragged. The parks definitely do not look as nice as 4 years ago and this is a maintenance issue. I have warned the city often that the lack of maintenance will be a problem and sadly we are now seeing that with irreplaceable trees dying. Park maintenance is one of my TOP priorities and we deserve better.

The incumbents have let our parks decline and that is one of the main reasons I am running for District 1 representative. This cannot continue.