Grandfathering Ordinance to be Debated

Straight from Richard Alles, to me, to you:

A new grandfathering ordinance will be considered by the City Council's Quality-of-Life committee tomorrow morning at 7:30 am.

Quality-of-Life Council Committee meeting
Media Briefing Room, 1st floor, City Hall

Development consultant Susan Wright chaired the "Vested Rights Task Force" which wrote the new ordinance. Wright belongs to a development industry advocacy & lobbying group called the "Real Estate Council of SA".

Recently, controversy over the ordinance intensified when a competing ordinance was submitted by City attorneys and staffers. Among the areas of disagreement is a provision to grandfather projects that have lost their vested rights. In return, the developer would agree to comply with the weak 1997 tree preservation ordinance. Such a provision could allow a developer without a valid grandfathering claim to escape the 1997 stormwater drainage ordinance, the 2001 park/open space standards, and the 2003 tree ordinance.

Grandfathering (aka vested rights) is a legal means for developers to circumvent regulations enacted after they submit an application for development.