The most promising — maybe even exciting — development in Chula Vista has nothing to do with a four-year university.
When years from now that academic institution finally opens its doors, the hurrahs and cheers will gradually be replaced by grumbles and mutterings of noisy neighbors and traffic congestion.
Nor is the most promising development the gradual renaissance of Chula Vista’s bayfront.
When the final condos are sold, the hotel rooms booked and streets swept cleaner than a Disneyland bathroom, the everyday luxury of bayfront living will belong to a relative few. Eventually the novelty of bayfront development will wear off and the average Chula Vistan will get on with life.
If you think the most significant development on Chula Vista’s horizon is any one of the planned communities featuring mixed-use housing, HOAs and parks without added traffic then you must be a developer. Or a politician who benefits from their generosity.
The greatest development in recent Chula Vista history is the districting commission’s finalization of the district map.
After months of meetings, planning and public outreach the group has divided the city into four voting sectors.
Once the city OKs the final map voters in a specific district will have an opportunity to elect a representative that is intimately familiar with, for example, the degraded infrastructure that mars parts of the southwest side of the city. Or the traffic headaches that greet east side motorists at the beginning and end of each work day.
Voting districts will force representatives to be from a specific collection of neighborhoods whose needs, desires and priorities are different than that of the other three. Think of voting districts as hyper-localism.
One of the long-running arguments against districts was the division it might create. Opponents feared council members would advocate only for what was in the best interest of their district rather than considering the interests of the entire city.
Undoubtedly that will happen on occasion. As it should. There have been some neighborhoods ignored or under served for too long. So when it comes time for resource allocation expect to see hard bargaining and scrapping among the city’s elected leaders as they fight to bring a park or library to their immediate community or find money to fill potholes.
But it won’t be the norm.
Whether they live in or represent District 1, 2, 3 or 4, Chula Vistans still want what’s best for their city.
By having representatives taking care of the needs of their individual communities rather than trying to please only deep pocketed and high propensity voters, the strength of the whole is bolstered.
