New developments along the west side of Balboa Park have the potential to permanently and seriously degrade the quality of experience and environment due to Excessive Shading. This risk has been mitigated in other urban park areas by restricting the height and proximity of tall buildings adjacent to public parks and we ask that the San Diego City Council implement a solution before Balboa Park's West Mesa is drastically damaged. 

Our recommendation is that the east half of the block between Sixth and Fifth Avenues be no more than 65 feet high, with an overall height limit of 150 feet for developments built on Fifth Avenue. We recognize and support the need for development in this area, and support increased density. We believe, and demand, that this can be accomplished without impacting the valuable public space in Balboa Park. 

The immediacy of this petition is due to a project currently under review at Sixth Ave and Olive Street, on the St. Paul's Cathedral property. As the illustration above shows, the proposed building project would create shade across a large area of the park, especially during the late afternoon and winter days, when sunlight is especially important for recreational uses. We propose that the project be denied in its current state. Instead, the density and number of units could be preserved while also lowering the height on the east side. One possible solution is shown in the second illustration above. 

While the current project is our immediate concern, we ask that the San Diego City council provide and enforce guidelines to prevent future projects from proposing plans that will have a similar shade impact to the park.