Joseph Martinez is Principal of Martinez+Cutri Architects in San Diego, where he has been practicing architecture, urbanism, and planning for twenty-one years.  He received his Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University and has taught at UCSD, San Diego State, and UC Berkeley. He is a member of San Diego Dialogue. Appointed to RGEC by Gov. Gray Davis, he is chair of the RGEC Subcommittee on Land Use and the Environment.

San Diego Dialogue Report: What?s it like being a gubernatorial appointee mixed in with representatives of the affected agencies?

Commissioner Martinez: Well, the five gubernatorial appointees are essentially in the private sector.  As such, we have a different view of how regionalism and efficiency can enhance our area.  Moreover, I think we do not have any vested interests, so to speak. We?re not representing a specific entity but rather we?re looking at the region as a whole, and I think we?re a little more open in our thoughts and our discussions.

SDDR: Given that kind of split, is there any likelihood that there will be consensus on a common set of recommendations?

Martinez: I think there?s a good chance that could happen, principally because of the quality of the ideas that are coming out of the subcommittees.  Certainly, we know that the traffic and transportation problems we?re presently experiencing can only get worse.  It?s abundantly evident that housing is another critical issue, and it can only get worse. There?s going to be, in the next two decades, close to a million more people in our region, and we?re going to need about 400,000 new units of housing to support them.  Obviously, time is of the essence.

Those two issues alone should cause all of us to work hand-in-hand; and I do believe we can hammer out a good, consensus approach.

SDDR: As chair of the Subcommittee on Land Use, you have one of the politically toughest issues. Is there any way to provide a regional transportation agency with some degree of authority over land use in local jurisdictions in order to make for more effective regional planning?  There?s a lot of skepticism on this issue.

Martinez: What we?ve done is develop an over-arching concept of a balanced carrying capacity for the region as the basis for a regional land use plan. The idea is to establish a set of measurable parameters that account for quality of life in the region, and then leave it up to local agencies to implement the regional plan.  It?s sort of like the Coastal Commission Model with a broad over-arching approach, and then the LCPs, the Local Coastal Plans, are implemented by each of the cities.  Moreover, the transportation element will be an integral component of the regional plan and some land use authority may be necessary for proper implementation of regionally significant projects.

SDDR: And the local plans have to be in conformity with the Coastal Commission Plan.  And in this case, the cities would have to be in conformity with the regional plan.

Martinez: Exactly. To get this to work the idea is that there would be incentives, the ?carrots.? There would be incentives for conforming to the plan, and these would be some of the monies that are allocated presently by SANDAG, but could be allocated through a new entity, or a revised SANDAG, whichever way it goes.  Further, there might be disincentives, ?sticks.?  That is to say, maybe the sales tax, as an example, might be part of the equation, and it would be restricted from those local communities that are not complying with the regional plan.

SDDR: Aren?t we going to have to do some pretty bold things just to set aside the land needed for 400,000 additional housing units?

Martinez: Absolutely.

SDDR: How does your committee feel about the prospects for doing this?  What do you have in mind?

Martinez: We really haven?t talked specifically about where and how the housing will be provided, just that it?s a staggering number.  If you look at constructing 20 units per acre, that means 20,000 acres.  Obviously, we can?t create the land, but certainly there are areas where we can start.  For example, the closer you are to the inner core, the more you should provide housing with every single building type that is developed.  So, if it?s an office building, include housing.  If it?s retail, include housing.  If it?s just a straight housing project, provide more housing.  I think there should be big rewards for providing additional housing.

SDDR: Do you feel that progress on these difficult issues is possible with the regional machinery that we have available to us now?

Martinez: Where it relates to transportation and land use, there is a serious disconnect.  It seems to me that any mass transportation authority needs to be able to provide housing along its transportation corridors.  And where there are nodes, you have mixed-use developments: retail, commercial, housing, recreational, cultural, all of it.  Again, it needs to be tied to a transportation element.

SDDR: And currently there?s no . . .

Martinez: There?s no mechanism for that.

So when you take a look at existing conditions such as, let?s say, the trolley from 12th and C headed down towards Imperial Avenue, that?s a good housing thoroughfare, a good housing backbone.  Or, from 12th and C moving north through the park along Park Boulevard, starting at El Cajon Boulevard and going east, that?s another good public transit corridor for housing.  Look at the width of El Cajon Boulevard, it could easily support four, five or six stories of housing.  And at the nodes, eight stories of housing.

In the new transit areas, for instance, from Oceanside to Escondido, where North County Transit just purchased all the right-of-way, they didn?t have the appropriate mechanism to purchase additional land for housing.  Hopefully, it?s not too late for mixed-use developments containing a lot of housing to occur along this thoroughfare.

SDDR: Are you reasonably optimistic that the commission will come up with recommendations that move us beyond the status quo?

Martinez: I think the answer?s yes.  There will be enough dialogue and discussion. It might not be something that the more forward-thinking person would want; likewise, it will not be ho-hum, run-of-the-mill.  I think we?ll come up with a good set of ideas.

Moreover, I think the state is going to have to kick in some money for infrastructure type projects.  Rest assured, it?s going to be a good balancing act between what we propose and what can be funded.