WOMEN’S RADIO HOUR with Patricia Law Wed 5pm
ADUs, PACIFIC BEACH DEVELOPMENT BUILDERS and WHAT WE CAN DO
with Guest Mikalyn “Micki” Mellby

Patricia and Micki are in conversation about ADUs in Pacific Beach development and builders, intent of ADUs, how they are being built now, concerns about the environment safety from fires, parking and many more issues.
ABOUT MIKALYN “MICKI” MELLBY
I am a retired 30+ year small-business, community banker residing in Eastern Pacific Beach, San Diego. I am married with three grown children. My husband and I have worked on flipping houses since we started dating back in 1987, pre-HGTV. We have completed over 25 home remodels over 38 years together. We have remodeled and lived in three homes in this neighborhood over the last 20 years. Our mantra was always to buy the ugliest house in the best neighborhood we could afford and then make it pretty. Upon sale, it was on to the next project.
We are not opposed to development. We built an ADU next to our rental bungalow near the beach two years ago, and our son lives there. Currently, we are building an ADU adjacent to our current home for my daughter, son-in-law, and new granddaughter to live in.
A couple of years ago, the neighbor below my home sold her large lot and residence to a well-known, rather notorious, ADU developer, Christian Spicer of SDRE. Early this year, several neighbors alerted us to the investment/development plans for this site and adjacent parcel. In March and April, discussions became serious when it was realized what the long-term, negative impacts of such a large apartment project could impose on our community. We had always been under the impression since moving here in 2010 that the lots below us could not be developed due to the significance of well-known Kumeyaay tribal artifacts on the undeveloped land dating back 8000-10,000 years. The cultural significance of the historic site is recognized in all the surviving California tribal communities.
Consultations were made with a tribal attorney, and a legal team was put together to represent the neighbors’ best interests in monitoring the subsequently named Chalcifica project. What was 116-units has grown into 136 units under review. Plans are in review with the City of San Diego, and the legal team advised the neighbors to file action before permits are granted. We organized Neighbors for a Better Pacific Beach and established a website at www.protectpb.org. Our goal is to raise $250,000 of the expected legal cost to get us to trial. We have raised over half the funds to date. We have joined and are monitoring the legal efforts of other San Diego communities in opposing these monstrous bonus ADU projects, many of which continue to proceed through the development pipeline even after City Council voted to significantly scale back the program in June