With Poway residents increasingly concerned about dense development projects being built without adequate road and utility capacity, Poway City Council candidate Hiram Soto is backing more density in development – and wants controversial government-subsidized low-income projects to get priority.
At the June 21, 2022 meeting of the Poway City Council, city council candidate Hiram Soto (D) called on the city to cram more taxpayer-subsidized low-income housing onto Poway Road. The move shocked observers because it ignores increasing frustrations by Poway voters about dense development projects that are being built in Poway without adequate road and utility infrastructure.
While speaking about a development proposal on Oak Knoll Blvd, just a hundred feet away from Poway Road, Soto criticized the project, not because he was opposed to the development, but because he wanted more high-density housing constructed than even the developer was proposing.
During his speech to the City Council, Soto said he supports “smart growth strategies,” code words for a dense mix of high-density taxpayer-funded low-income housing and additional businesses bringing additional traffic to Poway Road.
“Hiram Soto is from the extreme far-Left of the political spectrum and is promoting controversial proposals like placing government subsidized housing projects in every neighborhood,” says Carl DeMaio, Chairman of Reform California.
“Soto’s proposals are insane as Poway has already had a number of high density developments built without adequate planning and infrastructure – and residents have every right to be concerned,” DeMaio notes.
Most shockingly, Soto has also called for an update to the City of Poway’s General Plan, saying “I’m calling on the City Council to update Poway’s General Plan in a comprehensive way.”
What Soto knows is that under state law, any move to update an existing General Plan will trigger a rash of new costly and controversial planning rules. In fact, if a city updates its General Plan, Sacramento is requiring California cities to permit additional housing across the state. New state rules would also kick-in a requirement for on-site taxpayer-subsidized low-income housing for future development projects.
Soto’s manipulative proposal for a General Plan update at this point would mean only one thing for Poway: More high-density development.
During his speech Soto acknowledged this when he said a General Plan “opens the door” to even more residents along Poway Road.
Video HERE.
Photo Credit: Getty Images