One speaker on the staff report was Anita Edmondson, a City Council candidate in District 2. Edmondson said the report was equal parts “enlightening and frightening.”

“It’s important for us to hear because when you understand how state housing law increasingly favors development over local control you understand what’s at stake for communities like ours,” she told the council members.

Edmondson pointed to the Poway Road Specific Plan as a roadmap with a suite of design elements that turn a corridor into a community. The elements include public art and murals, modern street lighting and planters, refreshed holiday banners and festive lights, enhanced landscaping and crosswalk and sidewalk treatments that “invite pedestrians to enjoy the space and go to the businesses nearby.”

“These are not just amenities, these are the differences between a development zone and a destination,” said Edmondson.

“I’m asking the city to host a public workshop to show the public where Poway Road development stands today and tomorrow, and to identify capital improvement projects that will finally unlock the charm and character this corridor was meant to have.”