What makes a community ‘complete’? Is it the people, the place, or the amenities that make up the fabric upon which the flow of everyday life occurs? The City of San Diego has taken the position that a complete community is a comprehensive balance of mobility, open space, and affordable housing. At no other time than our very own post-covid reality is the need for affordable housing, transit, and open space more critically important to the health and welfare of individuals and whole communities. A brief look at the history and intent of the Complete Communities initiative, an assessment of some of the Complete Communities projects underway at McCullough Landscape Architecture, and analyzing the promise of a truly complete community, will help point the way toward a more effective implementation of a more equitable and robust cultural and economic initiative in San Diego.

In May of 2020, the City of San Diego formalized the housing component of its ‘Complete Communities ’ initiative through the enactment of a new section of the Municipal Code detailing the requirements and incentives available to developers within the city. Then Mayor Kevin Faulconer, sought to secure a better future for the City’s underserved communities through the implementation of an initiative dubbed “Complete Communities.”

The original Complete Communities initiative sought to assemble effective planning strategies that would incentivize affordable development and park space near transit, thus encouraging the reduction of vehicle mile traveled and sparking local economic activity. The goal being to improve the quality of life for San Diegans, and especially those in underserved communities that rely upon public transit and the localization of goods and services.

Briefly, the Housing component seeks to increase affordable housing concentrated around mixed-use and multi-family areas served by transit, while also investing in neighborhood amenities, such as parks and urban plazas. The Mobility component seeks to realize a reduction in vehicular traffic, rather than accepting traditional traffic infrastructure. Lastly, the Parks component seeks to deal with present unequal access to safe, clean, and active park spaces.

McCullough Complete Communities Projects

McCullough Landscape Architecture has had the privilege to work on the first finished Complete Communities development in San Diego, Secoya on Fifth. Today, most development teams are using the Complete Communities bonuses as a starting point for their projects, and they look to us as experts for clarification on how the new code affects expectations and requirements for private and public open spaces. The four main areas of concern for us as landscape architects are fees, trees, amenities, and promenades. Looking briefly at a few of our built and in-progress projects will highlight these elements.

Secoya on Fifth

Secoya on Fifth is an eight-story mixed-use project located at Fifth Avenue and Redwood Street in Uptown San Diego by Murfey Company. The project development team was personally involved and invested in the initial efforts of supporting the Complete Communities initiative and were therefore, immediately aware of its passing by City Council. The project was then reassessed and redesigned to comply with the new guidelines. Upon receiving its final building permit, it became San Diego’s first approved Complete Communities project.

Every Complete Communities project must pay a Neighborhood Enhancement Fund or provide a public promenade to the city. The project development team first considered the idea of implementing a public promenade in lieu of the required fee. However, upon further review, it would have required at least 200 linear feet of street frontage be located on a lot 25,000 Sf or larger, as well as check several boxes: sponsoring community workshops, posting public notices, executing public record agreements, and meeting a slew of specific amenity criteria. Lastly, it would require the property to give up 20 feet on the property side for said promenade, along with lighting, wayfinding, etc.

While a public promenade would provide the most benefit to a ‘Complete Community’, it is the most difficult to realize. For most projects, the enhancement fund fee will be paid, and more achievable landscape guidelines will be followed.

3104 Third Avenue

3104 Third Avenue is a six-story development with an enhanced streetscape and rooftop amenity deck. The project is in the Uptown Neighborhood, nestled in a residential area near a highly active walking canyon. As a fully residential development, the project sought to make use of the additional density offered by Complete Communities to provide primarily affordable units which would help to address San Diego’s housing needs.

Several challenges were encountered while attempting to interpret and implement the new Complete Communities code. One challenge of note was the inclusion of trees, which on a superficial level would seem a simple task. Typically, the San Diego Municipal code calls for one tree every 30 feet of street frontage, while Complete Communities extends that to one tree every 20 feet on-center. The new code also calls for trees on both sides of the sidewalk where feasible. Those two words “where feasible” were easy to miss in the code, and miss it we did. We went through iteration after iteration trying the best we could to work within the project’s constraints and adjacent context to satisfy this double row of trees to no avail. Finally, on a careful read-through once again of the new code the words appeared as if from nowhere.

From that moment on, we knew that the code was both structured and written with language that would need to be carefully considered word-for-word if we were to completely understand our hard requirements and contextually-based alternatives.

La Colina

On the far edge of Hillcrest, nestled on the corner of Reynard Way and Torrance Street, this nine-story building will have about 100 units of primarily affordable housing options, an enhanced streetscape, and a top-level amenity deck.

Once again, the placement of street trees presented an unexpected challenge. Initially, we attempted to place a tree on either side of the sidewalk with a distance of 20 feet on-center. However, after presenting our first concept to the other consultants on the team, we quickly learned of a few complications. Underground utility lines prevented some of the tree locations, in addition to the building having a second level that cantilevered out and over the first, encroaching towards the sidewalk. Significantly, a gas line ran parallel with the curb along Reynard Way, making it nearly impossible to maintain the required five feet clearance. This resulted in not being able to place a single tree on the curb side of the sidewalk. This is a good example of a site condition that supersedes the recommendations in the Complete Communities section of the municipal code.

With the building extending out over the sidewalk, it then became a challenge to determine where the appropriate placement of trees could exist between the building and the gas line. Where we had started with an ideal number of twelve trees, we ultimately ended with only three trees along Reynard Way and four on Torrance Street. We were, however, able to meet one important recommendation, which was the widening of the sidewalk. A generous eight feet of width provides for a comfortable walking experience. However, this only lasts the length of the building where one finds themselves walking along a crowded four foot-wide strip once again just beyond the property.

The biggest takeaway from the project would be the critical need to inform the design team and all consultants of the requirements early in the process so that their design decisions can support the City’s vision for a more active street and a more complete community.

The Promise of Complete Communities

Complete Communities marks the beginning of a new approach toward urban planning in San Diego. It seeks to create healthy and vibrant communities using incentives which it is hoped, will result in opportunities for affordable housing in places where one is enticed to walk, bike, and engage with neighbors. While this new code successfully provides for more density, it falls short in two key areas: First is the enhancement of the urban realm beyond that which already exists. Second is in providing for those services that result in a truly ‘complete’ community.

When we strip down the code to its essential requirements, we can see that the urban realm is enhanced with a few extra trees, an extra amenity, such as a wayfinding sign or public seating, an unobstructed sidewalk, and the removal of gated entries and street yard fencing. All of these taken together cannot be argued to represent the urban fabric of a ‘complete’ community. Sidewalks are the lifeblood of the urban realm. They are the interstitial spaces that weave together the masses of buildings and institutions that make up our living, learning, and working spheres.

To support a truly ‘complete’ community, a sidewalk should act as both an extension of the building and a place unto itself. Sidewalks are where we stop to chat with neighbors, take our dogs out for a break, as well as the place where nature’s elements are encountered. They should, therefore, be places that support vegetation, seating, storm water management, lighting, and bike parking, to name a few key features. Comparatively, the Centre City Streetscape Manual does much more to create a complete community experience - defining paving, light fixtures, tree, and grate type, and much more. While all neighborhoods have a community plan, they do not go to the same extent as the Centre City Streetscape Manual, and this is where the Complete Communities development code can provide a strong and clear vision for the City’s streetscape.

When we consider those elements of successful neighborhoods in San Diego, several lessons can be gleaned which shed light on the shortfalls of the Complete Communities and paths toward improvement. Little Italy is likely the first to come to mind. It is arguably the most celebrated and idealized successful community. However, a closer examination reveals a few challenges. Little Italy is a place to live, eat, and drink. This is a community for those with expendable income, those who can afford to pay high rents or own their own condo. It is first and foremost a playground for San Diego’s middle to high income bracket and a destination for the flood of tourists that grace our city. We find no comprehensive grocers and no access to everyday goods or services. Where do you go if you need a new light bulb? What happens when you run out of toilet paper? When your dog needs to go, where does it end up?

As a contrast, Hillcrest and North Park showcase a diverse collection of housing options, shopping opportunities, supply stores, auto repair facilities, and so on. In short, one can find all the necessary goods and services one needs to live a quality of life that is highly sought after. Where do you go when you want to have dinner? Down the street. Where do you go when you want to get your nails done or have your clothes dry-cleaned? You walk a couple of blocks. As you do, the streetscape greets you with business patios spilling out and inviting you in, murals on the side of old buildings, and vernacular community enhancements in the form of painted trash cans, electrical boxes, etc.

Supporting Inclusive Design

As we have seen, the Complete Communities initiative seeks to secure a better future for the City’s underserved communities. However, a brief overview of a couple of McCullough’s projects demonstrates that the code can be difficult to follow and interpret, and ultimately falls short of ensuring a more robust streetscape environment. Looking to other communities that are considered successful in San Diego can reveal important lessons for establishing a comprehensive balance of mobility, open space, and affordable housing.

So how do we encourage a diversity of services within the municipal code? We have seen that incentives, bonuses, and additional FAR is a tried and proven way to ensure code is implemented in new projects. Developers want to maximize the number of units on their projects and would likely be willing to comply with additional streetscape requirements if it meant higher revenues. Other incentives that don’t result in a tangible revenue increase on projects are a less enticing solution, yet we see such philanthropic messaging all too often. If we are to encourage those with the means to develop our city, then we should be willing to cater to what is of primary value to them - namely, a return on their investment.

We can now return to our original question of what makes a community ‘complete’, or rather what can a city do with its Municipal Code to make communities more complete? A complete community is a place and a people that make up an active, equitable, robust, culturally diverse, and economically thriving neighborhood in San Diego. McCullough’s vision of supporting the inclusive design of environments where they unveil their own unique narrative serves to embody a genuine creativity, diversity, and discovery of what makes a place different.

Zeek Magallanes, MLA, ASLA
Studio Team Leader

Zizhu Purple Bay - THE Next Phase

Starting in 2016, McCullough began working with Gafcon on the early visions for the Zizhu High-Tech Industrial City, thought as the Silicon Valley for Shanghai. Today, this new city is home to innovative technology corporations including Scandisk, Intel, and Microsoft, as well as to research and manufacturers of automation machinery, biotech, energy, smart vehicle, and semiconductor technologies.

As mentioned in our project update from December 2020, the first phase of the city master plan, The Purple Garden had begun its design phase for much of the hospitality and housing portions of the plan. Today, the developer, Shanghai Zizhu Peninsula Properties Co., LTD, is well on their way to building out the first phases of the city. The Orchid Lake and the first part of the luxury residential towers have now been built. Starting construction soon are a series of several hundred yacht homes on the lake and a luxury resort hotel.

Most recently McCullough has been asked to design a K-12 private school. This new facility, Shanghai Shenhua Zizhu Bilingual School, is planned to include on-site dormitories, a sports and aquatic center, cultural/arts centers, and separate 1-9 and 10-12 grade facilities. Direction from the developer is for this school to be focused on international studies with college preparatory courses. All components of this campus will need to facilitate this kind of learning, including the outdoors.

Shanghai Shenhua Zizhu Bilingual School: Renderings by Atchain

With tight timetables for expedited construction overseas, the demands are high. McCullough and the Gafcon team welcome this and we are all looking forward to contributing to the development of all phases over the years to come. McCullough’s continued partnership with Gafcon and many team members has truly resulted in a more coordinated and complete plan for the owner, and ultimately the people of Shanghai.

Welcome Adis Tutusic!

McCullough is excited to announce Adis Tutusic, ASLA, as our newest Junior Associate. Adis grew up in Bosnia where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture and a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Sarajevo. Interestingly, while attaining his master’s degree he was chosen by a professor to assist in the landscape design of a small park on campus, his work forever engrained in his alma mater! He also volunteered with a French organization during his master studies named after the French landscape architect who was the principal gardener for King Louis XIV of France, Andre Le Notre. With this group, he traveled and camped throughout Bosnia for 15 days with a professor and other international students focused on revitalizing historical sites in need of repair after multi-ethnic problems caused war in the region in the 90s.

After graduating, Adis worked on many projects from design to implementation, gaining experience in almost every part of a landscaping project. He contributed to the development of a residential neighborhood, working together with engineers and architects across disciplines to bring the combined vision to life. One of his favorite projects was designing a resort park in the theme of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” where he was responsible for studying the painting, choosing plants that will mimic the colors, and as project manager he made sure the vision was implemented correctly.

Catherine McCullough, FSMPS, CPSM, President & CEO of McCullough states,

“Adis brings a diverse set of skills and unique experience through his European work studies and travels. We’ve been very impressed by his enthusiasm and willingness to jump into projects with the team since day one. Adis shares our firm’s core values - specifically his interest in human design and passion for horticulture.”

Complete Communities: A Look into the Future of San Diego’s Development