For more information on how you can help stop the excessive development of Flower Hill, 

or to express your own comments about this development, please contact us:

Contact Us

Here are just a few of the hundreds of comments 

received from the neighborhood stakeholders:

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We need the movie theater.  Garage entrance from Flowerhill Dr. is totally unacceptable.  A gate to the Spindrift community should be installed by the developer with payment for present and future costs to be made by the developer.  NO, absolutely NO housing should be included in the plan either now or in the future.  Traffic is difficult now with the race track and all its activity and will only get worse with the expansion of the mall.  More housing would make things unbearable for everyone.  Why make shopping convenient so that nearby homeowners do not have to drive so far for shopping only to create yet another traffic nightmare with more dense housing options?  That does not make sense.  Aren't we trying to make things more convenient to reduce over-all driving and congestion???  Where's the logic?

--Ken and Linda Kaczmarek

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I grew up in Del Mar and Flower HIll is definitely a part of my childhood and my current life (I recently moved back to Del Mar). I know a lot of my peers feel the same way, do not take away the movie theater and do not commercialize our town even more! There has to be some way we can keep it the way it is :) Del Mar is known for its relaxed atmosphere and traffic is already getting pretty tough. I know we can do it!

-- Liz Borman

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Do not close the Ultra Star movie theater located in the Flower Hill Mall.  It is our community theater, which is the only one in the area to show independent and art films.  It is our community gathering place and brings us together to shop, eat and enjoy the other galleries and services provided. We don't need our want a Target or Whole Foods.  Keep this full of unique shops, such as Thinker Things, The Bookworks,and the Pannikan. The movie theater gives us reason to go to the Flower Hill Mall and spend time our money at the mall.

-- Alice Scull McNally

 

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I'm opposed to the urbanization.  The theater is often full, and the movies shown there are popular yet not shown in other nearby theaters.  We would have to travel to San Diego.  Regarding Whole Foods...we have a Jimbo's, a Harvest Ranch, and and Henry's all within 2-3 miles of Flower Hill; no need for another one.  Sad for the environmental issues.  We have such an aesthetically beautiful community.

-- Suzanne Meredith

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I cannot imagine this expansion going through without the full approval of the Coastal Commission.  Traffic on Via de la Valle and San Andres will be severely impacted.  Added to the difficulty will be the Lomas Sante Fe's expansion of the nearby shopping center off Las Banderas which will add still more traffic on San Andres.  How can the city favor the developer and ignore residents and justify enlarging San Andres off Via de la Valle?  Housing values will plummet due to increased traffic causing tie-ups, air pollution, accidents and crime as will a parking structure within Flower Hill.  Such structures have been known to increase air pollution, traffic accidents and crime. We must stand strong against this unhealthy and unreasonable expansion.

-- Dr. Sandra Ceren

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The Union Tribune is clearly in favor of Flower Hill...yet, what is also clear is that Flower Hill is in trouble.  Everything, the tide, the people, the economy is against Essakow. 

There is a new real estate scandal brewing.  General Growth Properties, the largest mall operator in the nation has filed for bankruptcy.  Commercial real estate is soon going to go bust - big time.  All shopping centers are going to lose a major percentage of their value.  The tenants are fleeing, availability of space is growing, and investors are selling.

There is no way Essakow is going to develop....not now.  He could do better some where else than Flower Hill Mall...if he indeed has the money...which I doubt.

-- Ian Becker

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I love this community - quaint, beautiful, calm and peaceful.  Let's keep its specialness in tact.

 -- J Chase

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We have been North County residents since 1974.  I am a San Diego native. Our family has enjoyed many wonderful times while shopping or attending the theater at the Flower Hill Mall.  In fact, the Flower Hill Theater allowed our start up church to hold services on Sunday morning until we could purchase a site of our own.  Mr. Essakow, don't chase the money.  Understand that in the long run your shopping center will represent more than just buildings to those that visit.  You will be more successful by keeping your shopping center unique.  There are many other shopping centers that have added big box chain like stores that currently sit vacant.  Don't make the same mistake.

-- Bill & Beverly LoBell

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We have the perfect neighborhood theater, albeit rundown, where you can hop in the car and be at a show in less time than it took to decide which movie to see.  So now, the locals have to drive to LaCosta or UTC area?  That doesn't seem far except when the time of getting to and from your spur of the moment idea becomes as long as the movie that you want to see.  Keep the movie theater in Flower Hill. 

-- C. Sinclair

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Thank you for providing this very important information! I am completely against the expansion, but in support of re-modeling the existing Flower Hill Promenade.  North County and San Diego as an entire community, DOES NOT NEED ANOTHER MALL!  It is entirely likely the current mom-n-pop businesses in Flower Hill would not be able to afford the new mall lease and would be forced out of business. How is that an improvement to our community? I would be happy to post a double-sided yard sign at my residence, and put a sticker on my car (if made available).

-- Shelly Stevenson

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Small is beautiful.

-- Erik and Irina Gronborg

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I want to STOP the expansion of Flower Hill mall. An expansion would impact my life greatly!  I live off of Via de la Valle.  It is bad enough during fair & racing season, but to add further traffic will be unbearable!

-- Vicki Lewis

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As a homeowner in Spindrift, I - along with the rest of my heighbors - am extremely worried about the increased traffic, vagrancy, and the overall deterioration of a beautiful neighborhood.   Hopefully, Mr. Essakow's plan will tank.

-- Claire Langlois

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I am extremely disappointed to lose our Cinema.  We have plenty of markets in this area and do not need another Whole Foods with so near in Solana Beach.  This is a very important Cinema, being the only one in our proximity which shows independent films.

-- Renita Greenberg

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We already have a Henry's, Harvest Ranch, Albertson's, Vons, Ralph's, Jimbo's, and multiple farmers' markets within a five-minute drive of Flower Hill Mall.  What we DON'T have is another movie theater that shows quality pictures and foreign/ independent films.  The Encinitas theater went out of business, the Ultrastar Del Mar theater shows big commercial movies that rarely overlap with the films aired at Flower Hill, and Landmark La Jolla is more than 20 minutes away without traffic.  ANOTHER grocery store?  ANOTHER source of increased traffic?  ANOTHER totally unoriginal non-local feeling strip mall?  How about renovating the mall and improving the appearance of the buildings that already exist rather than pouring millions of dollars into a project that so many community members don't support?  In this economy, the Flower Hill Renovation Project is impractical-- not to mention, UNWANTED by a large number of local residents!

-- Laura Grannis

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I just purchased a home in Brisas Del Mar and I have a tremendous issue with this expansion plans as a sever impact on my home life, as I am the nearest home to the Flower Hill entrance as well as the impact of the traffic and noise. This plan can NOT be approved. 

-- Ruth Papazian

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"I am an owner at the Spindrift condo complex, which is directly north of Flower Hill. I believe this expansion will be a disaster for our community, and the 144 homeowners within our complex that share the access private road into Flower Hill.

Essakow has never addressed how he plans to move the traffic from Via de la Valle, onto San Andreas, then up Flower Hill Drive to his proposed, massive parking structure. Flower Hill could care less about the safety issues and loss to our quality of life. Essakow is attempting to make it look like Whole Foods is a tenant above repute, because they are an "organic retailer". There are enough quality food markets in this immediate area, including Henry's Market, which Whole Foods also owns.

Essakow overpaid for this sight a few years ago because of his own poor due diligence. Now he is trying to add value to appease his suckered investors. It is clear that his attitude is: "The hell with the neighborhood, I don't live there."

-- Douglas Simmons

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"Dear Friends:

Flower Hill has always been a unique place. A lovely, upscale community of stores, restaurants, and movie theaters. How sad that an insensitive developer with one thing in mind, profit, will forever destroy this unique property. How typical of today's attitude. When there's a grocery store across the street and a gourmet food store at the Del Mar Plaza, why do we need yet another grocery store? 

Progress? I don't think so. Just busy urbanization. A destruction of that sweet sense of community once enjoyed by visitors of the racetrack in summer and Christmas shoppers in the fall. A mecca for dinner and a movie which will be replaced by a blight of hurried shoppers with carts rushing into a grocery store for a pound of this and a quart of that.

Goodbye Flower Hill. Welcome everywhere USA."

-- Jill Shure

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"Have you ever been to the Whole Foods Market in La Jolla? Parking there is a nightmare and I wonder what developers think will be any different at Flower Hill?

It is a joy to have movie theatres so close and not have to spend your time and gas driving to those further away. Please keep the theatres where they are ... refurbishing them would be nice.  Whole Foods is not that far for the few times one must go there and spend the outrageous prices they ask."

-- Renata Schneyer

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"Flower Hill should NOT be expanded & should NOT add any "Big Box" stores that will only increase traffic to this already over-congested area. A bigger Flower Hill will destroy the area's parking and driving, and will destroy the viability of the independent, individual, non-chain, "mom-and-pop" stores in Flower Hill."

-- N. Adler

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"Just read that they will not renew the movie theater lease and that a Whole Foods Market is now slated for the space. Are they crazy??? How many more markets do we need in 2 mile radius?? How will a market decrease car trips?? We would much rather have a neighborhood movie theater with restaurants, shops, etc that we can walk to."

 -- David McCarty

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"PLEASE do not change Flower Hill mall. I am quite pleased with it as it is. We don't need repetitive stores which we can frequent just minutes away. We love our unique stores just as they are. We don't want this mall to be 'a carbon copy' of every other small mall and we definitely DON'T need more restaurants, more food stores, a hotel, or housing of any kind. If the proposed changes go into effect, I for one, will NOT frequent the mall and you can bank on the fact that many others will not either. Therefore, the plan to recoup your money will not only not fly, but you will lose a great deal of your investment. PLEASE stop this nonsense. The mall already suffers all summer with the traffic from the fair and the traffic from racing season. You'll only be shooting yourself in the other foot if you make the proposed changes."

-- Marjorie Abram

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"I just read in the 12/14/07 issue of Village & Valley News that the owners of Flower Hill Mall will not be renewing their lease with UltraStar Theaters, thereby forcing the closure of our local theater.  I am outraged!  As I have been following the news on what lies in store for those of us that live in this community, I am insulted at the excuse given by the ownership that somehow a Whole Foods Market will generate less traffic and require less parking then the theater.  Do they think we are idiots?!?! The phrase "The answer is money, what's the question?" comes to mind when looking at the entire plan for the Flower Hill Mall.  I can not think of a single person in my community that wants to see this mall expanded under the current proposal. As for me, this has enraged me to the point of getting actively involved.  Please let me know where help is needed in this fight."

-- Kelly Kaplan

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"I just returned from Carmel over the weekend and once again it struck me how charm is acquired through delicate and non massive architecture.  We have similar communities such as RSF, Solana Beach, Del Mar and downtown Encinitas that possess similar characteristics.  This is the one and only area in San Diego that retains this fortunate gift for all to come and enjoy, and certainly we know they come in groves to experience the charm of this unique north county coastal area.  It sickens me that greed combined with ignorance still has a foothold in this area.  It is precisely because of characters like this man attempting to explode Flower hill that all of the surrounding communities rose up and incorporated.  As a builder / developer myself, even I participated vigorously in this campaign in an attempt to stop the insensitive raping of land and the creation of adverse character.  In my profession the county has always been the weak link and easy target since they take no interest in the aforesaid and have a zoning plan that is outdated by decades and possess loose regulations and loop holes corresponding to that same time frame.  And now we have another man who possesses no aesthetic and is willing to make a monumental decision affecting so many and for so long only for his own selfish reason, greed.  May providence prevail in your cause Robert, you have the hearts of the people in your corner."

--John Dulich

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“I bought into the developer's talk, thinking he was disclosing everything honestly and your group was not. I think many of us were misled by the concept of the focus group, thinking we would be heard and have input.”

 

-- A “neighborhood stakeholder”

Following is a list of key parties that you may also contact to voice your opposition to the Flower Hill project. Ellen Lirley Coastal Planner California Coastal Commission San Diego Area 7575 Metropolitan Drive, Suite 103 San Diego, CA 92108-4421  (619) 767-2370 elirley@coastal.ca.gov The Honorable Jerry Sanders Mayor of San Diego City Administration Building 11th Floor, 202 C Street San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 236-6330 JerrySanders@sandiego.gov Tim Daly Development Project Manager City of San Diego Development Services Dept., MS-501 1222 First Ave., San Diego, CA 92101 tdaly@sandiego.gov (619) 446-5356 Bill Anderson Deputy Chief of Land Use for San Diego andersonw@sandiego.gov (619) 533-6335 Barry Schultz Chair of the Planning Commission for San Diego schultz@capitalcollaborative.com (619) 299-0422 Frisco White Chairman Carmel Valley Community Planning Board c/o 5335 Caminito Exquisito San Diego, CA 92130 (619) 542-1188 white@wwarch.com A complete list of North County media is available at:  http://www.ci.carlsbad.ca.us/carlsbadmedia/3press.html

Citizens Against Flower Hill's Expansion is a Not For Profit Organization representing the neighbors of greater Del Mar,

 Solana Beach and San Diego, opposed to the proposed aggressive expansion of The Flower Hill Promenade.