Residents in University Heights rally against a proposed plan to demolish a house for an apartment building, citing concerns over scale and impact.

SAN DIEGO — In University Heights, a group of residents gathered on Meade Avenue to rally against what they say is a proposed plan to demolish a long standing house and replace it with a five-story, 19-unit apartment building. The community members expressed concerns about the scale of the project and its potential impact.

Marc Johnson, President of the University Heights Community Association, explained the situation to those assembled at the rally. “We’re here because this …. home that’s 130 years old has been purchased by the developer and is going to be demolished and replaced with a five story, 19 unit complex that’s completely out of scale for the neighborhood,” said Johnson.

According to the University Heights Community Association’s website, the proposed project would be under Complete Communities Housing Solutions program. According to the city of San Diego’s website, it’s an optional affordable housing incentive program that allows for denser housing near high-frequency transit areas.. The program aims to create housing options for various income levels, with a focus on low and moderate-income households.

However, Johnson argues that the project does little to address the affordable housing crisis. “Because it’s only going to include likely two affordable units, it’s not addressing the affordable housing crisis, it’s just more market rate expensive luxury microunits that our neighborhoods have 14-hundred of already in the last three years,” said Johnson.

Brian Hargett, says he’s lived next to the property in question for 36 years, he voiced concerns about parking. He noted that finding parking spaces is already challenging in the neighborhood and questioned where residents of the proposed complex would park their vehicles.

“If they tear this building down, its just gonna be another loss to our community,” said Hargett.

According to the UHCA website, the property owner is with a building company. CBS 8 reached out to the company mentioned, and will provide an update to this web story when a response is received.