San Diego journalists: There is an effort to reform community planning groups and eventually you'll be covering it. This article is a useful example of the opposition, an oddball grab bag of conspiracy theory and willful blindness to injustice.
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One of the wackier graphs says that new people, land use experts, and people who live in South County cannot represent San Diego. 
In the article's defense, it did correctly recognize that several of the progressive reformers for community planning are alumni of the @LeadershipSD.
The piece uses another common but false idea that bicycle riders are more affluent than car drivers. See: usa.streetsblog.org/2014/05/08/low…
Community input in planning decisions is important. The problem with San Diego's system is that it excludes many voices and needs reform. It is inequitable, unjust, and undemocratic. Read @CirculateSD's report "Democracy in Planning:" circulatesd.org/democracyinpla…
@CirculateSD Did you know that some community planning groups only allow prior attendees to vote to elect members? Can you imagine showing up to vote for City Council and being told you cannot vote for the office because you hadn't attended a prior City Council meeting?
@CirculateSD Did you know that the Tierrasanta Community Planning Group denies equal representation to military families, compared to other residents within their boundaires? Who is for this inequity? Read all the details here: voiceofsandiego.org/topics/opinion…
@CirculateSD Currently, advice from the @CityAttorneySD's office (from a prior administration) says that community planning group members do not need to file economic disclosures. That is not consistent with @CA_FPPC guidance, as detailed in our memo here: circulatesd.org/memo_legal_con…
Think about it: should a CPG member who owns properties or businesses be able to vote on projects right across the street? Should the public and the press be prohibited from even knowing about their economic interests? That doesn't make a lot of sense.
Yes we need to reform community planning in San Diego. In the meantime, everyone should consider joining their own community planning group, and be part of the reform movement from the inside. @CirculateSD has resources here: circulatesd.org/communityplann…
@CirculateSD Not to worry @dalehuntington. If your CPG is already doing all of the things in the reform proposals, then none of your practices will have to change. Instead, the other CPGs will have to change their practices to reach your level.
@CirculateSD @dalehuntington None of this is about "punishing" community planning groups, or preventing people for participating with them. It's the opposite! It's about making those groups more open and accessible so more people can serve, vote, and participate in local planning recommendations.
This is a healthy view of democracy. If you are in a position of authority and someone raises some concerns about access and fairness, consider them in good faith and see if you can address those concerns.
