The city of San Diego plans to replace the Kensington neighborhood's 96-year-old lights because of their lead-based paint and unreliable series circuitry.
A battle over San Diego’s plan to tear out more than 50 antique streetlamps in Kensington could be a warning sign to other communities with historic streetlights and a heads up to city officials about the potential for neighborhood backlash.
A group of frustrated Kensington residents says they would prefer to have the antique lights retrofitted, which they claim would cost less than replacing them with new versions. The city says the replacement lights will cost $12,000 each, while the residents say the antique lights could be retrofitted for $5,000 each.
The residents have hired attorney Susan Brandt-Hawley, who is known for having success in historic preservation cases.“They have a new team at the city that doesn’t understand historic preservation,” Kensington resident Jim Kelley-Markham said. “Someone made the decision early on that these would be removed.
“These are character-defining features of the neighborhood,” he said. “We seem to be getting the run-around a little, and it’s clear the city missed some key procedural steps.” Luis Schaar, a city engineer, told Kensington leaders in several emails the city’s reasoning for replacing the lights.
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