Kensington's historic streetlights get replaced, upsetting some residents

Kensington is a community that’s proud of its history. Its tree-lined streets are filled with charming homes that have withstood the test of time.

But the same cannot be said for its streetlights. They’ve been standing for the better part of a century, but many have peeling paint, and they don’t always light up the way they’re supposed to.

In 2023, the city of San Diego replaced 57 of the streetlights with nearly identical replica lampposts with modern circuitry. This week, the city is replacing the final 23 fixtures.

Some people aren’t happy about it.

“There’s not a lot of whole history in San Diego, and what little we have, we would like to try to retain some of it,” said David Roth, who is a member of the Kensington Talmadge Planning group. "The lights are part of the historical fabric of this community. They’re iconic for this community.”

Roth told NBC 7 he’s disappointed the city did not follow through on its promises to work with the community to try to find a way to save what’s left of the original streetlights that date back to 1926. He explained that a maintenance and assessment district was formed 10 years ago to generate funds for repairing the historic fixtures.

“We’ve all been paying extra property taxes for 10 years into funds for this purpose,” Roth said.

Roth was disappointed that the city gave only a few days’ notice that they were removing the old lampposts. 

“The old streetlights could have been rewired and refurbished, and we had gotten the estimates for that. We worked with a historical resources company that specializes in historic streetlights. It was all possible,” he said. “We’re fine with the LED. We’re fine with all of the modern stuff. We just want all of the old fixtures to stay in place.”

A spokesperson for the city of San Diego said in a written statement to NBC 7 that “it is important to note that this is not a new project, it has been in the works for many months and comes after multiple​ meetings with residents in Kensington and the Planning Group. City staff attended meetings, provided notices to the community, and shared information on multiple platforms about this project. Any claim that the City did not engage with the community is simply not true.”

The city says a third-party audit shows it’s less expensive to replace the old fixtures than to repair and maintain them.

The report — which was not shared with NBC 7 — concluded the cost to rehab each streetlight would be about $20,000, with a life span of 10-25 years, according to the city. By replacing the lights, the report says they would cost less than $20,000 each and life expectancy would be closer to 50 years.

Lori Lucus told NBC 7 she loves the new lights. The 22-year Kensington resident says it's finally safe to walk her dogs at night.

“I love it. I think they look really, really good. They really do a really good amount of lighting, so it really lights up the streets, and at night that’s important because they were out often before through the 20-plus years that I’ve lived here,” Lucus said.