The redevelopment project of 50-ish acres of land in the Midway area — which comprises Sports Arena, derelict streets and serves as a major junction in San Diego — is only getting more complex.
Recently dubbed ‘the new San Diego Special‘ by Lewis, the San Diego City Council this week made a move to get the Midway redevelopment project rolling again.
On Monday, the council voted unanimously to throw out a recommendation to require city staff to review five applications to redevelop the area. Now, there are only three teams left trying to get the gig.
But like I said… it’s complicated.
The state of California has a big say in how local municipalities handle public land nowadays. Case in point: the Surplus Land Act. Specifics of that law derailed this development under former mayor Kevin Faulconer. Affordable housing must be prioritized in public land deals like this, according to the law.
On the pod this week, hosts Scott Lewis, Andrew Keatts and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña dropped in on the council meeting in which a representative from the state tried to answer all the questions from local reps about what we’re actually allowed to do with this land.
Will its ‘San Diego Special’ status remain?! Only time (and Lewis) will tell.
COVID Quandaries Abound
San Diego Unified has backed off its vaccine mandate.
The board that oversees the largest school district in the region voted unanimously to delay mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for students until June 2023.
The district’s staff made a presentation explaining that students have already been vaccinated at a high rate and the danger is waning.
Intriguingly, this happened the same week the district was making plans to possibly bring back indoor mask mandates. On the pod, Lewis, Keatts and Lopez-Villfazña weed through the COVID quandary facing public schools.
Psst…
Don’t forget! Our next live show is coming up quick. And now we’ve got our special guests nailed down. (Thanks, Lopez!) Chula Vista City Councilmember Andrea Cardenas and Steve Garcia, host of the Emo Brown Podcast, are going to join us at Novo Brazil Brewing to dish on all things South Bay politics.
Tickets at vosd.org/events. See you soon.