The Midway District’s 30-foot height limit is here to stay.
Last week, the Supreme Court of California declined to review a Court of Appeal ruling that overturned a decision by voters to remove the coastal height limit for San Diego’s Midway neighborhood. Since 1972, the building height limit there and everywhere west of I-5 is 30 feet.
San Diego residents have now voted twice (in 2020 and 2022) to remove the height limit in Midway.
And twice the courts have said the city failed to study and disclose the impact of the change on the environment and views.
Midway Rising is a plan to build 4,254 new apartments, 14 acres of public space and a new Sports Arena on 49 acres of city-owned land in the center of the Midway District. Many of the project’s buildings are set to be more than 30-feet tall, including a new arena.
The appeals court last October ruled that the city failed to inform voters about the environmental impacts of raising the height limit in the neighborhood when they put Measure C on the ballot.
The state Supreme Court also denied the city’s request to depublish the appeals court ruling, making the opinion a binding precedent for lower courts. The trial court will rescind Measure C and restore the height limit.
What the city is saying: “While we are disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear the City’s appeal, this procedural decision does not change our commitment or our momentum to redevelop the Sports Arena site. We continue to disagree with the lower court’s ruling, but we are not standing still,” Mayor Todd Gloria and City Attorney Heather Ferbert said in a joint statement.
“The City is actively pursuing options that will provide a clear and durable path forward for this transformational project — one that will deliver thousands of new homes, including affordable housing, permanent jobs, a modern entertainment venue, and significant economic benefits for San Diego.”
What we’re still waiting on: Read that statement closely. They still did not say some important things. Developers want to make Midway Rising the largest test of the state’s density bonus laws. These are laws that allow builders to circumvent local regulations if they build certain percentages of rent-capped apartments for people who earn less than the median income.
With more than 2,000 affordable units planned for Midway Rising, the project does qualify for density bonus.
But we’re still waiting for city officials to say affirmatively that they agree with developers that density bonus law is the path they support and that the project is still legal.
County Supes Tap Top CA AG’s Office Assistant as Likely County Counsel
The county will likely have a new top lawyer later this month.
County supervisors will vote next Tuesday on whether to appoint Damon Brown, now a special assistant state attorney general, as the lead county counsel serving the board and county staff. Brown is now Attorney General Rob Bonta’s senior adviser on issues including civil rights, public safety, consumer protection and voting rights. Brown’s more than two-decade legal career also includes a stint as city attorney for Compton, Calif.
Brown’s proposed appointment follows a national search and the abrupt retirement of former county counsel Claudia Silva. Silva’s sudden retirement followed a hastily scheduled closed-session review of Silva’s performance a day after Democrats achieved a majority on the county Board of Supervisors with the swearing in of Supervisor Paloma Aguirre.
In a statement, county Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer’s team wrote that she “looks forward to San Diego County Counsel’s next chapter.”
“The County Counsel’s Office plays a critical role in protecting the public trust and upholding the rule of law – standing up for consumers, safeguarding public dollars, and advancing a modern county government that works for working families,” Lawson-Remer wrote in a statement.
Brown said he’s excited to be considered for the role.
“My career in public service has been rooted in civic engagement and a belief that effective leadership at the national, state, and local levels can advance justice, equity, and the public good,” Brown wrote.
If appointed, Brown will start Jan. 26 and receive an annual $380,000 salary.
Environment Report: Shelltown Residents Fear a Repeat of 2024 Floods
After intense rain fell across San Diego County over the holidays, residents in Shelltown are on high alert.
The last thing they want is a repeat of catastrophic floods in 2024 that destroyed hundreds of homes in the area. Many of those homeowners didn’t have flood insurance.
A clogged stormwater drain where Beta and Birch streets meet was partly to blame for the rising water levels during last year’s storms. The city is supposed to fix it, but it will cost $111 million, which the city doesn’t have.
So, this year, residents have taken it upon themselves to keep the drain unclogged, writes our MacKenzie Elmer. They take turns cleaning it and keeping an eye on it, worrying every time it rains and growing more frustrated every time the city doesn’t help.
Read the Environment Report here.
In Other News
- A lawsuit filed against Sharp Healthcare accuses the hospital of recording conversations between doctors and patients without consent and then feeding the information to an artificial intelligence system. And it looks like Sharp isn’t the only medical provider in the region using AI. (Union-Tribune)
- Paid parking at Balboa Park officially launched on Monday. (10 News)
- Opinion: A senior at Eastlake High School in Chula Vista argues that San Diego needs higher-density housing near public transit to combat greenhouse gas emissions and meet affordable housing demands. (Voice of San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by Tigist Layne and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.
The failure of the city to properly inform all voters, all the risks, by doing the necessary work is what caused this. And now they want to go around the judge by other means. Ash St. and the homeless shelter should be red flags to what Todd is doing to this city.