A San Diego Superior Court judge issued a ruling last week validating Measure C, the 2020 citizens initiative that would fund an expansion of the downtown San Diego Convention Center.
More than 65% of city voters approved of Measure C, which would raise the city's hotel room tax. Most of the additional revenue would go toward the Convention Center expansion, with smaller amounts earmarked for road repair and homeless services.
San Diego has been trying to expand the Convention Center for well over a decade. Supporters argue the newer amenities and additional space would bring in more tourism dollars to the local economy.
The case before Judge Wendy M. Behan hinged on the percentage of votes required for Measure C's approval. Opponents had argued Measure C needed a two-thirds majority because it was not a true citizens initiative, but rather a government-sponsored tax measure.
But Behan said the California Taxpayers Action Network, represented by attorney Cory Briggs, had failed to provide enough evidence to prove its claims in court.
"There will be an appeal," Briggs told KPBS in an email.
San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott said the ruling was a victory for city voters and taxpayers.
"After nearly four years of frivolous litigation, the only thing plaintiffs have achieved is to delay the implementation of Measure C and the collection of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue that could have been used to address the homelessness problem, modernize the Convention Center, and repair city streets," Elliott said in an emailed statement. "That is a dubious accomplishment for organizations who claim to be working on behalf of our shared commitment to improve our city."
The San Diego Tourism Authority (SDTA) has long pushed for the city to fund upgrades to the Convention Center, arguing the city is losing out on business with its outdated facilities.
"It isn't as big, isn't as flexible as industry leaders think it needs to be to compete for the conventions you're looking for — and even to keep the ones you've got, like the Comic-Con convention, which is a big deal in San Diego," said SDTA attorney Michael Colantuono. "Keeping that may mean giving them better facilities than we can now offer."
Colantuono estimated that it would be another year before the 4th District Court of Appeal would issue a ruling in the case, and he said most appeals in California are rejected.
"The courts of appeal aren't there for a do over," Colantuono said. "They're there to look for error that was prejudicial. So the questions will be, 'Did the trial court make the right factual determinations and the right legal determinations?'"
The California Supreme Court could decide to take up the case, as well, though Colantuono noted it had already declined to do so in six other cases dealing with tax measures proposed by citizens' initiative.
