Voters To Decide Whether To Allow High-Rise Developments In Midway District

Speaker 1: 00:00 Is it an opportunity to revitalize a blighted neighborhood or a slippery slope that will lead to high rises along San Diego's coast? It's a question that San Diego voters will decide in November the city council voted Tuesday to place a proposal on the November ballot that would repeal the 30 foot height limit in the midway district. Proposed redevelopment around the old sports arena would include dense high rise housing units that wouldn't be possible with a 30 foot limit in place supporters say the height limit would only be changed in a small area in the midway district opponents say it will chip away at height limits up and down. The city's coast journey may have San Diego union Tribune, reporter David Garrick and David. Welcome. Thanks for having me remind us what the area around the sports arena looks like now and what the proposed changes would do to the area. Speaker 2: 00:49 Well, now I think pretty much everyone agrees. It's not living up to its potential. It's a fast food chains and auto related businesses and a few strip clubs and these gigantic mega blocks that sort of don't give any sense of community. Uh, you know, it's definitely, uh, an old school, a neighborhood that is not, uh, doing what the city would like it to do economically or for housing or for really anything. Um, and it's a really, you know, very appealing area to developers and to people who want to live because it's in between by Loma and mission Bay park and the airport and interstate five. And so it's a really great location with a lot of potential Speaker 1: 01:24 Pose changes. Do, would it add to the housing? Speaker 2: 01:26 There are two proposals. The city's considering both of them include lots of housing, one over 2000 units and another 1400 units. Uh, the one with 1400 units would also include some, uh, entertainment elements, a 12 acre park, uh, an outdoor amphitheater and a temporary soccer stadium Speaker 1: 01:43 Would also include a grand central station sort of thing. Remind us what that is. Speaker 2: 01:48 Yes. SANDAG local, the county's regional planning agency wants to create sort of a grand central station mass transit hub, right in this area. It's a great area centrally located, and that would become sort of San Diego's transit future Speaker 1: 02:02 30 foot limit on construction get put in Speaker 2: 02:05 On 1972 voters approved a ballot proposition that basically said anything along the coast, anything West of interstate five, couldn't be higher than 30 feet. And why do they do that? Well, I think the idea was to avoid a turning into Miami beach or Waikiki beach in Honolulu and some other parts of the country and the world where you, along the coast, you see high rise buildings that some folks feel like doesn't doesn't make any sense, but it's not visually appealing. It blocks fuse. It makes the beach areas seem more commercial. And so the idea in California pretty much up and down the coast of California is you have this gradual thing where you have taller buildings farther inland, but as you get toward the actual beach, most, most communities have a height limit that prevents it from looking like Miami beach. Speaker 1: 02:51 The vote on the city council was seven to two to put the height limit repeal on the ballot. What were the arguments council members had in the measure? One, Speaker 2: 03:00 One is that this area of shouldn't have been included in the coastal zone to begin with. I mean, the idea is that Pacific beach and LA Jolla and mission beach and ocean beach, those are the other areas that are affected by the 30 foot limit. They are coastal beach areas where views do matter where you do have the beach, the sports arena area it's called the midway district officially. Isn't really like that. It's not really near the water. There aren't any views that are vulnerable, that tall buildings are gonna block. Um, so I think the argument is that it was just sort of arbitrarily included in the rule back in 1972, because it's West of interstate five, but it doesn't really have anything else in common with those other beach communities. I think that was sort of the main argument. I would say the second argument in favor was this is an area that needs to be improved. This is an area that needs to be upgraded. And this is an area that is right for dense housing. And none of those things can happen with a 30 foot height limit in place. It's really got to be removed for this area to reach this potential. Speaker 1: 03:56 Here's what council member Chris ward said. He supported the measure. Speaker 2: 04:00 I've supported this in the past that the rules committee and we'll continue to do so today because it's a proposal for a targeted, limited height removal. And having it pass will allow the recently updated midway community plan to be implemented and compliment the proposed grand central station concept as well. So this deserves to at least be placed in front of the voters for them to be able to decide, Speaker 1: 04:20 Okay, so who voted against it? And what was their argument? Speaker 2: 04:24 That's a woman, Barbara Brie voted against it and she's voted against it in the past. Um, she's become as she's been running for mayor this year against a Gloria and a runoff, more of a, an anti-development, uh, candidate than she has been in the past. Um, so I think that was part of it. Uh, yesterday she mentioned that she thought there were other development in the, in the, in the works, uh, including the, the Navy spite, the spa or site or network site that, that she thought maybe the other things weren't being taken into consideration when you were considering this, uh, and then Georgia Gomez voted against it. Hers was even more complicated. Um, she basically said that because the city has allowed rival developers to make proposals for the sports arena area before voters have lifted the height limit, she feels that that's legally complicated. And she's, she's frustrated with that and concerned about that, the process. So I wouldn't say either of them were vehemently opposed, but, but there were two people who decided that it shouldn't go on the bat. Speaker 1: 05:21 So David, what proportion of voters will have to approve this height limit repeal in order for it to go forward? Speaker 2: 05:28 It's only a simple majority, just 50% plus one, which is in contrast to some of the other things that have been on the ballot lately that have needed a two thirds approval, which is a much higher hurdle. And I think it's interesting to know that when the SeaWorld got approval to lift the 30 foot height limit a few years back, uh, and that was a situation where the polling showed that people who lived near a SeaWorld and those neighborhoods were against it, but that the rest of the city was actually in favor of it. And it ended up passing. So this could be a situation where you an interesting contrast where the people who live in the beach areas vote against it, but it still gets passed because the citywide vote. So a lot of inland communities might be able to override those people who oppose it. Speaker 3: 06:08 I've been speaking with San Diego union Tribune, reporter David Garrick. David. Thank you. Thanks.