By Kate Callen / June 30, 2025
More than 100 Golden Hill residents filled all but four seats at a surreal June 30 Zoom briefing about an eight-story complex that will tower over surrounding homes.
The four empty chairs were placed at the front of the room behind a table bearing four name cards: Todd Gloria, Stephen Whitburn, Chris Ward, and Toni Atkins.
No one expected the four YIMBY Democrats to attend. But the event’s organizers, Preserve Greater Golden Hill, wanted to send a message: These elected officials sold out our community to serve the interests of the building industry.
The Golden Hill meeting was the second time Chicago-based developer CEDARst presented plans for its 180-unit project at 2935 A Street. The firm’s principals showed up in person for the first meeting on May 20. It didn’t go well. A broken wi-fi connection disrupted their slideshow, and an angry crowd shouted down their remarks.
Technical difficulties on June 30 were far worse. But the CEDARst team were in offsite locations at a safe distance. “They hid behind a Zoom platform that they controlled, and they selectively heard questions from the audience,” said Susan Bugbee, a long-time member of the Greater Golden Hill Planning Committee.
The audience could barely see the development team’s tiny screen images. The development team could barely understand audience questions. Amid the chaos, a few key points emerged about concessions to the community.
The 180-unit project will now include 149 on-site parking spots on two subterranean parking levels. The underground garage will have two points of egress and entry to minimize traffic buildup.
CEDARst will also widen the sidewalks around the complex. And it will ask for community input on color palette and landscape options, an offer that provoked howls of laughter.
Whitburn, who stopped by briefly before the meeting to give sound bites to TV crews, issued a statement that said, “We have also heard from Golden Hill residents who support this project and would welcome new neighbors.” And he pointed out that “this project does not require City Council approval.”
He’s right about the last point. Nearly all construction permits are now ministerial, so developers can build pretty much anything anywhere. Which means they can behave like the loathsome ADU builder Christian Spicer, who tells neighbors that his gargantuan projects will make their lives miserable but they will learn to adjust.
Given that, CEDARst made what seemed like a sincere effort to win the community over. “We want to get additional feedback on how we can integrate this project into the fabric of Golden Hill,” said managing director Kit Barmeyer. “We are not predatory capitalists.”
Here’s what the CEDARst team doesn’t understand and never will: There is no way to integrate an 85-foot-high bunker building into the graceful fabric of Golden Hill.
The urban village is legendary for its quiet charm and craftsman design. Wikipedia describes it as “one of San Diego’s most historic and architecturally eclectic zones.” Residents are deeply and rightly afraid that the ugly 8-story complex will plant a flag for more tall ugly projects.
“Your building will tower over all the other buildings by five stories,” said resident Gary Roberts. “Then other buildings are going to come in that will make eight stories seem normal.”
He added, “You’re saying, ‘We have investors whose names we haven’t disclosed to you, and we’re going to come in and redefine for you what acceptable height limits are in a neighborhood where the height limits were already established long before you came along.”
At this second meeting, the CEDARst team included a newcomer, Jeannette Temple, Vice President of Housing of The Atlantis Group. The firm is led by Marcela Escobar and boasts that it is “the premier land use and strategic planning consulting firm in San Diego.”
Like Escobar and other Atlantis principals, Temple was a long-time administrator of the city’s Development Services Department before she jumped over the fence into the much greener pasture of lobbying for developers. Her LinkedIn account includes this boast:
“Honored the Atlantis Group received the San Diego Housing Federation’s Ruby Award for ‘Exceptional Development Partner’ for our tenacity to ensure implementation of California’s Affordable Housing Density Bonus Law”
Maybe the ever-tenacious Spicer can find a parcel near Temple’s home where he can build a gargantuan complex. She’ll feel miserable at first, but she’ll learn to adjust.
I once heard that after nuclear war all that would remain would be cockroaches and Keith Richards. I would add Marcela Escobar Eck to that list. Google that name and you’ll see what I mean.
Geoff, instead of studying what kills people, we should be studying what keeps Keith Richard alive. Maybe a steady diet of Marlboros, Jack Daniels & black tar heroin is actually good for you.
Imagine being Ronnie Wood and having Keith Richards confront you and tell you “you need rehab, dude!”.
P.s., good job Kate. Someday we’ll maybe all wake up and realize how many wonderful improvements to our community we owe to Marcella Escobar Eck.
Thanks, mi amigo, for the good chuckle. She’s been on my radar ever since she publicly lied to the community about what SeaWorld was building back nearly 2 decades ago.
Very nice accounting, Kate, you are really a welcome addition to The Rag for sure.
Good article Kate. It’s REALLY too bad, the voters re-elected Whitburn and Gloria, but the City and D3 are stuck with the destruction teams another 4 yrs..
People especially the homeless and disabled need housing it seems even GOLDEN HILLS HATE THE HOMELESS
What a silly, stupid thing to say, Lawrance. And it’s Golden Hill, not Hills.
Great reporting, Kate Callan. Thank you.
The debate over calling it Golden Hill or Golden Hills is endless. The longer you have been there, the more likely to call it Golden Hills. That name is dying out in favor of Golden Hill.
Kit Barmeyer, SD native (raised in Mission Hills), returns to his hometown to participate in its destruction.
if Stephen Whitburn showed up its news to us. Was outside the hall the entire time and did not see him anywhere.
Would like to see who in Golden Hill supports this monstrosity. Have yet to run into anybody. He must be referring to resident Toni Atkins – the queen of gutting local zoning control and self dealing in affordable housing legislation. And she was one of the worst votes during her time on city council in regard to dirty developer deals.
Sorry you weren’t quoted in the story, John. I wanted to interview you, but no one knew where you were.
Is there any record of debate about the name “Golden Hill”? None, as far as I can find. There isn’t any real hill in the area, much less multiple hills, but there is a sloping change in elevation to the west of Golden Hill, toward downtown. Here’s a topography link: https://en-us.topographic-map.com/map-n9tp/San-Diego/?zoom=17¢er=32.71732%2C-117.14475
Very few early surveys (1800s) resulted in legitimate topographic data, instead resulting in patented maps designed to sell Pueblo Lots for development. One result of the basic flat-earth approach is that streets in the early mapped areas were ultimately misaligned when development occurred later, and sloping lots were difficult for builders. A great reference book is Michael Pallamary’s “Lay of the Land – The History of Land Surveying in San Diego County.”
“One of the largest rancherias in San Diego was erected in 1860 along the western slope of Golden Hill, near the present-day intersection of 20th Street and Broadway.”
“In 1887, local developers Daniel Schuyler and Erastus Bartlett spearheaded a campaign to officially name the neighborhood east of downtown “Golden Hill,” due to the manner in
which the sun glinted across the hill at dusk.”
Schuyler and Bartlett chose the most romantic, enticing description of the area they wished to market to buyers, but at least they stuck to the basic truth and didn’t proclaim there to be multiple “hills.”
Golden Hills appears to be a “California Designated Qualified Opportunity Zone,” and you can guess that means “tear down anything and build whatever you want.” These are listed by census tracts, so it is hard to tell exactly where else in the 47 Census Tracts in San Diego the remaining rights are close to non-existent. The list also includes median income and percentage of low-income individuals in the chart. Question: Who picked this list?