On Monday, August 1, 2025 at 11:00 AM at the intersection of Pacifica Drive and Bluffside Avenue, Pacific Beach, members For a Better Pacific Beach will announce to the filing of its suit against the City to stop the processing of Christian Spicer’s 136 ADU project, “Chalcifica.”
The community group “Neighbors for a Better Pacific Beach” and dozens of supporters will announce the filing of the lawsuit to stop the proposed development on a parcel of land that sits atop the site of a significant historical Kumeyaay village in a Very High Fire Hazard Zone.
The project developer, Christian Spicer, is the subject of intense criticism by community groups. Spicer consistently ignores neighborhood concerns when he crams massive, multi-story ADUs with no parking in single-family areas.
“Christian Spicer’s proposed 136-unit ADU project is a poster child for bad planning, inadequate city review, the rejection of valid community concerns, and predatory practices,” said Merv Thompson, Chair of Neighbors for a Better Pacific Beach.
“The City has a legal duty to follow land use laws that protect our neighborhoods, tribal resources, and sensitive lands,” said land-use attorney Josh Chatten-Brown of Chatten-Brown Law Group.
“By treating large-scale ADU projects like this as ‘ministerial,’ the City evades meaningful environmental review and public oversight, putting the community and environment at risk. Our lawsuit will hold the City and the developer accountable and enforce necessary legal safeguards.”
“This is the Kumeyaay coastal village site of La Rinconada de Jamo, where the Spanish first encountered the Kumeyaay in 1769. It was a last stand for local tribes within the City as late as 1910. The City’s approval process is an insult to history and gravely offensive to Kumeyaay descendants,” stated attorney Courtney Ann Coyle, who focuses on cultural heritage law.
For more info contact: Merv Thompson, Chair, Neighbors for a Better Pacific Beach, 858-692-7131
Josh Chatten-Brown, Chatten-Brown Law Group, 619-940-4522
