Black Rages Against Planned Fort Stockton “Monstrosity” Across the Street from Her Property
By Kate Callen
A scorching Facebook post by Democratic powerbroker Laurie Black has been ricocheting around San Diego this past week. Community activists who oppose rampant upzoning have been reading Black’s missive with a sense of astonishment. Here is a transcript:
“I have no words!!! Or maybe I do!!!
“As the developer 2004-2007 of the property across the street from this eyesore, 1Mission, along with my late husband Bob Lawrence of R.S. Lawrence Development, we worked WITH the Mission Hills community to develop a project that received more than 5 awards for DESIGN, SMART GROWTH, HISTORICAL DESIGNATION, etc. 20 years later [it] is still a wonderful example of smart growth and design. Mark Steele designed a stunning project!
“Can’t wait to hear what ‘they’ think about this monstrosity of a building. WOW. WOW. WOW. Talk about embracing mediocre development, this is a great example, yet again, trying to approve taller and denser development and completely missing the point of neighborhood character in Mission Hills. THIS IS AN UGLY BUILDING. My opinion, but it is.
“How do we stop this overly aggressive residential development and adopt an approach which values the environment and community well-being alongside our critical housing needs. As a former resident of Mission Hills and now Bankers Hill, I am begging for a more balanced, sustainable development strategy that respects nature, offers adequate personal space, and improves the quality of life for all of us.
“I am NOT against the concept of development. I am myself a developer. But I believe in responsible and sustainable urban planning. The current situation of overcrowded housing and disregard for the environment is not sustainable. According to a report from the Urban Land Institute, poorly designed and densely populated housing can have a detrimental effect on community morale and mental health (Urban Land Institute, 2018). Our current reality reflects exactly this scenario.”
Black’s fury is justified. But the target of her anger isn’t clear. She never says who she thinks is responsible for “the current situation of overcrowded housing and disregard for the environment.”
This is where things get surreal. The person who turbo-charged “overcrowded housing” in San Diego is Black’s friend and political ally Todd Gloria. The two have been close for decades. She is one of the Democratic party leaders who helped him win a series of elected offices.
When I read Black’s post, I immediately thought back to the 2020 mayoral election when she campaigned for Gloria. She strongly endorsed his aggressive urban infill policies. And she dismissed proponents of reasonable growth with the pejorative “NIMBY” label.
Five years later, our YIMBY mayor has given us a carnival tent of development horrors: the Bonus ADU program (which Gloria had to walk back), the proposed Turquoise Tower in Pacific Beach, the 1004 Rosecrans tower in Point Loma, the 2945 A Street monolith in Golden Hill … and now the planned 820 Fort Stockton “monstrosity” that will rise up across the street from Black’s property and disfigure her Mission Hills community.
As supporters of sustainable growth know, Black will soon learn that her sensible ideas about “neighborhood character” will prompt YIMBYs to denigrate her as a “NIMBY” and distort her views as “anti-housing.”
No one should take pleasure in Black’s plight. This is not an occasion for schadenfreude. Opponents of destructive infill need all the allies we can enlist.
If civic leaders like Black who once promoted high-volume density now feel assaulted by it, and their personal distress has moved them to rethink their positions, they will be warmly welcomed to the neighborhood-friendly side of the land use debate.
Good to be hopeful, Kate, that she’ll move past the labels and put her power broking to better use from now on.
When a respected, award-winning developer is rethinking the San Diego housing policies that are delivering projects like 820 Stockton, it is time for the Mayor, his Planning Department and the City Council to pay attention. This is especially noteworthy when the critic is the Mayor’s friend and political ally.
Perhaps Ms. Black will be distressed enough by the Stockton project and others like it to try to use her influence to alter the direction that San Diego’s housing policies and associated zoning have taken under Todd Gloria’s administration. I am sure that policies that respect “neighborhood character” and value “the environment and community well-being alongside our critical housing needs” would be welcomed by most San Diegans. I suspect we would all welcome “a more balanced, sustainable development strategy that respects nature, offers adequate personal space, and improves the quality of life for all of us.”
A YIMBY is a YIMBY as long as they aren’t impacted by these monstrous developments. The minute they are, they are instantly happy to slide in under the NIMBY moniker. Still, those of us who want responsible development (NIMBYs to the ‘build build build’ crowd) have an open-door policy.
I’d like to know what Laurie Black really said behind closed doors. That girl can swear like a sailor!!
Yes, I can actually it was not a sailor, it was my dad Coach Howard Black, an offensive line coach and he and my two brothers….we were a team.
You guys realize that’s not the actual building design, right? That’s just Doug Poole’s Photoshop job.
Laurie Black’s rage is understandable if she’s buying the doctored visuals, but let’s get real: The real design hasn’t been reviewed.
Donald, please give Ms. Black more credit than this. The woman is a long-time developer and an expert on land use practices. She knows her way around proposals and documents. Do you really think she would react to a “doctored visual” without performing her own due diligence?
Why not post an accurate rendering of the building instead of an amateurish photoshop? One of these building went up in Hillcrest and it looks nothing like the one pictured here. There are plenty of ugly buildings in San Diego, including Mission Hills.
We’d be happy to if the developer would provide one. The lack of an accurate picture allows our imaginations to run wild.
Karen, what I did was take a picture of the building on fourth Street that is four units across and six units high. Then I cut and pasted it into a six units across and 12 units high. Not Photoshop. Since the developer hasn’t disputed this and will not provide any information whatsoever, other than what’s in the proposed permit. If you would take the time to look at the permit, you would see that it says 120 units of factory construction with no parking. Do yourself a favor and go look at the project on 4th Street.
What about the Senior living building just up the street from this project? It’s a high-rise that is not especially attractive on the outside, but I imagine a number of Senior citizens are happy to have a home there.
The battle against that building was lost 55 years ago.
Appreciate the pat on the back, community minded souls, I do. Hey, Bob and I made a living building beautiful in-fill projects, in La Jolla and Uptown neighborhoods. 1Mission could have been 15 Stories, just the same height as Green Manor down the street. After lots and I mean LOTS of community input the project was initially designed as 8 stories with a roof top garden, like the one Bob and I had seen in Victoria, Canada. But wow, had to take it 2 more stories down, Brian Mainshein negotiating on the floor of the city council. Laughing as I write this, but at the time, IT WAS NOT FUNNY. Here is the good news, we have over 15% VERY LOW INCOME we negotiated with Betsy Morris of the Housing Commission at the time, and I was also working with Veterans Village. Together we made plans to lift up veterans, in a small apartment, on a transit stop to downtown, Easy. It made sense in our minds, it was never about the money, it was design, lifestyle and what the neighborhood wanted. Yes, there were a handful of historic hysterics that made it miserable. And the Cooper siding, roof top garden, on and on never happened. Karen banker you are 100% correct, at every stage the community within at least a mile in all directions WILL be impacted and must be involved FROM THE BEGINING. AH ha.Love to all. And thanks for the nice words. Been fight the good fight 67 years now worth it, ALWAYS.