The San Diego Community Coalition: A Year of Empowerment

By Kate Callen

On April 14, 2025, activists from 14 San Diego communities gathered at a South Park pizzeria to explore how they might band together in their common fight against citywide saturation density.

A year later, the San Diego Community Coalition has doubled in size to represent 28 communities – from Encanto in the south to University City in the north and from the College Area in the east to Ocean Beach in the west.

Its mission has expanded as well. When Frank Gormlie, Paul Krueger, and I invited community leaders to gather last spring, the impetus was City Hall’s push for predatory development. We were all struggling with multi-story Bonus ADUs and mid-rise towers in neighborhoods where parking was scarce and fire risk was high.

That is still a problem, and it will continue so long as builder-supported YIMBY politicians run the city. But the political pendulum has begun swinging back because communities have demanded more responsive local government. Going forward, we must intensify that effort.

At the start, the Community Coalition was inspired by Neighbors For A Better San Diego (NFABSD), the most effective local grassroots organization in recent history. The ability of NFABSD to present compelling data about the harmful impacts of Bonus ADUs delivered a wake-up call to elected officials.

As community activists gained in numbers and resolve, we deployed an arsenal of strategies – overflow crowds at City Council meetings, lawsuits, media coverage of protests – to block ruinous developments. And we succeeded beyond expectations.

The Bonus ADU program has been reined in. Thanks to a campaign by Neighbors for a Better California, City Hall now opposes the Turquoise Tower in Pacific Beach. Neighbors for Encanto helped bring about the repeal of the notorious Footnote 7. Preserve Golden Hill saved a beloved canyon parcel from bulldozers. Neighbors for a Better Pacific Beach persuaded a judge to block the 136-unit Chalcifica project. And Protect Point Loma organized resistance that forced a developer to pause a disastrous project at 1004 Rosecrans Street.

Along the way, we’ve learned a valuable lesson. Rampant development happens because elected officials refused to listen to residents and small businesses. So we’ve found ways to break through their bubble and command their attention.

The Coalition has been seeking new methods to empower the leaders of our 28 member communities. We hold regular town hall forums, co-hosted by NFABSD, on topics of interest to community activists. Our four forums this past year were:

On October 28, SD City Councilmember Raul Campillo, then a member of the Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee, candidly discussed City Hall land use policies and politics.

On December 13, Union-Tribune City Hall Reporter David Garrick gave a “behind the headlines” presentation about the challenges of covering the city.

On January 17, prominent land use attorney Everett DeLano talked about “protecting the urban environment” by waging legal battles.

On March 28, “The Future of Balboa Park: A Community Conversation” asked if a public-private park conservancy wouldn’t be an improvement over a city-governance structure that sought to close budget gaps through Park parking fees.

And starting last fall, a bulletin titled “This Week at City Hall” has been emailed to Coalition members every Sunday to flag important agenda items at upcoming City Council and Planning Commission meetings. The list, which is reprinted in the OB Rag, offers guidance on public participation in person or virtually.

Looking ahead to the next year, the Community Coalition will work to safeguard San Diego’s most threatened local democracy: the City’s network of community planning groups.

Planning groups are officially sanctioned to speak for constituents. The City can ignore their recommendations. But it still is required to listen to them – elected officials send representatives to every meeting. These groups are a vital channel for community input, and they need all the support we can give them.