By Doug Poole
A vacant lot sits at the corner of Fort Stockton Drive and Goldfinch Street in Mission Hills. It has been empty since October 2023, when the previous buildings were demolished by Affordable Development 820 LLC. They had plans then too. Those plans fell through. Now they’re back — with something much bigger.
What they’re proposing is a 12-story, 120-unit tower made of 288-square-foot micro-units manufactured in Mexico, with zero parking, zero setback, and only 5 affordable units out of 120. The building would be taller than anything in the neighborhood, casting shadows over adjacent properties and fundamentally altering the character of one of San Diego's most beloved historic communities.
The City of San Diego is processing this permit ministerially — meaning automatically, with no community input, no design review, and no public hearing. Under the Complete Communities Housing Solutions program, if a project checks the right boxes, it goes through. Period. Your opinion doesn’t matter. The shadows don’t matter. The parking doesn’9;t matter. The fit with the neighborhood doesn’t matter.
Here’s what is wrong with that. Our attorney has identified two clear legal violations in the application.
- First, the project’s Floor Area Ratio is 8.68 — exceeding the Complete Communities maximum of 8.0.
- Second, the project may violate height restrictions under the Airport Land Use Compatibility Overlay Zone. We submitted a formal legal objection on December 11, 2025. The City has not responded in five months.
When we asked for a meeting with the Development Services Department to discuss these concerns, internal emails obtained through a Public Records Act request reveal that DSD staff were instructed to use a “Standard Ministerial Response” and redirect us to our elected officials. The person who gave that instruction was Keely Halsey, Assistant Director of DSD for Housing Policy — the official whose job description includes community engagement.
We are not anti-housing. Mission Hills needs more housing. But 288-square-foot micro- units are not what this neighborhood — or this city — needs. A comparable 53-unit micro-unit building one block away has been open for more than two years and is only about 57 percent occupied. The market is telling us something.
We have proposed an alternative: a 5-story building with a real mix of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units — the kind of housing that serves people downsizing from single-family homes, young professionals putting down roots, and small families who want to stay in the neighborhood. It meets San Diego’s housing goals. It fits Mission Hills. It makes financial sense.
Complete Communities was a well- intentioned program. But without guardrails, it has become a tool for out-of-town investors to extract maximum density from San Diego neighborhoods while delivering minimum community benefit. The project at 820 Fort Stockton Drive is the clearest example yet of what happens when a good idea gets hijacked by bad incentives.
We are asking Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, the Development Services Department, and City Planning to do three things:
- respond to our attorney’s legal objections on the record,
- explain how this project FAR complies with Complete Communities standards, and
- confirm the basis for any height waiver given the fire and airport overlay restrictions.
If you live in Mission Hills — or anywhere in San Diego — this affects you. The same playbook is being run in neighborhoods across the city. 820 Fort Stockton is just the one we can see from our windows.
Doug Poole is a Mission Hills resident and chairs the Mission Hills Community Review Council. He can be reached at poolede@gmail.com
Business as usual, until we send this entire City Council and Mayor packing. The advocates for Midway Rising are sending out texts and flyers for their candidates, claiming they are running to protect our communities. Let’s see if the Union sponsored disinformation campaigns work. This may be our best and final chance to end abhorrent projects like this one.
By “union” are you referring to the SD Union-Tribune or some amorphous trade group?
I sent you the support Josh Coyne text paid for by Liuna local 89. It read like a Mandy Havlik flyer except this guy is a Midway Rising supporter and is the closest thing to voting Status Quo.
An earlier version of this post cited a different LLC as owner / permit holder.
I got a pro Josh Coyne text sponsored by liuna local 89. Here’s the text, which for a Midway Rising supporter is pretty over the top. Not an advocate for anything listed below “Our coastal neighborhoods are under attack.
“Josh Coyne lives in Point Loma. He’s not a developer or a lobbyist. He’s a neighbor who will fight to protect our communities from overdevelopment and keep City Hall accountable.
“Josh will oppose height limit increases in coastal communities, demand real community input before any major project moves forward, and stand up to the special interests that treat our neighborhoods like profit centers.
“Josh Coyne for San Diego City Council. Your neighbor. Your advocate.”
“Paid for by Committee ID 1490441. Top Funder: LiUNA Local 89. Not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate.”
Thanks for pointing this out. This PR goes against Coyne’s multiple declarations that he favors Midway Rising, which of course, will plan on building much higher than the 30-foot ht limit. This is BUT one union that is notorious for spending its members’ money on candidates.
In general, can we quit with the generic union bashing.
Today’s flyer in the mailbox was to support Nicole Crosby, another consistent supporter of Midway Rising. It is from The San Diego Municipal Employees Association, 9620 Chesapeake Dr #203, 92123. This isn’t my bias showing. It is Unions and Employee Associations working to maintain the Status Quo. Vote Mandy Havlik to restore what little control we have left of planning and zoning policies.
Got it; have you seen a Bailey flyer showing him Peter’s congressional office?
I have not. But he was one of four candidates that spoke against Midway Rising vs the clown car we are riding in with Jen Campbell. She sure jumped in with that latest Midway Rising poll that got the results paid for by the Developers. I remain hopeful that we can get somebody that will end this looting of our heritage and communities. D or R. That said, Vote Mandy.
Agreed.
Can Mandy win?
Who are the district 2 candidates that would oppose the current version of Midway Rising? If elected, would the councilperson have any power to block the inappropriate proposed project?
Has it crossed anyone’s mind at City Planning to put a stop to construction until a few data points have been examined? No. That would involve using their minds. And there isn’t too much of that happening at City Planning.
A September CBS 8 news report about this project “found Affordable Development LLC on the business license. Records show Steven Yari signed it, who is the Co-Founder of the Los Angeles development firm Stockdale Capital. While they show an asset value worth $1.5 billion, it is however the same company that foreclosed on its attempt to renovate Horton Plaza. We reached out for comment for an update on the project but have not yet heard back.”
First, the demolition of the iconic Little Red Bungalow, then, the financial debasement of the landmark Horton Plaza. Are there any other San Diego landmark properties this L.A. developer would like to raid and ruin?
Who is the “we” that Mr. Poole continually references in this article? A May 22, 2026, UT opinion piece referenced a “Mission Hills Community Review Council” but I could not find any representative organization with that name.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/05/22/opinion-san-diegos-housing-fix-is-breaking-mission-hills/