Editordude: House Representative Scott Peters has come out in opposition to the infamous PB “Turquoise Tower”. In a public letter addressed to Mayor Todd Gloria, dated July 21, he urges the city to deny the application of Project Vela, and states, “It should not be built at the outrageous height currently proposed.” Here is the entire letter:
July 21, 2026
Dear Mayor Gloria
I urge the city of San Diego to finally deny the current application for Project Vela, commonly known as the Turquoise Tower, in Pacific Beach. It should not be built at the outrageous height currently proposed.
In my conversations with constituents over the past several months I have been struck by the unity and anger over this proposal. The thought of a 23-story tower in this location, I imagine, was likely what set off the same furor that drove the adoption of the 30-foot height limit more than 50 years ago. Apart from aesthetics, there are legitimate and serious concerns about the ability of such a small, two-lane street to handle the level of traffic that 214 units will generate there and about the viability of emergency response. This excessively high building just won’t work on Turquoise Street.
I understand that part of the problem was an unintended consequence of the adoption of a code provision that allowed units to be zoned as hotel rooms. That has been remedied, but only after this application was filed.
This project is indefensibly and inappropriately huge for this street and location. Under the state bonus density law, a project can receive only up to 100% bonus to the number of units that can be built on that site. If the parcel (within a 30-foot height limit) is appropriately zoned, then the density bonus law would allow at maximum a 60-foot building, or 5 or 6 stories, not 23 stories.
State law does not change City zoning rules that have been developed in a public process and enacted into law.
More broadly, allowing this building to continue at 23 stories at this unsuitable location will undermine support for building multi-unit housing in general. If this is what residents think is coming to their backyards, it is easy to see why they will say no. A constant chorus of opposition from neighborhoods will make it much harder to build the badly needed new housing stock our city requires.
We should absolutely redevelop unused or vacant properties in our neighborhoods with smart, sensible projects consistent with community planning and state law. Neighborhoods deserve to be improved by those developments, not insulted. And certainly, they should not have their traffic safety jeopardized. This proposal misses the mark, to say the least. I hope you will join me in opposing it.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Scott Peters
Member of Congress
Congressmember Peters, could you help your other constituents and speak out against Midway Rising and NAVWAR? This are added examples of political favors that will not help affordability, will not be sustainable, remove access to the airport, our beaches and bays and are completely out of scale for the surrounding communities. Let’s also add that these disastrous projects are based on Political Todd-foolery not fact.
Thank you Scott Peters.
We have to stop drinking the YIMBY Kool-Aid,
It is clearly and visibly defacing our city beyond repair.
The height limit came into being because of citizen opposition. The construction of Capri by the Sea was so offensive to the citizens that 1972 Prop D was passed with 64% of the vote – almost two thirds !
Now, more than fifty years later, are we willing to let San Diego be turned into a Miami clone ?
All we have to do is sit back and do nothing – our “leaders” and developers will take care of the rest.
NIMBY vs. YIMBY dodge ball game.
Chris said:
“NIMBY vs. YIMBY dodge ball game”
A few key differences between NIMBY and YIMBY –
NIMBY – actually lives in the affected area
YIMBY – does not
NIMBY – the “M” stands for “My” and is accurate
YIMBY – the “M” does not stand for “My” but instead means “Your”
NIMBY – label intended to insult and dismiss advocates as selfish or ill-informed
YIMBY – lobbying for housing reform in California to spur development
Labeling, aka calling someone names, is a childish technique that we apparently have not outgrown which allows us avoid analysis and simply pigeonhole those with differing views in a demeaning, superficial and misleading manner.
People who own housing are invested in that neighborhood. The City would call it “community” if it served its purposes. But when it stands in the way of something the City wants to do, we need to whip out the pejorative label – hence NIMBY.
I bought the house I live in because of the neighborhood charateristics, something that everyone does. Is it close to things, is it crowded, is there a lot of crime and even does it look nice.
Homeowners have skin in the game – we have made a 20% downpayment and we are committed to a binding financial agreement that typically lasts 30 years. We maintain insurance and pay property taxes to support local government.
Scott Wiener, Gavin Newsom, Todd Gloria et alia side with the developers and, worse than merely turning a deaf ear to the citizens, they join in on the name-calling to further their agenda.
It’s not due to simple incompetence or ignorance, it is done with malice and aforethought.
Rhetorical question – why is there a YIMBY organization but no NIMBY organization ?
I’m very well aware of the differences Robert. That doesn’t mean there are not somewhat comical back and forth quips between the two groups.
Chris – I pointed out the differences because homeowners who live in a community and have raised the kids there do not consider themselves “a group”. We are people – individuals who have made owning a home a central priority in our lives and worked hard to achieve it. We used to call it The American Dream.
I am almost certain that you are not a homeowner, because of the “comical back and forth quips”
As homeowner I have been paying their property taxes for 26 years, I’ve been paying my mortgage and homeowner’s insurance for 26 years, I’ve had to replace my sewer line, replace my roof, repair a slab leak and replace the grass front lawn, all at large expense.
So it’s a serious issue for me, not some back and forth battle of the sound bites.
I’m not some rich fat-cat. I moved into Clairemont in the late 90’s because it was an affordable, middle-class area with great freeway access. Now, my neighborhood and those around it have been targeted for Gloria’s “15 minute village” approach, without it ever being put to a vote. The zoning laws that have protected all of San Diego from the hi-rise buildup that afflicts other large cities is being struck down, wiped out, completely overriden by political forces from San Francisco. So tell me O Chris, what is it you expect us to do ? Just roll over and accept it ? Embrace 10, 12 and even 17 unit apartment buildings being built on neighborhood cul-de-sacs with no parking provided ?
Homeowners have skin in the game, and when we try to defend what we’ve worked for, you trivialize and demean it with your superficial snark.
One day you’ll grow up and see actual groups, like developers and politicians, coming for the things you consider to be yours, valuable and dear to you because you worked long and hard for them, and when that happens I hope you will think back to your own petty disregard of people in that situation
I see you’re tiring of glib YIMBYs too. I’ve never seen a reckoning more deserved than this massive rug-pull performed by the state and our local government by deregulating building limits and up-zoning. It’s really hard to find candidates in either party that will stand up to it, so it’s probably going to take a prop 13 style ballot initiative revolt to take back local control from the state. Of course that won’t help the damage done, nor us in the City of SD with the current regime, but it would be a start at turning the tide.
I agree, but I’m also somewhat optimistic that the growing frustration, even outrage (depending on how close you are to ground zero of these outsized apartment buildings, multi-unit ADUs, lack of parking, and empty bike lanes) will show itself in support for city council and mayoral candidates who listen to residents, agree with our requests for moderate limits and reforms. The choices and trade offs can be tough — Richard Bailey in D2, Mark Powell in D6 and (less controversial) Martha Abraham in D4). And voicing our support now for Raul Campillo for mayor over Scott Peters and Sean Elo-Rivera — even though the election is more than two years away, is a decision we should all embrace.
Very, well said. Thank you.
Congressman Peters, your eloquently phrased letter is right on target. These developments that are being built and proposed do not fit the comunities in more ways than one. Like you explained it’s not just visual aesthetics, such as the Midway Rising developer called their environmental study about the view not being effected.
It is about whether or not the roads can handle the added burden. Or that safety is jeopardized because there are only three or four roads for emergencies and mass exits. The water/sewer systems and infrastructure capabilities that won’t have any mitigation applied.
It’s about the character of the community such as historical neighborhoods. Please add other developments like NAVWAR and Midway Rising to your logic of not being an appropriate fit.
Your leadership is very much appreciated.
While it’s great Peters is coming out against this project, keep in mind he is a founding member of YIMBY Democrats. He has said nothing about the city’s bonus ADU policy, Complete Communities or any of the Mayor and Council’s other poorly conceived housing policies.
I have a hard time seeing Peters coming out against Midway Rising. There is talk he is considering running for mayor so coming out against this project was likely too easy to pass up.
Agree! What took him so long to chime in? Why now? Someone interview him (maybe someone from Save Our Access) and get all his thoughts on breaking height limits, ADU’s, vacation rentals, Midway etc.
Debbie, don’t forget that Peters is probably running for SD mayor in 2028.
(BTw, all those business sales links you sent us — you’re welcome.)
Sadly, I agree.
RK – Wow, I did not know that, thank you for pointing this out !
From Peter’s own website, dated Dec 2024:
“Congressman Peters helped found YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County because we must lower housing costs and create sustainable, walkable communities. Last week, Congressman Peters helped launch the YIMBY Caucus in Congress to tackle our housing and homelessness crisis and build more housing in San Diego and across the country.”
So what gives ?
Is it only this particular project that he opposes ?
What about the myriad other projects like this throughout San Diego ?
Has he experienced a conversion or is this simply another example of The Two-Faced Politician ?
I don’t understand why Rep. Peters chose to notify the mayor of his opposition now. It’s been almost TWO YEARS since word of this God-awful proposal first surfaced. Within months, a powerful community effort surfaced to stop the project, and local and state legislators began speaking out against it (either because they truly believed it is an unacceptable exploitation of state housing mandates [which many of them supported and/or authored or co-authored], or because they knew that remaining silent in the face of overwhelming neighborhood [and city-wide] opposition to this proposed development would be politically unpalatable.
Why did Peters wait so long to declare his opposition? Perhaps because he’s running for Mayor as the pround, unapologetic and self-described “YIMBY” candidate, and does want his embrace if that label to hurt his political aspirations? That his, he wants it both ways.
Regardless of his motivation, we appreciate that he has now lent his name and stature to the effort to block to this terrible proposal. But most importantly, he is a federal official, not local or state, and decisions about the future of the “Turquoise Tower” will be made only on the state and local level. Permit approvals are in no way related to federal law, and in fact his letter offers no concrete strategies for preventing this development.
Just reread Rep Peters letter to Mayor Gloria.
How disingenuous (or ill-informed) that he closes by telling the Mayor, “I hope you will join me in opposing (the proposed tower).”
In fact, to his credit, the Mayor publicly announced his opposition to the tower in December, 2024.
Though his language was somewhat dodgy, he did publicly state that “While I am a staunch advocate for affordable housing, this project is an extreme application of the state Density Bonus Law that fails to meet the spirit or intent of California’s affordable housing policies.”
https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2024/12/27/mayor-gloria-cites-reservations-about-proposed-23-story-tower-in-pacific-beach/
You’re totally right; a whole raft of electeds joined in opposing the project, like you said, years ago.
I am so tired of the people like Peters who profess these lame reactions when the table they set, either directly or by their membership in the groups pushing all this hyper-density, gets eaten in full.
Yes Jeff, well put! I share the exact thoughts. The hypocrisy is deafening.
I support the PD’s use of surveillance cameras, and think they’re an effective tool for helping to solve crimes. I think our personal data is already so compromised that concerns about data sharing from surveillance cams don’t resonate with me. I know there are other critiques, but on this issue, I side with law enforcement and the council majority. There are other issues I disagree with Campillo on. For example, he voted to reinstate the “mobility team” aka “bike team,” a group of employees who have overseen the selection and construction of bike lanes, and I don’t like the protocol (if you can call it that) by which bike lanes locations are selected (imposed). But I think we have to accept that no politician will mirror all our positions, and that our only choice, if we choose to be politically active, is to support the candidate who most alines with our values and priorities. And for me, Raul is the best we have.