Historic Prop D’s 30-Foot Height Limit Is Still a Reflection of San Diego’s Identity — Don’t Let So-Called ‘Emergencies’ Trump It

By Tom Coat / SD U-T Commentary / July 31, 2026 

As battles swirl around Pacific Beach’s Turquoise Tower, Midway Rising and ADU “apartment buildings,” a more fundamental concern surprisingly has been pushed to the sidelines.

For 54 years, historic Proposition D protected San Diego’s coastal communities with a 30-foot height limit. That allowed all San Diegans access to our magnificent shoreline.

In an essay published in The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Opinion section, City Council President Joe LaCava summed up Proposition D’s importance to San Diego: “San Diego’s 30-foot coastal height limit symbolizes a commitment to preserving the city’s coastal access and differentiating our valued shoreline from walled-off cities like Miami. The height limit is not only a regulatory restriction but a reflection of San Diego’s identity,” LaCava wrote.

Today, this “reflection of San Diego’s identity” has been blacked out — “voided.” All it took was a declaration of a crisis in the Legislature and bureaucratic approval. That’s so easy, it begs the question: What is the next declared crisis where votes won’t count?

The will of 64% of San Diego voters who approved Proposition D in 1972 was trashed because the state said Proposition D conflicts with developer-friendly state density bonus housing laws. Those laws, incidentally, resulted in a hugely unpopular “unintended consequence” — the 268-foot high Turquoise Tower proposal over which the city and developer are still haggling.

While it would be irresponsible to allow a luxury high-rise that adds 1,000 more daily vehicle trips on North Pacific Beach roads already carrying 400% of their intended traffic, what is being done to Proposition D should be of deep concern to every San Diegan.

In trying to address what it viewed as a housing crisis, the state chose the nuclear option of voiding votes. It had better, less extreme, options.

The state is doubling down on its attack on Proposition D with the Legislature’s consideration of SB 958, a bill that guts protections related to Midway Rising. The Peninsula Planning Group formally protested the bill, with chair Eric Law saying: “There’s no reason to have skyscrapers at the beach.”

Some 54 years after Pacific Beach resident Alex Leondis and volunteers collected 36,000 verified signatures to force a reluctant San Diego City Council to put Proposition D on the ballot, isn’t it time to find the right balance so middle-class families can become homeowners without transforming Pacific Beach into Miami Beach or voiding votes?

First, recognize that we face an affordable housing crisis, not a supply crisis.

Earlier this year, researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco released results of a 20-year housing study. It found that removing housing constraints — like Proposition D — had limited impact on housing prices. So why void Proposition D?

The study concluded that income inequality — not a limited housing supply — was making homes too costly for the middle class. The researchers traced a striking correlation between rising home prices and median income since 2000. They found a growing wealth gap allowed wealthier people at the top of the median income range to drive up home prices well beyond income increases for less wealthy people.

Voiding Proposition D won’t solve that. Nor will increasing housing supply so much that the Mortgage Bankers Association projects a looming glut of millions of homes.

Why not target housing affordability with economic weapons and take other common-sense actions?

Restore the critical role of local planning groups and city councils. Give these groups a chance to review proposals, but not unduly delay them. If an impasse is reached, do binding arbitration. This idea would have quickly killed the Turquoise Tower proposal, saving the city thousands of dollars — and perhaps millions more in future legal fees.

Create a coalition of the numerous groups supporting Proposition D so they can more effectively lobby and publicize solutions, such as already approved community plans that add housing.

Prioritize homes for residents and give first-time home buyers incentives so they can compete against investors/corporations.

We should also:

• Change laws to make voiding votes a difficult, last resort requiring judicial approval.
• Restore Proposition D.
• Retain San Diego’s coastal vibe — no skyscrapers.
• Give the middle class a fighting chance.

Votes should count. Our horizons should belong to everyone, not just penthouse owners.

Tom Coat is a former newspaper editor and reporter who lives in Pacific Beach. He successfully lobbied for two San Diego vacation rental ordinances and a traffic-calming roundabout on Foothill Boulevard.