San Diego Lawmakers Are Plotting Legislation that Would Totally Exempt Midway Rising From State Environmental Review

by Nadia Lathan / Voice of San Diego / August 18, 2026

They’re going for the wholesale workaround.

San Diego lawmakers are weighing new legislation to allow San Diego’s Midway Rising project to bypass state environmental review — a pivot from earlier proposals that sought to exempt parts of the project from certain environmental rules.

The Midway Rising plan involves a 16,0000-seat arena and roughly 4,250 housing units.

Under the new proposal, the city’s own study of the project’s environmental impacts would be enough to meet requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, according to proposed amendments of the bill obtained by Voice of San Diego.

A public hearing on the bill — which amended previously unrelated legislation about human remains — is expected to take place later this week. Lead author Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson could not be immediately reached for comment.

Assemblymember Chris Ward, who’s a co-author on the bill, said lawmakers are introducing the bill now after facing roadbacks locally.

“We’ve had years of public conversation around trying to do something good for the sports arena, for community development in that area,” Ward said. “And to any extent that I feel the public process has been over-exhausted and abused, we have a chance to step in here and help to guide what it’s going to be.”

Solana Beach Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, who also represents parts of the Midway District, said she was still reviewing the bill and declined to answer questions about the proposal.

Officials had previously said Senate Bill 958 was the primary legislation to help avoid further litigation that could cause lengthy delays.

Senate co-author Steve Padilla declined to answer any questions about the project.

Democrats Assemblymember David Alvarez and Sen. Catherine Blakespear said they will likely support the new changes.

“Generally, I’m supportive of CEQA reform,” Republican Sen. Brian Jones said, and that he’s also still reviewing the bill.

There’s precedence for developers working with state lawmakers to cut red tape for stadium projects. In 2013, legislators pulled a similar maneuver to help speed up the CEQA permitting process for the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

Zack Defazio-Farrell, treasurer and law policy member for San Diego County YIMBY Democrats, said the last-minute proposal makes sense if the goal is to “CEQA-proof” Midway Rising.

“In theory, if it ends up being a blanket CEQA exemption for a specific project, it’s been done before,” Defazio-Farrell said, adding that he had not yet seen the bill language. “It should basically insulate the project from CEQA litigation.”