By Kate Callen
State Senator Akilah Weber Pierson’s August 9 “Community Conversation” about the Midway Rising `project was the first time in the Pechanga Arena’s 60-year history that it staged a Kabuki theater performance.
The first-term senator has become a pro-density rising star by authoring Senate Bill 958 to circumvent a state Supreme Court ruling that Midway Rising must adhere to a legal 30-foot height limit.
News that Weber Pierson was holding a public forum took the public by surprise. Was she genuinely interested in an honest discussion about overcrowding, traffic congestion, air pollution, loss of naturally occurring affordable housing, and flood risks from a rising water table?
Uh, no. Weber Pierson was interested in acting as if she cared about the opinions of community leaders who have those concerns. Maybe she thought that few people would turn out on a scorching Sunday morning. Maybe she hoped those who oppose her bill would be converted by the presentations of Midway Rising’s leadership team.
The resulting “community conversation” was a tightly orchestrated show with long stretches of developer hype, short bursts of community emotion, and quite a few surreal touches.
Weber Pierson began her opening remarks by saying, “I do want to mention that I did invite the mayor, but he was unable to attend.” Well, of course not. There was no ribbon to cut.
When boos erupted at the mention of Todd Gloria, Weber Pierson bristled. “I have been very accommodating so far,” she warned her guests. “This is going to be a productive conversation. We will not permit any further conduct that disrupts the peace. And if we don’t get that, then you will have to be removed.”
Her ominous tone explained why security men were circling the audience of fewer than 200 people.
While taking notes in an area designated for media, I was ordered to move by a stern Senate Sergeant at Arms agent who resembled Corey Lewandowski. I don’t know why he thought I was a threat. But hey, you can’t be too careful when you encounter a small woman who is wielding a ballpoint pen.
Midway Rising opponents, all community activists, sat on the left of the center aisle. They were slightly outnumbered by proponents, sitting on the right, who were a mix of YIMBY Democrats and T-shirted union members. Picture a tense church wedding where the bride’s relatives are organic farmers and the groom’s family owns a fertilizer plant.
For Midway boosters, the formal presentations portrayed a future urban paradise with ample affordable housing, good jobs, new shuttle services, plenty of green space, health care centers, child-care services, and educational programs.
Midway opponents looked at the same tapestry and saw significant fissures that will not crack open until the gargantuan project is set in stone. Several questioners noted that two of the biggest potential problems are groundwater flooding risks and transportation gridlock.
As structural engineer Ralph Teyssier reported in a July 31 Rag post, the Midway District is “a former estuary with artificial fill, shallow groundwater, and a high potential for liquefaction.”
Like the San Diego Convention Center, Midway Rising will require 24/7 groundwater pumping. But the Convention Center is nowhere near the size of Midway Rising, and it does not include tall buildings with thousands of residents.
Transportation has always been a major stumbling block for Midway Rising. Right now, navigating the Midway/Pacific Highway area lands you in the fifth circle of hell. When Midway Rising adds 50,000 more residents with 20,000 more cars, you will wind up in the ninth circle.
How will people traverse this clogged area? Here’s where the story takes a fanciful turn.
According to Amy Restelli of Kimley-Horn, Midway Rising’s transportation coordinator, the complex will improve traffic flow because people will have … more choices!
An array of new bicycle paths and an army of new shuttles will mean “you’re going to have more options for people to get around,” Restelli said.
That would be great if San Diegans showed a propensity to follow that rosy political script by ditching cars for bikes and buses. But we haven’t. Miles of expensive empty bike lanes and an anemic transit system are daily proof.
When the forum ended, dispirited community leaders declined Weber Pierson’s invitation to visit exhibit booths and left the building. They had just spent 90 minutes sitting through a third-rate theatrical production that tested their tolerance for disrespect.
But it could have been worse. At least they didn’t pay for admission.
Excellent recap, Kate. I too thought the security guard was a Corey Lewandowski look alike.
We’ve been communicating with the Senator’s office since the end of March. She personally had promised us a town hall meeting for July. But she was insistent that Todd Gloria be present. I mentioned that this would not be good optics.
After numerous attempts, our Midway Sinking team of 8 had the town hall meeting on July 28th. It was the information brought out about the water-table issues that sparked Sunday’s meeting.
Todd’s absence on Sunday, which was so predictable, demonstrates how hastily this road show was put together. In addition to the fact, the Midway group bused in three labor unions from Upland. Not voters in Weber-Pierson’s district but supporters of the project no doubt.
Thank you Kate for writing this article on such a consequential building mistake to our community.
The Senator would take NO QUESTIONS and our Mayor was a NO SHOW
Tells you all you need to know about this farce.
They tried to tell us traffic won’t be bad with a new 16,000 seat stadium and 4,254 new housing units. WHAT?? are they planning on rerouting the 5 and 8 freeway into Point Loma?
Who paid to use the Sports Arena?
Who paid for the UNION members to be brought in/
Who picked a Sunday morning a 10 am?
It sure looks like this is going to be another “ram it up their snout” project where the existing power structure (ie not the community) will make a decision and force it upon those who must live with it.
Unless you consider all of San Diego, or all of the State, to be their backyard, the “YIMBY Democrats” *never* build anything in their own back yard. How they manage to cling to this idiotic moniker I will never understand.
And the unions – when is the last time you heard of a union doing something benefitting anyone other than its members ? Unions served us well in the past when labor abuse was rampant, but in the modern era they no longer serve any useful purpose. Instead they hold vital services for ransom so they can feather their nests with contracts that none of the rest of us can hope to obtain. I guess we’re all supposed to become union members. Meanwhile they use their assets primarily to gain influence with politicians, again something unavailable to the rest of us. No wonder we are never listened to.
There may be good reasons to build Midway as proposed, I don’t know the issue well enough, but from what is presented here there are obvious problems –
Anyone who drives this area knows it is already one of the worst in San Diego. I am hard pressed to think of another area that has such consistently bad traffic as Midway.
Groundwater flooding is a very serious issue, yet it is one the city consistently ignores. We get heavy rains every so many years, that’s why Mission Valley is sometimes referred to as “Fishin’ Valley”. Rains in 2023, 2019, 2017 and 2010 flooded the area badly. How can you NOT expect that to happen again ?
Couple of thoughts from yesterday’s event…
1. I thought it was interesting when Amy Restelli commented that when she moved to San Diego 10 years ago she told her friends that she planned to ride the bus all over the city and that they laughed at her b/c (in her words) the transit was crap.
I don’t think much has changed in the short 10 years that she’s lived here yet she’s claiming all these new residents will use the new bikes lanes to the trolley station.
2. It was mentioned that with the beautiful and safe new bike lanes families could then ride to Old Town Trolley Station. Then what? Where would they go from there?
3. When various people asked different questions regarding traffic resulting from this, all Amy Restelli could recite was the same line about they’re going to adjust the one intersection and that’ll make all the traffic go away (at Rosecrans and Sports Arena Blvd). Most of the questions regarding traffic were not being asked about that one intersection yet that was the only one she could speak to
4. Regarding traffic, she was also only speaking to ‘events’ at the site, not everyday life
5. Someone asked about the water table and the developer said that they’re not building underground, that they’re adding grade to the land…so that means this will all be taller?
6. The developer was talking about parks and gathering spaces being added. I did have a question on this one because I think one space they’re including in ‘park’ space is the promenade that leads to the entrance of the new arena. That doesn’t seem like a very viable or enjoyable ‘park’ space for families
7. I may be in the minority here…but the Sports Arena has been designated as a historical site, which I know doesn’t mean that they can’t tear it down…but the developer speaking, in trying to make his point as to how ‘old’ (and a 60 year old building isn’t just by right ‘too old) …he mentioned that when Almost Famous was being filmed they chose the Sports Arena because it was correct for the time period and were having a hard time finding venues that fit the bill. First, if it had been torn down, then there would be no accurate building for that era. Is that so bad to keep historic buildings?
8. When the developers were asked specific questions, like things pertaining to budget or timelines, they couldn’t answer.
9. That time the ‘aid’ to the senator yanked the microphone out of someone’s hand while they were mid-sentence?
10. This will 100% affect the view of the coast and will affect the traffic and all the wildlife that lives in the river right next door…
11. Has anyone studied how this will affect Old Town with the influx of traffic? Old Town is literally the birthplace of SD and it cannot be destroyed by this new development
Thanks Steph for your observations.
Thank you Kate! The professionals want to gain brownie points and drive their family and friends by the finished product and say, I; designed/was the engineer/was some other player in this doomed non-thinking idea. They’ll be long gone when the building starts taking on water, and causing the biggest traffic jam and the air quality takes a solid nose dive. Is this another “ministerial”, project where they don’t have to have a CEQA done, meaning the City demi-gods can do whatever they want? More destruction coming up to the city of SD.