By Paul Krueger
There’s lots of interest in a very controversial legislative proposal that would insulate developers of the proposed Midway Rising mega-housing project (and 16,000 seat “entertainment center”) from legal challenges. Senate Bill 344 would exempt Midway Rising from the legitimate scrutiny — including possible lawsuits — warranted for projects of this size (4,400 housing units) and scope (apartment towers up to 25 stories).
Supporters of this special legislation say Midway Rising needs this special exemption because San Diego desperately needs more housing.
Opponents claim it’s a special dispensation for billionaire developers who have unparalleled influence at City Hall and the state Capitol.
The debate is playing out hourly on social media, and includes these exchanges I had with two proponents of Midway Rising, who also support the proposed waivers.
From Facebook:
Vince Outlaw:
Sixty-seven percent of all respondents favor the project, with over half of those saying they ‘strongly’ favor it.
Oh, and voters approved it twice. Paul, again, leading the gerontocracy against building the San Diego we need with abundant housing and public transportation options. Resist the backwards looking gerontocracy!
Paul Krueger replies:
Vince, your disingenuous use of age,(or ethnicity, neighborhood, home-ownership, and income) to counter a fact-based argument is pathetic. I have always debated these and other issues strictly on the merits, devoid of stereotypes and name-calling.
The courts twice ruled that the city knowingly and willfully avoided completing a required EIR on the impacts of the Midway Rising proposal. The state Supreme Court upheld those rulings in a unanimous decision. (And the city council’s split decision to appeal that most recent ruling to the Supreme Court contributed to the $400K in legal fees and costs that we taxpayers will now pay the attorney who represented the community group that challenged the inadequate EIR.)
Rather than follow the court’s guidance, and produce a full and complete EIR that would give voters a full picture of the negative environmental impact of the proposed development, Mayor Todd Gloria enlisted his Sacramento allies to craft an end-run around state environmental law and protections, and insulate the billionaire developers of Midway Rising from legitimate legal changes. (These same developers contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Gloria’s re-election campaign, right before his office selected that group over others to develop the site.) This whole saga is crony politics at its very worst.
Read the Facebook debate here.
And from Nextdoor:
Alex Fischer of Point Loma Heights Central
Public opinion is overwhelmingly in support of this if you get out of the Nextdoor bubble and talk to people under the age of 60.
Paul Krueger Talmadge Replies
Alex, if you want to debate this issue, please stick to the facts.
I have followed this issue closely, and in person for four years. Public comment at city council meetings and public forums on Midway Rising has always been closely divided and two ballot measures to override the 30-foot height limit were exceedingly close.
I am not aware of any polling or credible assessment that has determined public opinion to be “overwhelmingly in support” of the Midway Rising proposal.
But the issue here is that the state Supreme Court unanimously rejected the city’s appeal of lower court rulings that twice found the city had deliberately failed to complete an environmental impact report that adequately examined the potential for serious harms caused by this massive development. Rather than follow the court’s guidance and complete the required EIR, Mayor Gloria has enlisted his Sacrament allies to craft a bill that would exempt these billionaire developers — one of whom contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the mayor’s reelection campaign– from an established review process. This is a blatantly anti-democratic effort to ignore the courts and silence the credible opponents of this proposal. Nothing more, nothing less.
Read the Nextdoor debate here (easy if you already have an account)
Almost wish I could live long enough to see them age out of callous youth and bear the brunt of the derision and discrimination they cheerfully engage in. But then, being as intellectually dishonest as they clearly are now, I suspect they would either lie about their heinous past or lean into a “respect your elders!” posture.
Well said, Mat!
The Mayor and State Legislators’ latest end-run attempt around doing a complete, honest, legally-acceptable Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the Midway Rising project is Senate Bill 344. It requests “urgency statute” status and claims that a “special statute is necessary… because of the unique circumstances of the Midway Rising project in the City of San Diego.” SB 344 states:
“an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety …. The facts constituting the necessity are:
“”In order to promote the swift and deliberate development of affordable housing in the City of San Diego, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.”
Be aware, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THESE AFFORDABLE UNITS WILL EVER BE BUILT AND NO TIMETABLE COMMITTING TO WHEN THEY WOULD BE BUILT, SO WHAT IS THE BASIS FOR THIS URGENCY? The proposed developer agreement with the City is dependent upon available affordable housing funding (highly competitive funds such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credits), and there is no penalty for not building the affordable units if funding isn’t available.
The unique circumstances of the Midway Rising project are that the CITY/MAYOR IS UNWILLING TO DO THE COMPLETE, HONEST, LEGALLY-ACCEPTABLE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT THAT TWO COURTS HAVE REQUIRED TO MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE HE DOESN’T WANT THE PUBLIC TO KNOW HOW SIGNIFICANT THE IMPACTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE.
Coming up August 24, 2026 City Council meeting will vote to repeal Measure C.
Agenda Item 201
“This action seeks City Council approval of an ordinance to repeal Measure C which was approved in the Municipal Election held on November 8, 2022. Measure C amended the People’s Ordinance O-10960 and San Diego Municipal Code (SDMC) Section 132.0505 to exclude the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Plan Area from the 30-foot height limit on buildings in the Coastal Height Limit Overlay Zone, as defined in Ordinance O-10960. The repeal of Measure C is required to implement a writ of mandate issued by the
Superior Court of California, County of San Diego.
PROPOSED ACTIONS:
Request that the City Council adopt an ordinance to repeal O-21508 that submitted Measure C to City voters and repeal the associated amendments to SDMC Section 132.0505, relating to Coastal Zone Height Limit Overlay Zone in the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Plan Area to comply with the Superior Court writ of mandate.
In compliance with the writ of mandate, this requested action would repeal O-21508 which submitted Measure C to City voters and repeal the associated amendments to SDMC Section 132.0505. The repeal of Measure C means that the local 30-foot height limit on buildings in the Coastal Height Limit Overlay Zone remains in effect in the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Plan Area.
These are all desperate moves by bad people trying to destroy the San Diego we love, keep up the pressure and never give up. Thank you to everyone doing their best to stop this and the OB Rag for covering it so extensively!