Category: Economy

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / August 1, 2025 

A county watchdog panel is raising new concerns about how San Diego spends and keeps track of the many millions of dollars that developers contribute to help the city pay for parks, libraries, fire stations and other infrastructure projects.

The grand jury says San Diego has chronically violated the California law that allows cities to collect those developer impact fees — including with its longstanding practice of keeping fees beyond a five-year state limit.

In a 43-page report, the grand jury says San Diego should quickly refund $179 million it has kept beyond five years and make it a practice of refunding such fees in the future when it can’t justify holding money beyond that limit.

The report also says the city should be more transparent about how much money it has collected, how much it spends, which projects money is assigned to and how close those projects are to being fully funded.

In a tone that borders on exasperated, the report says city officials have been made aware their practices violate state law several times but have repeatedly ignored those warnings.

Tuesday, the 29th of July, witnessed another vote by the San Diego City Council. This vote — a unanimous one — crystalized the city handing over, as Jennifer Van Grove at the UT, described as “its asbestos-plagued office tower at 101 Ash St.” for a 60-year lease to the development team headed by none other than Kelly Moden, the chair of the City’s Planning Commission. She heads MRK Partners and Create Dev LLC.

Moden gushed, “Today’s council approval gives us the green light to transform a city-owned liability into a legacy. We are honored to have the trust and confidence of the San Diego City Council as we turn our attention to meeting September’s state and federal affordable housing deadlines, which will keep our timeline and financing moving forward.”

As Van Grove reported:

The project presumably raises ethical concerns because of Moden’s involvement.

Michael Aguirre and Maria Severson, partners at Aguirre & Severson LLP who have sued the city over its past dealings with the building, threatened additional litigation. They alleged violations related to public noticing requirements and argued that Moden’s financial participation in the deal is illegal.

by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / July 23, 2025

He’s been called a godsend for distributing food from San Diego Food Bank weekly to the homeless, poor and needy in Ocean Beach and Midway District.

He is Glyn Franks and, for more than a quarter-century, he has operated Second Chances-Bread of Life, Inc.

“We are a tiny little faith-based nonprofit,” said Franks. “We distribute food at The Orchard Senior Living Apartments on Channel Way in Midway District on Fridays at noon, and to the homeless in OB on Saturday mornings.

“I am not ordained and am only an unpaid volunteer coordinator and servant,” noted Franks, a transplant from Yuma, Ariz. A devout Christian, he draws inspiration for serving the poor from biblical passages suggesting people, through faith, are offered forgiveness and new beginnings.

Franks has made it his mission to practice what he preaches. He accomplishes that by regularly distributing free food to those who need it. He stressed that his self-chosen mission is not about him. Rather, he emphasized the impact and importance of the volunteers who help him.

Only a fifth of  ineligible customers have secured new service from private haulers, who are ill-equipped for this new volume of customers

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / July 27, 2025

San Diego’s transition away from free trash service is creating chaos for property owners, homeowners associations and management companies that handle 21,000 properties recently declared ineligible for city service.

The city’s controversial transition has focused mostly on 225,000 single-family homes and small apartment complexes that will soon be forced to pay $43.60 a month, after decades of not having to pay a fee to get trash service.

But the people in the 21,000 properties declared ineligible for city service are facing more daunting challenges — and many fear they could be left without trash service.

By Lynne Miller

Hey, we locals who are reaching into our 7th and 8th decades may not be happy with the ‘state’ of California. We just may have noticed that our government is not serving local people.

Most of us in this age group have paid a TON of taxes, and know more are to come.  We have been ‘marked’ as NIMBYS who are selfish, heartless, and not concerned about people who are sick, homeless, and/or penniless.

Truth is, we who are approaching the final graduation from life have worked hard, volunteered, raised families, supported less fortunate, and when inspired for our own reasons, protested and fought against unfair and unjust groups, laws, and politicians.  So now, looking over our shoulders at the rubble created by new laws, we not only have the right to speak out, but the right to consider our personal options.

By Geoff Page

It appears the development vulture has landed in OB again, at 4620 Adair Street. A developer wants to erect four three-story buildings, with two dwelling units each, on that single family zoned lot. Eight dwelling units on one lot in a residential neighborhood.

Here is what is proposed:

Combination Building Permit for a proposed (4) (N) detached 3-story identical duplex buildings on a vacant lot. The work to include each building with (1) dwelling unit on the first floor and (1) dwelling unit on the 2nd and third floors. The Existing SDU and detached garage will be demolished under a separate permit. Historic: Ocean Beach Cottage Emerging.

Four three-story buildings. Each will have a first-floor dwelling unit and a two-story second dwelling unit on the second and third floors. Want to make a bet at how luxurious the two-story units will be? Eight dwelling units on a residential lot.

It appears the city approved the project without public input. The developer has already paid $12,227.20 in fees.

This one has a curious twist.

From Neighbors for a Better San Diego

Third Time’s the Charm?

After being delayed two times, the final approval of the ADU regulations is on the City Council’s consent agenda for Tuesday, July 22, at 10 a.m.

We’re confident the item will be approved, so we won’t be making any lengthy public comments.

Although there’s still room for improvement, these regulations will put meaningful constraints on the Bonus ADU program.

We ask that you take the time to submit a simple statement of support to the City Council.

by: Brooke Miller, Barbara Machado of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP / National Law Review / July 1, 2025

On June 16, 2025, the San Diego City Council voted 5-4 to cap the number of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) that can be built on single-family lots. The decision reverses the City’s 2020 implementation of a program allowing developers to build a nearly unlimited number of ADUs—a robust incentive previously heralded as a solution to the City’s burgeoning housing affordability crisis. This program rollback reflects local jurisdiction’s struggles in addressing the lack of affordable housing supply and meeting Housing Element requirements while facing stark community opposition to high-density development.

Background
On October 30, 2020, the San Diego City Council unanimously approved amendments to the San Diego Municipal Code regarding ADU and Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) development.[1] Several key provisions were included in the amendments, including allowing the construction of one bonus ADU for every deed-restricted affordable ADU, with no limit on the number of bonus ADUs in a transit priority area (within a half-mile radius of a transit station);[2] no minimum ADU/JADU lot size;[3] no ADU/JADU density limitations;[4] and no parking requirements for ADUs in a transit priority area.[5]

It took crews about 20 minutes to extinguish a fire that erupted Wednesday, July 16, below the decks of a commercial fishing boat moored at a Point Loma marina, authorities reported.

The non-injuiy blaze erupted shortly after 11 a.m. at a dock in the 2800 block of Garrison Street, near North Harbor Drive and Rosecrans Street, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

The occupants of the 60-foot vessel were able to self-evacuate shortly after the fire broke out

“Which of the 393 Middle Managers Was Responsible for Oversight of DIF Accounting?”

By Lisa Mortensen

Greetings to our elected officials at city hall:

The article below regarding the $178 million in unspent development impact fees is eye-popping on the total dysfunction and lack of accountability by our elected officials at city hall.

We have a $6.5 billion infrastructure deficit and a $300 million budget shortfall and nearly $200 million sitting around in unused DIFs?  How can you even consider a salary increase in September ( totaling a salary increase of 61% since 2020) when you have failed in your job duties of protecting the health, safety and welfare of our city and its citizens?

by: Kasia Gregorczyk / Fox5 San Diego / Jul 15, 2025 

— The city of San Diego may be on the hook to refund nearly $200 million in development impact fees due to not following state guidelines on how to spend and track that money properly, according to a recently published San Diego grand jury report.

“It’s a year of our lives that we pour into these reports and we hope they make a difference,” said jury foreperson James Tuck.

The grand jury is calling into question the city’s collection of development impact fees meant to go toward things like new parks, fire stations, libraries, and roads to offset the impact of new development.

Tuck explains why so much money is at stake.

“Because the city has not reported out and met its reporting requirement since 2021, it could be at risk of having to return this $178 million that’s been languishing in DIF accounts for more than five years back to current property owners.”

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / July 15, 2025

San Diego finalized a controversial plan Monday to replace hundreds of thousands of trash and recycling bins — many of them new or only a few years old — and send the $65 million bill to customers.

City officials say the move is part of upgrading service just as San Diego begins levying its first-ever trash pickup fee.

They contend the new cans will boost dependability, reliability and accountability because they are equipped with special tracking chips and will look different than the old cans so that crews can recognize them.