Category: Environment

By La Prensa News Desk / Sept. 21, 2026

A new poll of likely voters in coastal San Diego finds strong opposition to a proposed City sales tax increase, homelessness ranking as the top concern, and Mayor Todd Gloria receiving a lower favorability rating than President Donald Trump.

The poll conducted over the past two weeks shows 64% of respondents oppose a November election ballot measure to raise the City’s sales tax, with only 25% supporting the measure. A similar one-cent sales tax increase, Measure E, failed in November 2024 by only 3,506 votes.

Respondents cited homelessness as their top concern, followed by housing affordability, and the City’s fiscal issues.

When asked whether they believe the City is headed in the right or wrong direction, only 19% said it was headed in the right direction, while 64% said it was headed in the wrong direction.

The poll respondents also expressed negative views of both Mayor Gloria and President Trump.

By Laura Henson / Times of San Diego / Sept. 28, 2026

As California cities embrace increasingly aggressive upzoning, one consequence of these policies receives remarkably little attention: What happens psychologically to people when the future of their own neighborhood becomes permanently uncertain?

That question is particularly relevant as San Diego considers the First Draft Mid-City Communities Plan, which would guide land use and development in Mid-City for the next 30 years.

In San Diego, the argument for allowing substantially more housing in established single-family neighborhoods often comes with a reassurance: Don’t worry. Just because every property can be redeveloped doesn’t mean every property will be redeveloped.

But think about what residents are actually being asked to accept.

Your neighbor’s house may remain a house for another 30 years. Or it may be sold next year and replaced with a large apartment building. The house behind you may remain unchanged — or redevelopment may suddenly take away your privacy, sunlight, parking trees and the physical environment you believed you were buying into.

You don’t know.

And that is precisely the problem.

By LK Bruce

“Where your hands go, where the light falls, where the shadows make a pattern,
they will lead you. If it comes from the heart it is part of the universe’s song of jubilation.”
James Hubbell

The legacy of celebrated San Diego artist James Hubbell was very much alive at last weekend’s Harvest Moon Fundraiser, where family, friends, artists and admirers gathered at his extraordinary Ilan-Lael compound in Julian to celebrate a life devoted to art, nature, beauty and the power of human connection.

For nearly seven decades, Hubbell created works that transformed public spaces, private homes and gardens throughout San Diego and far beyond. Although he died in 2024 at age 92, the creative spirit he nurtured continues to flourish at Ilan-Lael, carried forward by his family, protégés, fellow artists and the many people inspired by his work.

A remarkable architect, watercolorist, pen-and-ink artist, designer, sculptor and poet, Hubbell was a humble giant who created beauty and serenity through masterworks around the world. In addition to being a gifted artist and craftsman, James Hubbell was a passionate naturalist, devoted friend and inspiring teacher. He mentored countless individuals, using art as a way to communicate compassion and kindness.

Advocacy Group Alleges License Plate Readers Are Invasion of Privacy

A new lawsuit has been filed by a local civil rights advocacy group to end the San Diego Police Department’s use of automated license plate readers as an invasion of privacy. The group, Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, is represented by the region’s ACLU and their suit was filed Tuesday, Sept. 30, in San Diego Superior Court.

Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, which advocates for refugees and displaced people, also wants the city to stop using public money on a program it says violates constitutional rights. They allege that the cameras and the database they create amount to an invasion of privacy rights under the state constitution.

The California Constitution “provides strong and affirmative privacy protections,” said Frederick Carroll, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties, at a press conference Wednesday at a news conference in downtown San Diego.

Carroll added:

“If privacy as guaranteed in the California Constitution is to mean anything at all, it means that Californians should not be subject to mass surveillance, mass data accumulation of their travels, a mosaic compilation of their everyday activities.”

Ongoing:
Every Saturday at 10:30 am. San Diego Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings.  October 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st. Keep up to date on climate issues and Climate Action events. To register email Jon Findley at jon@climatemobsd.org.  More info: https://www.facebook.com/SDClimateMobilization/

Every Saturday 10 am – 12 pm Peace Vigil for Palestine: Advocate for Peace and Justice in Gaza and Everywhere Join CODEPINK SD, San Diego Veterans for Peace, and Palestine Pals every Saturday at 10:00 am at Ocean Beach Gateway Plaza, on the corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and W. Point Loma Blvd.  Wear pink and bring a peace-related poster if you have one!  More info: https://www.codepink.org/sdvigil and https://www.instagram.com/codepinksd/

For updates on Friendship Park, a place where families and friends unite, transcending borders. Let’s make Friendship Park a park, not a prison, and stop the construction of 30-foot walls through the park. More info:  https://www.facebook.com/FofPark

For Border Angels monthly caravans of Love and Water Drops and other events:  https://www.facebook.com/BorderAngels

San Diego FixIt Clinics Event by San Diego Fixit Clinic Bring your broken, non-functioning things:

Turquoise Tower Update: Peters, CalCities & Community Outreach

From Neighbors for a Better California / September 30, 2026

Community Update Meeting: We will not meet on the first Tuesday in October or November. We expect to reconvene in mid-November, when we hope to have more information to share. We’ll send the new meeting date and details as soon as they are confirmed. Thank you for staying engaged.

Scott Peters on Turquoise Tower: From Pacific Beach to YIMBY Democrats

At the August 26 Pacific Beach Town Hall hosted by the Pacific Beach Town Council and Pacific Beach Planning Group, Congressman Scott Peters made clear that he supports building more housing, but does not believe Turquoise Tower, or Project Vela, represents the kind of housing policy San Diego should be pursuing.

Peters said San Diego has to do two things at once: build enough housing for workers, students, families and people experiencing homelessness, while making sure new development is “a credit to our neighborhood, not a detriment.” On Turquoise Tower, he was unequivocal: “This project doesn’t meet our standards.” He criticized the project’s use of visitor accommodations alongside housing incentives and called the proposal “a charade.”

By Kate Callen

Here in San Diego, recent news stories about developer Christian Spicer have revealed that he is facing multiple lawsuits, loan defaults, forced property auctions, and code enforcement sweeps.

But readers of the New York Times aren’t aware of his collapse. From what they’ve been told, Spicer has been and always will be a pioneer in urban housing development.

Times housing reporter Conor Dougherty first wrote approvingly of Spicer in an October 2021 article headlined “Where the Suburbs End.” The story said that Spicer’s approach to stacking up accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on single-family lots was “a vision for California’s future.”

Dougherty described Spicer as “a mellow presence” who is “trying to make money by building new housing instead of by making existing housing more expensive.” In an October 2022 podcast about Spicer, Dougherty noted, “ADUs are just the first crack in ending the domination of single-family homes in California.”

Public Gets Kicked in the Gut- Part 3

By Donna Frye

Here is Part 1- and here is Part 2–

On Tuesday, September 30, 2026, Governor Newsom signed SB 344, a gut-and-amend bill that eliminated the public’s ability to file a civil lawsuit and challenge in court any unmitigated environmental impacts that may be caused by the Midway Rising project. Specifically, SB 344 “Declares the City of San Diego’s Midway Rising Specific Plan Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SPSEIR), which is pending certification by the City, fully complies with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).”

That means the San Diego City Council will be the final deciders of whether the environmental analysis for the project is adequate and what mitigation measures will be required.

To say that this gut-and-amend legislation reached the governor’s desk in record time is a gross understatement.  Here’s a condensed history of the approximate six week “public process” for SB 344.

On February 12, 2025, SB 344 was introduced as legislation related to the disposition of human remains and the scattering of the ashes at sea. For some reason, on July 17, 2025, SB 344 was placed in the inactive file where it remained for over a year.

By Paul Krueger

I take serious issue with the Union-Tribune’s latest story on Midway Rising, (see image above) and the paper’s  failure to include a response from any of the numerous, very credible opponents of two new “special interest” state laws that allow the city and Midway Rising’s developers to ignore established environmental review.

It’s also beyond my comprehension that the UT’s reporting lacks any response from the equally well-informed critics of the Midway Rising project, as currently proposed.

Sen. Weber-Pierson’s introduction of her special interest legislation (Senate Bills 344 and 958) was immediately met with a well-documented backlash from San Diegans who objected to what they saw as a blatant attempt to thwart legitimate legal challenges to Midway’s Rising negative and irreversible environmental impacts.

Both of the reporters who wrote this story cover housing issues as part of their important and influential work at the Union-Tribune. I must assume they’ve followed the very public debate about the merits and drawbacks of special state legislation that allows developers of a specific project to skirt established environmental reviews.

In San Diego, the sources for an informed, intelligent, and credible criticism of SB 344 and 958 are obvious, starting with attorney Everett DeLano, who successfully challenged the city’s failure to complete an adequate environmental impact study

by Dorian Hargrove / Peninsula Beacon / Sept. 29, 2026

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 344 into law on Tuesday, clearing Midway Rising’s path to begin construction on a massive redevelopment of the former San Diego Sports Arena.

The plan, to convert the land around the arena into a project with 4,250 housing units, 130,000 square feet of retail, a new 16,000-seat arena and 14.5 acres of park space, has long been challenged by residents citing coastal height limits.

The bill, proposed by State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, declares the environmental reports studying the impacts of the redevelopment as sufficient, allowing city officials to grant approval of the project.

The bill states that because the Midway Rising project includes 2,000 affordable units, the environmental review approved by the city is enough and should not be held up by any further litigation.

With the bill now law, the Midway Rising project will soon go before the San Diego City Council for final approval. It also likely ends all legal challenges which thus far have thwarted progress on the redevelopment of the site around Pechanga Arena, as it is now known.

The project, proposed by local developer Brad Termini and his company Zephyr, is mostly owned by billionaire Stan Kroenke, who owns the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Angels, Arsenal F.C., Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets sports teams.

Kroenke is said to be the largest private landholder in the country.

The Alternative: Bring Housing and Business Back to El Cajon Boulevard.

By Laura L. Henson

San Diego is once again considering dramatic increases in residential density throughout Mid-City as the primary focus of the Mid-City Communities Plan Update. Before assuming that greater zoning capacity automatically produces better neighborhoods, we should examine our own history.

Because San Diego has tried this before, with decidedly mixed results.

In 1965, the City adopted the Mid-City Development Plan during an era of increasing multifamily development. Over the following decades, portions of Mid-City originally developed with modest single-family homes changed parcel by parcel to make room for apartments and condominiums.

The transformation did not occur in isolation.

Freeway construction divided neighborhoods, while Mission Valley and Fashion Valley emerged as regional shopping destinations.

by Tessa Balc / Times of San Diego / Sept. 29, 2026

The two Candidates vying to represent San Diego’s District 2 — which covers Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach and Clairemont — faced off Monday over how to address city spending and homelessness, two reliable parts of any city debate.

But at the evening candidate forum they also  jumped in  on the recently re-ignited debate over automated license plate readers.

Both Nicole Crosby, a deputy city attorney, and Richard Bailey, the former mayor of Coronado, rehashed their respective positions on topics like the proposed Midway Rising development and Liberty Station leasing at the forum, hosted by the Point Loma Association and League of Women Voters at Liberty Station Conference Center. This time around, though, as the two candidates who survived the primary, they had more opportunities to take direct shots at one another ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

The first question of the night, about where the budget should be cut, provided Bailey the opportunity to repeat a mantra from his campaign: The city has a spending problem not a revenue problem. The solution, he says, does not necessitate cuts to programs, but significant trims to personnel  – as in back to 2015 staffing levels.

“We have to restructure City Hall, starting with cutting back personnel across most departments, so that we can actually do more with less instead of doing less with more.”

For Crosby, this line of reasoning was an opportunity to question if it is effective to compare two different decades in city government, whether based on nationwide inflation or the city’s specific circumstances.

“If we’re looking at a 2015 baseline number that Mr. Bailey would like you to look at, we need to remember that we were operating with a shoestring budget,” she said.

“Proposition B and the pension decimation and salary freezes in that era destroyed (the) city infrastructure we had, and I mean human capital as opposed to the longstanding infrastructure we have.”