Category: Environment

By Steven Mihailovich / PB Monthly / July 30, 2026

Local outrage over the city’s closure of 13 public restrooms in Mission Bay Park to balance the budget was evident at the Pacific Beach Town Council’s July meeting.

As the sole city government official present, Savannah Stallings — PB rep for Council President Joe LaCava — bore the full brunt of criticisms and frustrations arising from the move projected to save San Diego about $547,000 through the elimination of six custodian positions at the Parks and Recreation Department. Their responsibilities included the public restrooms’ maintenance.

The audience of about 35 was audibly upset that the city’s decision caused outsized disruptions for minor savings.

“Personally, don’t you think this should go a little further than just, it’s a budget cut, just accept it?” asked Ron, a resident who didn’t give his surname. “I understand it’s a budget cut. What about the people in the community? I mean, we’re all not homeless here. We’re all taxpayers here. I don’t understand why they targeted the bathrooms.”

Stallings said the initial budget proposal called for closures of restrooms along the shore, but were reinstated after heavy lobbying by LaCava.

In addition, Stallings said only one of the 13 closed restrooms is located in District 1 under LaCava. The remaining 12 are in District 2 served by Councilmember Jennifer Campbell.

Editordude: The following is the substance of Ralph Teyssier’s presentation (slightly edited for clarification) at the Town Hall event at the Point Loma Library, July 28, 2026.

By Ralph Teyssier

Engineering Challenges in Delivering Affordable Housing

Eric Law has discussed the legislative promise of affordable housing, and Patty Ducey-Brooks has addressed the environmental concerns around Midway Rising and Senate Bill 958. I’d like to spend just a couple of minutes discussing the engineering realities of delivering affordable housing.

As a structural engineer, I support affordable housing. But we also need to recognize that SB 958 extends well beyond the Midway Rising project. If enacted, it could influence how future coastal developments are evaluated throughout California. That makes it all the more important that we fully understand the engineering realities, geological conditions, and economic consequences before establishing a statewide precedent. Political will alone does not create affordable housing. Engineering, geology, construction, and economics all play important roles. Nor should we assume that simply allowing taller buildings  automatically results in more affordable housing.

In fact, when increased building height is removed from meaningful CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) review, it becomes more difficult to fully evaluate the engineering and economic consequences associated with that increased height. In that sense, it works against one of CEQA’s fundamental purposes—providing informed decision-making.

By Debbie L. Sklar / Special to the OB Rag

Today, Mission Bay Park is one of San Diego’s most recognizable recreational destinations, filled with beaches, sailboats, paddleboards, bike paths and visitors enjoying the waterfront.

But before the bay became the sprawling aquatic park San Diegans know today, the shoreline was home to something unexpected: a small airport.

Known as Peik Airport, the airfield operated along the southwestern shore of Mission Bay during the mid-20th century. At the time, the area looked nothing like today’s landscaped parks and beaches. Much of Mission Bay was made up of tidal marshes, mud flats and undeveloped shoreline.

The airport’s story began with Arnold H. Peik, a pilot who arrived in San Diego in the 1930s. A 1967 San Diego Evening Tribune article by John McPeek (reprinted in PB newsletter below) recalled Peik’s arrival as a young barnstorming pilot flying a Stinson monoplane into San Diego before eventually establishing his flying operation near Mission Bay.

“It all began when a young barnstorming pilot in a battered Stinson monoplane flew into San Diego” in 1934, the article recalled.

San Diego needs money. Meanwhile, San Diego teens are jumping off Sunset Cliffs, some being seriously injured, others having to be rescued. But most don’t.

The two candidates running for city council district 2 that includes Mission Bay have both called out the disconnect.

Richard Bailey:

“If you’re going to build these facilities, you need to have a plan in place to operate them, to maintain them and then eventually fund their replacement.”

Nicole Crosby:

“There is money, and the problem is that there hasn’t been a full budget audit; we have done a lot of contracts, and there are overruns that go on contracts.”

by: Wiley Jawhary / Fox5 / July 30-31, 2026

A 17-year-old who was seriously injured after jumping from Sunset Cliffs is speaking publicly about his recovery, as San Diego lifeguards warn they continue to see teenagers making the same dangerous jumps despite the viral rescue that captured national attention.

While his family did not want FOX5/KUSI to identify him by name, the 17-year-old told us he is unable to walk without a walker, but is on the path to recovery.

“I slammed against the rock and I felt like paralyzed, and I couldn’t move,” he said.

The teen was injured after striking the cliff face before crashing into the ocean. Video of the incident spread rapidly across social media, showing bystanders rushing into the water to help keep him afloat before lifeguards and firefighters rescued him using a technical rope system.

“My lungs were burning, my ribs were burning, my spine, it was the weirdest feeling it was just burning,” he said.

Editordude: House Representative Scott Peters has come out in opposition to the infamous PB “Turquoise Tower”. In a public letter addressed to Mayor Todd Gloria, dated July 21, he urges the city to deny the application of Project Vela, and states, “It should not be built at the outrageous height currently proposed.” Here is the entire letter:

July 21, 2026

Dear Mayor Gloria

I urge the city of San Diego to finally deny the current application for Project Vela, commonly known as the Turquoise Tower, in Pacific Beach. It should not be built at the outrageous height currently proposed.

In my conversations with constituents over the past several months I have been struck by the unity and anger over this proposal. The thought of a 23-story tower in this location, I imagine, was likely what set off the same furor that drove the adoption of the 30-foot height limit more than 50 years ago.

At the  height of the “Town Hall” meeting Tuesday night, July 28, at the Point Loma Library, there was standing-room only. I had counted at least 80 people earlier. It had been called by three local planning groups (Peninsula, Uptown and Old Town) and a Point Loma group to air the community’s grievances against the Midway Rising redevelopment project of the sports arena area, NAVWAR — the Navy’s redevelopment of sections of Old Town, and Senate Bill 958, that if enacted, would pour grease on the skids for Midway Rising’s plans.

Eric Law — chair of the Peninsula Community Planning Board — opened the gathering. He later set the tone when he told the crowd, and the two TV stations present:

“Everyone that has anything to do with housing or businesses here on the peninsula wants to see Midway redeveloped. They just dispute that you need to build it over 30 feet.”

Other presenters included Scott Case and Patty Ducey-Brooks of the Uptown Planners Community Planning Group, Ralph Teyssier, a community activist and engineer, and Eric Law. Other locals sat at the front table ready to answer questions, including Christine Smith of Neighbors for a Better San Diego, and Don Severns, formerly a veteran Peninsula planner.

Case spoke on SB 958 and CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act. In brief, CEQA, passed in 1976, requires public agencies to evaluate and mitigate the environmental impacts of proposed projects across the state. It has played a crucial role over the decades in protecting California’s environment, including air, water quality, wildlife habitats, historic sites and public health. Basically, it ensures projects consider environmental consequences before being approved, and requires public review and oversight. Unfortunately, many exemptions have been created and now CEQA resembles swiss cheese.

SB 958 seeks to remove elements of CEQA, Case said. It will set a precedent for limitations to be created to CEQA. It applies to other projects across the state.

by Dorian Hargrove / Times of San Diego / July 27, 2026

The owner and developer of a massive proposed ADU project in Pacific Beach, known as Chalcifica, has released new plans for the two parcels, plans the developer hopes residents will embrace.

The new proposal comes as Chlacifica’s owner — Infill Innovation, formerly SDRE — is stuck in a legal battle with a resident group over the company’s old plans to build a 136-unit ADU project on two parcels located at Pacifica Drive and Chalcedony Street in PB.

“Our goal is to move forward with a project that adds much-needed attainable housing units in Pacific Beach while addressing concerns so everyone can benefit,” Infill Innovation CEO Brian Doyle told Times of San Diego.

Doyle shared the latest renderings of the proposed multi-ADU project.

The new proposal reconfigures the site, moving the buildings and parking away from what may be culturally sensitive lands and redesigning the large block-like apartment-style buildings into six buildings with 125 total units.

How to Make Changes in the Underfunded Finest City

By Paul Coogan

California is the land of gold rush mentality. After the yellow stuff was scooped up, agriculture, hospitality/entertainment, and tech put gold in the coffers.

Now, the boondoggle is real estate, a limited resource and increasingly in demand. Escalating land value triggered a property tax revolt in 1978 (Prop 13) and now we live in the post-capitalist, libertarian result of a society that wants everything but refuses to pay for anything.

The recent trash fee battle in San Diego is a microcosm of this attitude. It started when in 1919, the public voted in favor of the People’s Ordinance to have free waste removal after the city started making money on selling the haul to pig farmers. Thus the metropolis was left scraping the pot to fund the dump year after year. Folks complain about busted bins, but liberals and conservatives alike were willing to join hands and trash city hall for trying to make ends meet.

A change in leadership at City Hall will only be shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic, as the layers of bad policies and worse state laws have created a Gordian knot that strangles new ideas in their infancy.

San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo says he has found a pot of money the city can use to re-open more than a dozen Mission Bay restrooms closed in early July as part of budget cutting. He wants the city to use “the $1.8 million in budgeted election costs that were freed up last month when a possible November ballot measure got postponed,” as the U-T reported yesterday.

The freed-up money became available last month when the council’s Rules Committee delayed indefinitely — but at least until 2028 — a ballot measure proposed by Councilmember Kent Lee to shrink the mayor’s power, reports the U-T.

By closing 13 of the 28 restrooms that serve tourists and locals alike at Mission Bay Park, the city is saving a whopping $546,000 in maintenance and cleaning costs.

Campillo says the closures are creating a public health hazard because park visitors have begun relieving themselves in grassy areas and other locations. In a July 15th memo to the mayor, Campillo wrote,

“Redirecting those funds would address an immediate community need and help restore a basic public service that is essential to the safe and enjoyable use of Mission Bay Park. Our constituents have asked for it.”

Yet Mayor Gloria rejects Campillo’s proposal. He claimed he shares the councilmember’s concerns, but says it would be financially risky to reopen the restrooms using the newly available money.

The Port of San Diego has officially named a beach at Spanish Landing “Kumeyaay Beach,” acknowledging and responding to years of efforts by local Kumeyaay tribespeople to do such.

At a July 14th meeting of San Diego Port’s Board of Commissioners, the beach’s renaming was approved.

Before the vote on the renaming, Jessie Pinto, an elder of the Kumeyaay Nation, spoke:

“The name, ‘Kumeyaay Beach,’ is more than a sign. This is an opportunity to acknowledge the first people of the land, to tell a more complete story of San Diego. The visitors who see this may ask, ‘Who are the Kumeyaays?’ The simple question opens the door to education, understanding and respect.”

Members of the Kumeyaay Nation have long advocated for giving this beach a name, due to its cultural significance.