Category: San Diego

SOHO / May-June Newsletter

Many SOHO members follow historic designation cases closely, but fewer people see what actually happens inside City Hall when an owner applies for a development permit for a building that may be historic.

San Diego’s 45-year review is the process city staff uses to determine whether a property might qualify as a historic resource before a permit moves forward.

Today, the City of San Diego is considering changes to its historic designation process that would significantly endanger the preservation of individual properties and historic districts. Among these changes, which are part of the Planning Department’s Preservation and Progress program, is a proposed move away from the 45-year review process.

SOHO maintains this potential “update” would present significant risks. Eliminating the 45-year review before completing a comprehensive citywide survey would expose countless historic structures to irreversible loss.

Event Include Juneteenth Celebration

By JW August

The revival of the Black Family statue – and a lasting legacy of San Diego artist Rossie Wade – will be unveiled this Saturday, June 13th in one of San Diego’s oldest parks. The event is set for 11 a.m. at the Neal Petties Mountain View Park at 641 S Boundary St., near 40th St. and Oceanview Blvd.

The City of San Diego’s Cultural Affairs department flyer says it will be part of a Juneteenth celebration.  Following the unveiling of the statue there will be free food, a petting zoo, and free performances.

The original statue was made of painted redwood, which had deteriorated over time.  All that remained of Wade’s original creation was its brick and mortar base.

A new stainless steel statue has been created to respect and honor Wade’s image of Black values and community pride, as was the case when the original was dedicated in 1974. Saturday’s event signals the end of a 10-year journey to create a replacement for Rossi’s original work.

Editordude: Here’s a fun take on the differences between beach culture in San Diego and that of Los Angeles – by a San Diego native. It has been edited somewhat to delete the more commercial aspects. 

San Diego vs LA Beach Culture: A Native’s Honest Take 

San Diego and Los Angeles share a coastline, but the beach cultures could not be more different. San Diego beaches run quieter, warmer, and more locals-first.

LA beaches run busier, faster-paced, and more visible in pop culture.

San Diego County has roughly 70 miles of coast averaging 266 sunny days a year.

LA County has roughly 75 miles averaging 284 sunny days.

The cultural difference is not about geography, it is about pace. This piece breaks down the real difference for anyone choosing between the two for a beach trip, a move, or a long-term home.

If you want the postcard version of California, go to LA. If you want the lived-in version, go to San Diego.

By The Log Staff / June 4, 2026

To visitors arriving by land, San Diego’s waterfront can feel like one continuous destination. But ask local boaters and they’ll tell you something different.

San Diego is not one harbor experience.

It’s many.

Move a few miles in any direction and the personality of the waterfront changes entirely. Offshore sportfishing transitions into polished marina promenades. Historic yacht clubs give way to family sailing centers. Working waterfronts blend into resort docks and protected recreational waterways.

For boaters planning a visit, understanding San Diego often means understanding its districts.

Start at Point Loma and work your way south and east and the city unfolds almost like six separate boating destinations connected by one coastline.

Point Loma is where many boaters feel San Diego truly begins.

There is a reason so many offshore adventures start here. Positioned at the entrance to San Diego Bay and closest to open ocean access, Point Loma carries a working-waterfront energy that feels rooted in fishing, cruising, and departure.

The latest vote totals for San Diego have now made it clear which city council candidates made it to the General Election in November. In California, primaries don’t decide who wins council seats in San Diego as runoffs between the top two candidates are required in all races. This “jungle primary” then makes the second slot in every race crucial.

District 2

Nicole Crosby and Richard Bailey hold the top two spots. Bailey’s election-night lead of 2,000 votes over Crosby has shrunk significantly as the county registrar continues to count votes. As of today, it is less than 500 votes.

In the latest tally, Bailey has 14,683 votes, for 34.88%, and Crosby has 14,189, for 33.71%. And as District 2 voters break Democrat over Republican by 2 to 1, it is sensible to assume that voters for the other Democrats in the D2 race will support Crosby (all except Bailey are Democrats). This means that Crosby could very well be the next councilmember for the district.

District 4

Since election night, the results for incumbent Henry Foster have improved. He and Martha Abraham have secured the top two spots and will face off in November.

By Kate Callen

When my sister and I were small, we spent hours creating make-believe neighborhoods with our Colorform vinyl sticker sets. We arranged little shapes of houses, trees, cars, and people on the design board, and we kept rearranging them.

On June 9, I joined a dozen other adults at a Valencia Park community workshop for “Neighborhood Homes for All of Us,” the latest of Mayor Todd Gloria’s land use initiatives. We spent an hour placing vinyl stickers of houses, trees, cars, and people on boards with neighborhood grids. That’s how we were instructed to share our preferences for future housing.

San Diego has had no shortage of mayors who have disrespected the public. But Gloria is uniquely unpopular because he has gone one step lower. He has sought to infantilize us. He treats San Diegans like children who are mollified by games and gimmicks.

Like the April 2025 trash fees “open house” that featured tiny bins and posters, the “Homes for All” workshop showed how City Hall tries to placate constituents with stage-managed events that shut out substantive dialogue.

Voice of San Diego / June 10, 2026

The City Council unanimously approved a budget on Tuesday to send back to Mayor Todd Gloria. Gloria can now approve it, veto it or use his line-item veto.

Even though the budget passed unanimously — it didn’t happen without some controversy and disagreement.

Flock contract stays in place: Four councilmembers supported the cancellation of the city’s $2 million per year Smart Streetlights contract. The controversial Smart Streetlights, operated by a company called Flock, provide “AI-powered video surveillance,” as well as license plate reader technology. The councilmembers attempted to pass a budget that eliminated the contract, but it didn’t have the fifth vote it needed to pass.

By Shawn Styles / CBS8 / June 4, 2026

San Diego’s coastal beauty offers endless opportunities for photographers, but capturing the perfect shot often comes down to timing, preparation, and a bit of luck. Local photographer Jim Grant knows that balance well.

Grant gained national recognition in 2024 when his image of a rare “Green Flash” sunset earned the grand prize in the American Meteorological Society’s annual photo competition. The photo featured a sailboat perfectly aligned within the glowing sun as a green flash shimmered above it.

“It was a shot of the green flash, setting sun with the green flash on top with a sailboat right in the middle of the sun,” Grant said.

The award-winning image was not entirely accidental. Grant had been tracking weather patterns and positioning himself between Ocean Beach Pier and the Mission Bay channel, where evening boat traffic increases the chances of capturing a dynamic foreground.

“If I can get at least a good sunset, the sailboat in the image was strictly a bonus,” he explained. “I was just there at the right place at the right time.”

In Dual Decisions, California Courts Strike Down Unpopular San Diego County Sprawl Project

From Center for Biological Diversity / June 8, 2026

Two California courts have rejected a dangerous housing project proposed in the wildfire-prone hillsides of Santee. The latest rejection is the fifth time a court has ruled against Fanita Ranch since the risky development was first proposed in 1999.

[Please go to original for important links]

“It’s about time the city of Santee listens to its own residents. Poorly planned projects that increase wildfire risks can no longer be justified given our climate reality,” said John Buse, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The latest court opinions are a strong rebuke against cities and developers who try to skirt the state’s zoning and environmental laws. San Diego County deserves safe and sustainable development. I’m hopeful this finally puts an end to Fanita Ranch.”

By Margot Sheehan / San Diego Reader Archives / Republished June 6, 2026

The Frontier Homes Housing Project — 3500 “temporary” dwellings constructed in the first nine months of 1944. One of the largest developments of its kind ever built in the USA — Designed to last for two years and enduring (parts of it, at least) for 20. Was there ever such a project, so grand, so ghastly, and so successfully erased from civic memory?

Don’t look for Frontier in the Journal of San Diego History or in any of those big picture books that Neil Morgan used to crank out. The only people who really remember the project are the people who lived there. Old timers who didn’t live there, even folks who drove past Frontier every day, will give you all kinds of cockeyed answers when you ask about it. “Oh, yeah, you mean those military barracks.” “Frontier? That was Navy housing.” Someone might even offer that 1950s misconception that Lait and Mortimer provide in USA Confidential: “a low-income housing project for Mexicans and Negroes.”

The San Diego Community Coalition publishes this email bulletin to keep our members and the general San Diego public informed about important Council and Planning Commission hearings and other city public meetings.

Monday, June 8: City Council, 10:00 a.m.

Agenda:

Items 600, 601, 602, 639, 643, 644: Proclamations

Why it matters: We must ask again for an explanation of how and why honorees are chosen. The last three were added to a very packed agenda in the last few days. The last two (including a Scripps Health administrator who is a Rotary Club officer) have no supporting documents. Everyone agrees that Council meetings run too long. These performative agenda items add extra time but little civic substance.

Item 613: 2026 Update to the San Diego Municipal Code (Land Development Code)

Why it matters: Staff report notes that one of the amendments “would increase … the City Council appeal fee [on project and environmental appeals] from $1,000 to $2,380,

 Developer HomeFed’s 3,000+ Project Halted After Its Appeal Denied

by Dorian Hargrove / Times of San Diego / June 4, 2026

An appellate court on Thursday denied an appeal from the developer looking to build a massive, 3,008-home project in Santee known as Fanita Ranch.

In the ruling, the appellate court said that the city of Santee and developer HomeFed pushed the project through despite knowing it violated state planning and environmental laws.

The ruling now puts the massive residential development, which was first proposed in 2017, on hold, once again, and likely for good, barring any petition to the California Supreme Court.

The appellate court judges found Santee and HomeFed improperly tried to push the project through without the city amending its General Plan. The plan had allowed for the construction of 1,395 homes on 2,638 acres in Northern Santee.