OB Rag

by Lawrence A. Herzog / Beach & Bay Press / Dec. 21, 2025

San Diego (and southern California) face a watershed moment in our quest to build more affordable housing near the sea. We are in, let us call it, a “zeitgeist design moment,” when intersecting concerns — environmental protection of our precious coastal zone, community character in low- to medium-density beach towns, social justice, and the right of all citizens to housing — collide.

This has created a maelstrom of decision choices that challenge elected officials, planners and designers. A buzzword that continues to pop up in these debates is “density.” How much is acceptable and where?

But, glaringly absent in these conversations about affordable housing, density and land use, is the question of “place.” We cannot look at a new building proposed for a given location merely in terms of its height, floor-area ratio, or the number of affordable units, or even what it looks like from the outside.

We must also consider the larger context, the types of nearby commercial establishments, the scale of existing buildings and homes, and their relation to the street, how people move around, and the mix of land uses, neighborhood institutions, cultural landmarks, and local ecological features — in short, the overall quality of the “place” where a building sits.

By Anonymous 

‘Twas the night before Christmas in San Diego town,
And all through the streets, potholes still could be found.
The meters were standing with QR codes near,
In hopes that a plate number soon would appear.

The trash cans were placed by the curb with great care,
Though fees now were charged just for leaving them there.
The residents nestled all snug in their beds,
While nightmares of parking fees danced in their heads.

By Kate Callen

Paid parking in Balboa Park is scheduled to begin Monday, January 5. If you’re willing to pay standard hourly or daily rates, permit kiosks have been installed, and their operation will be familiar: punch in your license plate number, choose length of visit, and pay with a credit card.

But if you want to use the discounted permits that were promised to San Diego residents, you’ll have to trust that City Hall can roll out a new multi-step system of permit application and payment in just 10 business days – including two city holidays.

In the seasonal spirit of good will, we are going to believe that. For once, the Rag will have faith that Mayor Todd Gloria will fulfill a pledge to the people of San Diego. We’re just not sure how he can pull it off in such a short time.

The original plan was for paid parking to begin in October. But under fire from angry constituents, the City Council decided in mid-September to extend the start date to January 1.

On December 18, we asked the Mayor’s office if another postponement might be in the works. The answer was “No.”

by Dave Schwab / Times of San Diego / Dec. 19, 2025

The battle over the controversial 23-story Vela “Turquoise tower” project in North Pacific Beach could be headed to court.

The development at 970 Turquoise St., which includes both hotel rooms and residential units, with some reserved for low-income residents, has become a poster child for growing opposition to city policies meant to spur dense homebuilding.

But even city officials who have long been advocates for the city’s housing push have sided with local opponents who say the project is out of scale with the neighborhood.

Los Angeles-based developer Kalonymus and its attorneys are now arguing the project should be considered “automatically approved” because the city missed a state deadline meant to expedite housing approvals. Their argument would require the city to issue building permits immediately.

City planners acknowledge that the project has not been approved yet— but they say Kalonymus itself has played a big role in the project’s delay.

By Donna Frye

On December 17th, a city council majority voted to adopt their Legislative Priorities for 2026. Included in those priorities was language specific to Mission Bay Park that supports amending the State Surplus Land Act to exclude Mission Bay Park so it could not be used for housing development.

Their priorities also included supporting “ legislation that would amend the State Surplus Land Act to clarify that not all public land is suitable for housing, particularly where development would conflict with the City Charter or voter-approved measures, including, but not limited to, dedicated public parkland such as Mission Bay Park, Balboa Park, Mission Trails Regional Park, other regional parks, open space, or canyons.”

This is the outcome we all have worked so hard for since July, when we first learned about the issue of surplus land.  At that time, it looked like it might be a done deal since the Land Use and Housing Committee had voted to support it. But we got the matter continued when it went to the city council and here we are- not out of the woods but headed in the right direction.

On Tuesday, December 16, the San Diego City Council approved new updates to community plans of two long term neighborhoods– Clairemont and the College Area. The updates are considered blueprints for development changes over the next 30 years — and both project thousands of new residents to both of the neighborhoods by allowing mid-rise and high-rise housing in more places.

Although approved on the same day by votes of 7–1, the updates were treated differently. The College Area plan slams the community with a projected tripling of the current population to nearly 77,000. U-T reporter David Garrick calls the approach to College as “more aggressive…” Clairemont is projected with a 50% population increase.

Also, as Garrick reported:

The number of housing units in Clairemont would rise by 59%, from 33,300 to 52,800, while the number of units in the College Area would more than quadruple, from 8,200 to 34,000.

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / Dec. 17, 2025

San Diego Councilmember Raul Campillo believes asking hard questions and standing up for residents with “inconvenient” beliefs got him kicked off the City Council’s pivotal Land Use and Housing Committee.

Campillo, who was replaced on the committee Wednesday by Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, says he’s being punished for not being a “yes” man and debating too vigorously during meetings.

“Council committee assignments where controversial issues are discussed seem to be reserved for those willing to say ‘yes’ or go along with the program,” Campillo said.

But simply going along with ideas presented by Mayor Todd Gloria’s staff would be a disservice to his constituents and the city, Campillo said.

“Some folks might not like my prosecutorial style or my probative questions,” he said. “Too bad — that’s what many ideas and items around here clearly need.”

By Danna Givot

If rudeness to his constituents and fellow council members (as noted by Paul Krueger in “Councilmember Elo-Rivera Leaves the Dias while Resident Speaks at City Council Meeting”) isn’t enough to kill Sean Elo-Rivera’s political career, there is plenty more working against him besides bad manners.

On December 16th, Sean was the primary cheerleader for the College Area Community Plan Update that quadruples the density in this area with no funds or firm commitment to remedy the long term park, recreation center, and fire station deficiencies in this neighborhood in his District 9. The upzoning in the newly passed College Area Plan will immediately make those upzoned properties more expensive based on their development potential. That will please Sean’s campaign donors, but it won’t
solve the community’s serious and long term infrastructure deficiencies, and it won’t make housing more affordable, as noted by Council President Joe LaCava.

While chairing the Select Committee on Addressing the Rising Cost of Living in San Diego, Elo-Rivera has supported exorbitant trash fees

by Calista Stocker / Times of San Diego / Dec. 16, 2025

In 2017, the Metropolitan Transit System spent $1.4 million upgrading bus stop benches throughout the county. In addition to improved water drainage and material updates, the new benches came with dividers, which their contractor refers to as “vagrant bars.”

That was a year after the city of San Diego raced to install jagged rocks downtown under Interstate 5 in time for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Petco Park, and five years before the Downtown Partnership built a controversial bike rack/bench designed to deter lying down.

These are all examples of what urban designers call “hostile architecture.” Commonly referred to as “anti-homeless architecture” or “defensive design,” the concept is used to describe public infrastructure design intended to subtly (or not so subtly) change behavior.

San Diego-based urban designer Howard Blackson argues that hostile architecture reflects the hostility of human nature.

From SanDiegoVille / Dec. 17, 2025

San Diego’s Ocean Beach community is mourning the sudden loss of Chef Dalton Parr, the head chef at The Joint Sushi & Tapas and its sister restaurant The Bowl, who passed away this past Saturday. Parr, just 23 years old, was widely known not only for his talent in the kitchen but for his warmth, humor, and deep connection to the OB hospitality scene.

The Joint announced Parr’s passing in a heartfelt message shared on Instagram, describing him as a “brother, leader, and head chef” whose impact extended far beyond the restaurant

On Tuesday, Dec. 16, the San Diego County’s Department of Environmental Health and Quality closed sections of Mission Bay due to a sewage release.  Tecolote Playground, Tecolote Shores and Fiesta Island North Entrance were closed — and the closures remain in effect Wednesday.

According to 7SanDiego:

About one-fifth of a 25,000-gallon sewage leak reached the waters near Fiesta Island amid construction work on the Tecolote Canyon sewer line near Snead Avenue, according to the city of San Diego. The work is part of a larger sewer improvement project.

The leak prompted a water contact closure for the shoreline at the locations in Mission Bay.