The Community Planners Committee, a group made up of leaders of San Diego’s various planning groups, has voted to oppose a Senate bill tied to the controversial Midway Rising development.
On Tuesday night, about 50 community planning group members and residents gathered at the Point Loma/Hervey Branch Library to discuss Senate Bill 958, which would clear the way for Midway Rising despite the 30-foot height limit for buildings in the Midway District.
SB 958 “applies only to the Midway Rising project” and would, under “strict conditions,” prohibit building height from being considered a significant impact on the environment under the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA. The bill was authored by State Senator Akilah Weber-Pierson, D-San Diego, and is sponsored by Mayor Todd Gloria.
An aerial overview in a rendering of the proposed Midway Rising project. (File photo courtesy of Midway Rising development group)Weber-Pierson introduced the bill in February after the California Supreme Court ruled against the city of San Diego, preserving the coastal height limit.
Eric Law, the chairman of the Peninsula Community Planning Board, had originally intended for Weber-Pierson to be present at the meeting, sponsored by the Peninsula group, Uptown Community Planning Group, Old Town Community Planning group and Protect Point Loma, but she could not attend.
Staff from Sen. Weber-Pierson’s and Assemblymember Tasha Boerner’s offices represented them instead.
“We’re greatly disappointed that the sponsor of the bill couldn’t come face the electorate and explain why she’s put this bill forward that has so many defects,” Law said.
Weber-Pierson said in a statement emailed to Times of San Diego that SB 958 provides clarity in state law so communities can pursue responsible housing and redevelopment while complying with legal and environmental standards.
“Project-specific concerns and local impacts will continue to be evaluated through the existing review process,” Weber-Pierson said in her statement. “SB 958 does not create a CEQA exemption, eliminate environmental review, or change the authority of cities, counties, and local agencies to approve or deny projects.”
But some community advocates fear the bill will bring about less comprehensive vetting of major projects.
At the meeting, Scott Case, an Uptown planning group board member, gave a presentation on SB 958, CEQA and why the issue should matter to community planning groups.
When a project is expected to have a significant impact on the environment, an Environmental Impact Report, or EIR, must be prepared. Case explained that major developments affect traffic, noise, air and water quality, and place a burden on existing infrastructure.
“Those risks, they really warrant thorough environmental review, not reduced oversight,” Case said.
“Instead of the city going back and updating their EIR,” Case added, “we have this Senate bill before us that seeks to remove certain aspects of the CEQA law,”
Patty Ducey Brooks, the vice chair of the Uptown group, said that although SB 958 is specific to Midway Rising, the harmful impacts of the bill will be felt throughout California.
“This bill isn’t about affordable housing,” Brooks said. “It’s about giving developers permission to build properties over 30-feet tall that, unfortunately, aren’t going to benefit the people who need it the most.”
Brooks pointed out that she is not against the development of Midway, but is opposed to what she sees as bad policy.
“It’s dangerous,” Brooks said. “It’s dangerous to the city of San Diego, the state of California. It’s just wrong.”
Law also said that he wants Midway to be redeveloped and believes the people who live there deserve something better. He doesn’t, however, agree with how it is being done.
“Midway Rising has to prove to us that there is a reason to go through 30 feet,” Law said. “They’ve failed to do that.”
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