City to appeal court's height limit ruling that threatens Midway Rising project

The City of San Diego on Monday said they plan to appeal a court ruling that reinstated a height limit in the Midway District, which threatens a major redevelopment project.

The California appellate court ruled Friday that San Diego cannot remove a 30-foot coastal height limit, which was previously passed by voters in 2022.

“We were very pleased and appreciative of the appellate court,” Save Our Access President John McNab said on the steps outside Pechanga Arena. He leads the opposition group that sued San Diego.

The aging arena sits in the middle of a redevelopment plan called Midway Rising, which was approved by voters in 2022. The proposal promised to deliver more than 4,000 new homes—nearly half of them affordable—a new 16,000-seat arena, retail and commercial space and 14 acres of parks and walkways.

“That will absolutely freeze traffic on every north/south freeway in San Diego,” McNab said.

The lawsuit argued the height-limit measure was put on the ballot without an appropriate environmental review. The appellate court agreed. In its ruling, the court said San Diego violated the California Environmental Quality Act.

“This isn’t about Midway Rising. This is about over 1,100 acres of public land,” McNab said.

In a statement, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said the city plans to appeal the ruling to the California Supreme Court and affirmed the Midway project is not dead in the water.

“In addition to the appeal, City staff have identified multiple paths to keep the redevelopment of the City’s sports arena property moving forward,” the mayor said in a written statement. “I will not allow San Diego to miss out on an opportunity that holds massive benefits for San Diegans, including thousands of permanent new jobs, affordable homes, a new entertainment center and billions in economic activity. Failure is simply not an option, and we will get this done.”

McNab said his organization would much rather see the redevelopment area turned into open space.

“To do a sports and recreation area that goes from Mission Bay Park down to San Diego Bay,” he said while holding a map of the area.

McNab realized the city and developers probably disagreed with his vision. He said he fully expects the city to do a CEQA review, which he hopes would provide more information about how the project would impact on the future of the area.

“And this time hopefully the public pays attention,” he said.