The San Diego City Council on Monday officially repealed 2022's Measure C, which sought to exempt the Midway District from San Diego's 30-foot coastal height limit before being invalidated by a judge.
Measure C was the second time voters approved of allowing taller buildings in the Midway area around the Pechanga Arena. A similar initiative in 2020 was also overturned in the courts. In both cases, judges determined San Diego had not properly analyzed the environmental impacts of allowing taller buildings in the neighborhood.
Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, whose district includes Midway, said she disagreed with the court's rulings. But she noted the California Supreme Court had declined to take up the matter, meaning the city had no choice but to comply with the lower court's orders and officially repeal Measure C.
"We must do it, and if we don't, we will be in contempt of court," Campbell said. "And when we're in contempt of court, we open the city to tremendous numbers of fines, which we can ill afford."
The changing legal status of Midway's height limit has injected uncertainty into Midway Rising, the plan to redevelop the city's 48.5-acre Sports Arena property. The project includes parks, a new arena and 4,254 new apartments — 2,000 of them affordable to low-income renters.
Last week, state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, D-San Diego, introduced a last-minute bill that would protect Midway Rising from future environmental lawsuits. The bill must win two-thirds majorities in both the Senate and Assembly by Aug. 31 to reach Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.
A separate bill from Weber Pierson would make broader changes to the California Environmental Quality Act, the law the judges used to overturn Measure C. That bill would clarify that the act of increasing height limits does not amount to a significant impact on the environment.
