KPBS Midday Edition

State Law Puts Sport Arena Development On Hold

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Harrison Patiño / Producer, KPBS Midday Edition

Published April 9, 2021 at 10:13 AM PDT

This story was published more than 3 years ago.

Outside the Pechanga Arena San Diego box office, Dec. 5, 2018.

This week, the city of San Diego got some bad news about plans to renovate the Midway district after an overlooked state law called the project into question.

The area around the Pechanga Arena, commonly known as the Sports Arena, is slated to become a new entertainment district, with a new arena, parks, retail and housing.

Voters even approved a ballot measure raising the building height limit in the Midway District to allow for the development, but the guidelines implementing a new state law seem to put the city's plans in limbo.

The new state law requires public agencies and affordable housing developers to have first dibs on property being sold by public agencies. Officials with the city of San Diego believe that this doesn't apply because the property is being leased, but the state agency implementing the new law has issued guidelines saying that it applies to leases also.

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So, instead of being able to lease the Midway-area land to the city's chosen developer, the city may have to first offer it to affordable housing developers.

Andrew Keatts, Voice of San Diego's senior investigative reporter, joined Midday Edition on Friday to discuss the potential roadblock.

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KPBS Midday Edition San Diego Housing

Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Harrison Patiño

Harrison Patiño is a producer for "KPBS Midday Edition". His primary roles include story development, and is involved in the audio production and coordination of interview subjects. Prior to joining KPBS, Harrison held various positions at Hawaii Public Radio within its news and music departments. While pursuing a double major in journalism and classics at The University of Hawaii at Manoa, Harrison worked at the school's student-run radio station, KTUH. After graduating, Harrison served as a community advisor for the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Student Media Board.

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