In November 2020, a ballot measure to lift the 30-foot height limit in the Midway District surrounding the sports arena was approved by a 13-point margin.
The “yes” campaign had broad bipartisan establishment support and significant developer financial backing, overwhelming community-based grassroots opposition that had virtually no resources to put up a fight.
The opponents won a reprieve with a successful lawsuit that maintained a proper environmental review was not conducted for removing the restriction. But a replay of that height limit-lifting proposal is on the November ballot as Measure C and the campaign seemed headed for similar political dynamics.
That could change.
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Carl DeMaio, the radio talk-show host and former San Diego City Council member, suddenly has become a leading opponent to Measure C. He has joined three community advocates in signing the ballot argument against lifting the 50-year-old height limit.
Some leaders of the No on C effort warily accept DeMaio’s involvement, while others working to defeat the measure are upset about the alignment.
In both views, DeMaio is considered a double-edged sword. He potentially can bring resources, campaign knowledge and his largely Republican and conservative following to the fight. But his polemic persona can be polarizing and alienate some voters working to preserve the height limit, particularly Democratic activists who openly loathe DeMaio.
How much DeMaio and his Reform California organization will contribute to the campaign and whether he substantially moves the needle for the “no” side remains to be seen. His main focus for the fall election so far has been to defeat the city of San Diego’s Measure B, which, if approved, would lead to charging single-family home owners for trash service. They now get fee-free city service while businesses and owners of condominiums and apartment buildings must pay private haulers.
DeMaio said he has met with opponents of lifting the height restriction and offered “technical assistance” and some preliminary campaign advice. He did not see a concern that he and other Measure C opponents may have different broad political ideologies.
“If I find common ground… there’s nothing wrong with working together on that one issue,” he said.
Lisa Mortensen, who opposes Measure C, said DeMaio brings both promise and peril to the campaign, though she stressed a concern about the latter.
“I fear it will turn constituents off and lose the message,” said the Mission Hills Realtor and community advocate. “I do think some of his message is warranted, but he’s a shouter and I think he has a political agenda and that’s where I push back.”
The OB Rag, long a progressive voice in San Diego and a staunch supporter of keeping the height limit, was aghast that the Save Our Access group, which successfully challenged the 2020 measure in court, was now aligned with DeMaio, whom writer Frank Gormlie called “San Diego’s Trumpiest of Trumps.”
“The OB Rag is hereby drawing a line in the sand: we will not support Save Our Access as long as they are in an alliance with DeMaio,” wrote Gormlie, who was the first to report about the dispute over DeMaio.
Despite such fervor, it’s hard to think DeMaio alone will turn voters who oppose lifting the height limit — something they tend to be passionate about — into supporters, even if they do keep their distance from the No on C campaign.
Meanwhile, some opponents are hoping DeMaio can turn “yes” votes into “no” votes.
In an email to backers of the limit, John McNab of Save Our Access said the strongest support for lifting the restriction in 2020 was along the Interstate 15 corridor — “particularly in Rancho Peñasquitos, Carl DeMaio’s backyard. This is an area that heavily skews Republican.”
The greatest opposition was in coastal communities — hardly DeMaio’s base.
McNab said the campaign had reached out to the environmental community and received virtually no response. Among the exceptions was longtime environmental advocate Carolyn Chase, who also signed the ballot argument along with McNab and former assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Halpern, now with a group called Save San Diego’s Character.
McNab noted that the Reform Local Government PAC is a lead opponent on Measure C.
“There is concern by some that this is too right wing an organization to be the main opponent and that its founder, Carl DeMaio, is too polarizing,” McNab wrote.
Donations to No on C are being processed through WinRed, a Republican Party online operation that claims to be “the #1 fundraising technology used by conservatives.” At least a couple of contributors were surprised and angered when they found out WinRed was being used.
The bottom line on Measure C will be what it is in most campaigns: Who has the money to win?
This week, Mayor Todd Gloria recommended the Midway Rising proposal to develop the city-owned land at and around Pechanga Arena out of three finalists. If the City Council approves in the coming weeks, the Midway Rising developers would be expected to provide substantial financing for the “yes” campaign.
The project calls for a total of 4,250 residential units — including 2,000 deed-restricted units for low- and moderate-income families — a new 16,000-seat arena, a 200-room hotel, 250,000 square feet of commercial space and 20 acres of open space.
DeMaio didn’t commit to any direct funding through Reform California. An open question is whether any of the losing developers, developers with potentially competing projects in other areas or someone else with deep pockets will kick in money to oppose Measure C.
DeMaio said he primarily is opposed because of what he said was a lack of transparency and accountability in the development process — and claimed that organized labor will unduly benefit.
“It’s a very insular cast of characters,” he said. “I don’t think this is a fair and open competition.”
He said San Diego needs more housing, but added that projects don’t always require or provide the necessary infrastructure.
The latter is among the litany of concerns from the grassroots opponents. Mortensen said the dense, high-rise development that would be allowed if the height limit is removed would create traffic that would overwhelm portions of Interstates 5 and 8, making it even more difficult to get to the beaches.
“We’re talking about access,” said Mortensen, who has been in real estate here for 46 years.
While there are no ocean vistas from the Midway District, views of Mission Bay likely would be obscured by the planned development, which could obstruct the view of San Diego Bay from the freeways — which Mortensen likened to a gateway approach to central San Diego.
She further bristled that this decision is being made by voters citywide, not those living in the Midway area and surrounding communities.
“We have taken the power and voice away from the constituents in the area,” Mortensen said.
She wants people talking about those messages, not the new messenger.
