Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 344 into law on Tuesday, clearing Midway Rising’s path to begin construction on a massive redevelopment of the former San Diego Sports Arena.
The plan, to convert the land around the arena into a project with 4,250 housing units, 130,000 square feet of retail, a new 16,000-seat arena and 14.5 acres of park space, has long been challenged by residents citing coastal height limits.
The bill, proposed by State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, declares the environmental reports studying the impacts of the redevelopment as sufficient, allowing city officials to grant approval of the project.
The bill states that because the Midway Rising project includes 2,000 affordable units, the environmental review approved by the city is enough and should not be held up by any further litigation.
With the bill now law, the Midway Rising project will soon go before the San Diego City Council for final approval. It also likely ends all legal challenges which thus far have thwarted progress on the redevelopment of the site around Pechanga Arena, as it is now known.
The project, proposed by local developer Brad Termini and his company Zephyr, is mostly owned by billionaire Stan Kroenke, who owns the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Angels, Arsenal F.C., Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets sports teams.
Kroenke is said to be the largest private landholder in the country.
Weber Pierson’s bill received wide support from Mayor Todd Gloria and other San Diego politicians.
After the bill was passed by lawmakers, sending it to the governor’s desk, Gloria reiterated his support for the legislation and the Midway Rising project.
“San Diegans have waited decades to see the Midway District transformed. Today, we are one step closer to turning that long-awaited vision into reality,” Gloria said in an Aug. 30 statement.
Added Gloria, “For the Midway District, this means we can focus on delivering what San Diegans have been waiting for: 4,250 new homes, including 2,000 deed-restricted affordable homes, new parks, critical infrastructure and a new entertainment center.”
In response to the bill becoming law, Midway Rising’s Brad Termini said his team could start construction as soon as next year.
“This legislation marks an important step toward delivering the homes, jobs, parks, entertainment, and public benefits that San Diegans deserve and have voted twice in favor of,” said Termini, CEO of Zephyr. “We’re grateful to Governor Newsom, Senator Weber Pierson, and Mayor Gloria for their support and look forward to continuing our partnership with the city of San Diego and the Midway community as we move toward final approval hearings.”
In a new statement, Gloria said he is glad to see the project move forward.
“This is an important step toward turning decades of discussion into action—building thousands of new homes and finally delivering the world-class arena and revitalized Midway District San Diegans have been promised.”
Long-time Midway Rising critics, however, were not at all excited about those prospects.
Attorney Everett DeLano, who represented Save Our Access, which successfully sued the city over preserving the 30-foot height limit in Midway, said the signing could be a slippery slope.
“Is it just me, or does anyone else see an irony in taking a bill that was supposed to be about the disposal of human remains,” DeLano said, referring to the original intent of SB 344, “and turning it into Midway Rising ‘fast track’ legislation?”
“It’s hard not to just scratch your head when you see one of these project-specific CEQA workaround bills. The statute and the courts talk about the importance of the process and the role of public participation, then a few well-connected political players get Sacramento politicians to take that all away from ordinary San Diegans. Sad day, indeed.”
