Updated at 12:20 a.m. June 4, 2014
City Council-approved changes to zoning regulations in Barrio Logan were being overturned Tuesday. Voters were rejecting the plan with 82.9 percent of precincts counted.
The regulations, five years in the making, separated industrial and residential land uses that are intermingled in the economically disadvantaged neighborhood south of downtown San Diego.
Opponents, led by the area’s shipyards, contend that a buffer zone created between homes and industrial areas will eventually force important suppliers to the maritime industry to move by making it too difficult for them to remodel or expand. They contend the impact would be a higher cost of doing business and a loss of jobs.
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Supporters of the two measures had a tough time battling the campaign to overturn the plan.
“From beginning to end, it was all lies,” said Yes on Propositions B and C spokeswoman Georgette Gomez.
The shipyards, led by General Dynamics NASSCO and BAE Systems, collected enough signatures to force the issue to a public vote. Two propositions are required because the zoning plan passed on a pair of 5-4 council votes — one on an ordinance and another on a resolution.
For Proposition B, 58.2 percent of voters said “no.” For Proposition C, 60.2 percent of the votes were negative.
San Diegans were initially voting in favor of Proposition A, the first of what is likely to be a several years-long series of proposed revisions to the City Charter.
The ballot measure would, among other things, set the city’s inauguration day for Dec. 10, or the first Monday following if that date lands on a weekend. It was winning with 71.7 percent of the vote.
The charter currently schedules inaugurations for the mayor and City Council members on the first Monday following the first day of December.
The problem is that the current arrangement schedules inaugurations 27-34 days after the general election, and the state allows county registrars of voters 28 days to certify the results. The Legislature is considering giving registrars two extra days.
The Dec. 10 date would be 32-38 days after a November election, eliminating a potential conflict. The change would also make the length of terms in office more consistent.
Approval of Proposition A would also change the City Charter to allow more time between a special election and a subsequent runoff.
In other ballot measures:
- Proposition D, which affects only a small portion of northeast San Diego County served by the Coachella Valley Water District, which proposes to change how its directors are elected, results were unavailable at midnight.
- Proposition E, a $29 million construction bond for the Coronado Unified School District that requires a 55 percent “yes” vote to approve, was failing with 40.7 percent approval.
- And Proposition H, a decision for East County voters on whether Grossmont Hospital should retain its affiliation with Sharp Healthcare, was ahead with 87.3 percent of the vote.
–City News Service