PACIFIC BEACH – The battle over the controversial 23-story Vela “Turquoise tower” project in North Pacific Beach could be headed to court.
The development at 970 Turquoise St., which includes both hotel rooms and residential units, with some reserved for low-income residents, has become a poster child for growing opposition to city policies meant to spur dense homebuilding.
But even city officials who have long been advocates for the city’s housing push have sided with local opponents who say the project is out of scale with the neighborhood.
Los Angeles-based developer Kalonymus and its attorneys are now arguing the project should be considered “automatically approved” because the city missed a state deadline meant to expedite housing approvals. Their argument would require the city to issue building permits immediately.
City planners acknowledge that the project has not been approved yet— but they say Kalonymus itself has played a big role in the project’s delay.
Permitting for large projects takes place in rounds, said Richard Berg, a city spokesperson. After a developer submits plans, city staff checks them against development restrictions. Staff communicates missing or inadequate information, which the developer can correct and resubmit. That process continues in multiple cycles.
“This project has required several rounds of corrections to meet compliance with applicable building codes,” said Berg. “The latest version is currently under review by staff. The plans submitted to date have been incomplete or incorrect, so the city reviewers have requested corrections.”
Berg said the developer has also made changes in each of its submittals.
“All of these factors contribute to the time it’s taken so far for the applicant to create compliant plans,” Berg said. “We’re (city’s) unable to provide estimates on timing for private projects, as it is largely dependent on the applicant.”
The dispute between the city and developer over the delay could end up in court. But local opponents think the project has no place, regardless of the bureaucratic back-and-forth.
Neighbors for a Better California, a local group opposed to state and city policies to increase housing density, said the project would hurt fire safety, traffic and infrastructure levels in the neighborhood.
“The developer and the city have ignored key clauses from the Pacific Beach Community Plan in a way that incorrectly inflates the project’s allowable base density,” said Karl Rand, a spokesperson for the group. “The Turquoise Tower also sets a precedent for diminished public access to the coastline that can never be undone for every San Diegan.”
The Pacific Beach Planning Group’s board has unanimously voted on and submitted multiple letters to the city’s development department opposing the project since February.
“PBPG is alarmed that DSD is apparently proceeding with the wrong base density figure in your processing of the application for Project Vela,” reads a Dec. 5 letter. “Specifically, you are applying an incentive from the Pacific Beach Community Plan that, by its express legal terms, does not and cannot apply to this project. We urge you to address this mistake immediately and send us an email confirming that you will be correcting this mistake.”
To date, PBPG has received no response from the city on its request for clarification of what the correct base density figure should be for the processing of Project Vela’s building application for its proposed tower.
Kalonymus has been acquiring properties around the proposed project site, including the French Gourmet at 960 Turquoise St.
That restaurant reportedly plans to close in early January. French Gourmet owner Michel Malécot, who had planned to retire, said he was unaware of the proposed project’s size when he sold in 2023 the property where he operated his restaurant since 1989.
