Lawmakers Push a Full CEQA Exemption for Midway Rising's 4,200 Homes Next to Point Loma
Voice of San Diego reported Aug. 18 that San Diego lawmakers are weighing new legislation to let Midway Rising bypass state environmental review. The plan would replace the aging sports arena at 3500 Sports Arena Blvd. with more than 4,200 homes, a 16,000-seat venue, retail, and parks next to Point Loma. This is a different bill from Senate Bill 958, the height-only measure covered on this news board Aug. 17, and a different story from The Admiral restaurant project at Liberty Station.
What is on the table
Under amendments Voice of San Diego obtained, the city's own study of the project's environmental impacts would be enough to meet the California Environmental Quality Act. The language was written into previously unrelated legislation about human remains, a gut-and-amend move. A public hearing is expected later this week. Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson is the lead author. Assemblymember Chris Ward is a co-author and said the bill is coming now after local delays. Officials had previously pointed to SB 958 as the main way to limit further litigation. Assemblymember David Alvarez and Sen. Catherine Blakespear said they will likely support the new changes. Voice of San Diego noted a 2013 precedent when lawmakers sped CEQA review for Sacramento's Golden 1 Center. Zack Defazio-Farrell of San Diego County YIMBY Democrats said a project-specific exemption would "insulate the project from CEQA litigation."
Why it matters
- A full CEQA exemption is broader than SB 958, which would only say building height alone cannot count as a significant environmental impact.
- If the bill becomes law, lawsuits under CEQA would have a harder time delaying the 4,200-home village on Point Loma's doorstep.
- It is not law yet. A public hearing is still ahead, and the California Supreme Court already left the 30-foot coastal height limit in place.
- If Midway Rising is built, most of those units would be rentals, not for-sale peninsula inventory.
Sources: Voice of San Diego on a wholesale CEQA exemption; Voice of San Diego morning report on a full CEQA exemption; Voice of San Diego on a new Midway Rising bill; Voice of San Diego on SB 958 and a gut-and-amend; City of San Diego Planning Commission report on Midway Rising.
Related on this site: Midway Rising forum and SB 958; The Admiral at Liberty Station.
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For a buyer in Point Loma, a CEQA shortcut on a 4,200-home village next door is still a VA payment and commute question if you are shopping the peninsula. See VA loans in Point Loma.
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