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Lawmakers Move a New SB 344 Deal to Shield Midway Rising Next to Point Loma

Voice of San Diego reported Aug. 21, 2026 that Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson is moving to amend Senate Bill 344 so the city's environmental review of Midway Rising would be treated as satisfying CEQA. Mayor Todd Gloria was in Sacramento lobbying. Weber Pierson said the bill is not a CEQA exemption. That is a different posture from the Aug. 18 wholesale-exemption story already on this news board, and a different bill from SB 958.

What is on the table

Midway Rising would replace the aging sports arena with a new venue and about 4,250 homes, including about 2,000 affordable units, next to Point Loma. SB 344 would specify that the city's ongoing environmental review complies with CEQA. Changes would need a two-thirds vote to take effect immediately. If the bill is signed, City Council would still have to certify the environmental impact report, finalize a lease, and approve a tax-capture plan for infrastructure. SB 958, which would block building height alone from counting as an environmental impact, is still alive as a separate track.

Why it matters

• This is a late-session deal, not an approved village and not a groundbreaking.
• The author is now saying SB 344 is not a CEQA exemption, which is why this is a new card and not an edit of the Aug. 18 briefing.
• If it is built, most of those units would be rentals next to the peninsula, not new for-sale Point Loma inventory.

Sources: Voice of San Diego on a new Midway Rising deal.

Related on this site: Aug. 18 CEQA exemption briefing; forum and SB 958.

More Point Loma mortgage help and the Point Loma news board.

For a buyer in Point Loma, a Sacramento deal on a 4,250-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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