A state Assembly committee advanced a bill Wednesday that curbs Civic San Diego's power to regulate and approve new development proposals downtown.
The move comes three years after the state pulled the plug on redevelopment, and picking up the slack in urban renewal have been local successor agencies.
Civic San Diego has been on the case here — but now Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D- 80th District) is on its case.
She appeared on NBC 7’s "Politically Speaking" show Sunday to discuss her bill.
“So far, the mayor has been aggressively silent about the changes that need to be made and we’re just hopeful they do it themselves so we don’t need legislation,” Gonzalez said.
At a Wednesday news conference in Encanto, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer ended that so-called aggressive silence to champion Civic San Diego, calling it a catalyst for change and urging Sacramento to stay out of local affairs.
He fired back, saying not only is the city keeping Civic San Diego but it plans to expand its influence into other neighborhoods like Encanto and City Heights.
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“We’re here to help keep local control for our communities, and we’re here to ask our state legislators to put neighborhoods first, and we’re here to ring the alarm bell about Assembly Bill 504,” he said.
Surrounded by what were described as stakeholders in the Encanto community, Faulconer spoke about the success of Civic San Diego.
He said the Encanto news conference site, a dirt lot in the 5200-block of Market Street, is emblematic of the opportunity Civic San Diego has to spur development.
One of Civic San Diego’s bigger tasks is managing old redevelopment projects that still aren’t finished.
Elsewhere in California, cities take that on themselves.
Right now, Civic San Diego works strictly in downtown, approving conditional use permits and projects that already fit in line with the downtown area’s community plan.
The nonprofit also applies for the federal "New Market Tax Credit," reserved for projects in low income areas. It then distributes grants locally.
Faulconer touted the nonprofit’s success in bringing 6,000 affordable housing units to downtown.
But is the operation legal? Gonzalez, an attorney, says “no.”
“I just think there should be some oversight and accountability, and if you look at any other city in San Diego and the community input is taken into account,” she said.
Supporters of Civic SD say there hasn’t been one development approved by the group that the community has a problem with.
“So, it seems like it’s a solution without a problem,” said Downtown Partnership CEO Kris Mitchell said of Gonzalez’s bill. “Civic San Diego works. It works well for downtown. It will work well for Encanto. The Encanto residents want it, so let’s not mess with it. The communities that don’t want it, don’t have to have it.”
San Diego Building and Construction Trades, an umbrella organization for local construction unions, has taken issue with one downtown project to build a hotel on West Ash Street because it says the developer doesn't want to pay union wages to build it.
Faulconer vowed to continue fighting the advancement of Gonzalez’s bill.
“Assembly Bill 504 will be heard by committee today,” he said. “And we won’t be surprised if it moves forward. But as it makes its way to the Assembly and Senate floor, I want to make sure Sacramento legislators hear the voices of San Diegans who need this program to continue.”
City Attorney Jan Goldsmith issued a 27-page memo saying Civic San Diego’s operations are legal, but if the city wants to expand its role, it might need to rethink its free rein.
Ken Marlborough, in charge of the Encanto planning group, says his group wants the nonprofit to expand its role to other neighborhoods.
“I’m not a lawyer but I have faith in our Mayor and our City Attorney that they’re saying it’s OK to do that,” Marlborough said.
