San Diego City Council

San Diego Residents to Vote on Coastal Height Limit for Midway District, Again

Measure E was originally supported by 57% of San Diego voters in 2020 when it was on the ballot to remove the 30-foot-height limit in the Midway District area

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This will be the second time the issue of removing the Midway District from the coastal zone -- where buildings higher than 30 feet are forbidden -- is up for San Diegans to vote on.

Measure E was passed in 2020 with 57% of San Diego voters supporting it, but last year a judge invalidated that vote, saying that the city of San Diego did not do the required environmental impact study it needed to before it put the issue in front of voters. Now with the study in hand, San Diego City Council has voted to put the measure on the ballot once again.

"The one good thing we have for us is that the Midway is not near the coast, if anyone has been to the Sports Arena, there are no views of the coast, there is no access to the beach from the Midway, it’s a neighborhood that’s not even fronting the water," said Councilmember Chris Cate from District 6 who proposed the ballot measure for City Council to vote on. 

Supporters of the move said this redevelopment is necessary to move the district away from a commercial and industrial area toward a more residential area too. 

"This is one of the few real districts that for a long time has not been a residential-focused district, it has been heavily industrial, heavily commercial for generations, frankly," said Dike Anyiwo from the Midway Pacific Highway Community Plan.

Critics like John McNab from the group, Save Our Access, sued the city over Measure E and are concerned that removing the height limit in the Midway area would lead to a shift for San Diego's coast.

"What they're trying to do is create a Miami Beach and they're looking to create enough exemptions so it just sprouts up with high rises all along the coast," McNab said. 

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