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San Diego OKs ballot measures to lift Midway height limit, eliminate PLA ban, allow child care in parks

San Diego Union-Tribune - 7/25/2022

San Diego voted Monday to place measures on the November ballot that would lift the 30-foot coastal building height limit near the sports arena, eliminate a city ban on union-friendly project labor agreements and change city rules to allow childcare facilities in public parks.

Each of the individual measures would require approval by a simple majority of voters to be successful in November.

The ballot measure that would lift the height limit applies only to a 1,324-acre area of the Midway District that includes the sports arena and some nearby city-owned land where officials say they envision high-rise housing and a new entertainment district.

Voters approved a nearly identical ballot measure in 2020, but a judge later invalidated Measure E because city officials hadn't studied the environmental impacts of taller buildings before putting the measure in front of voters.

Councilman Chris Cate, who is spearheading the new height-limit effort, said support from 57 percent of voters two years ago should be a source of confidence to those who want to see the height limit lifted.

The council voted 8-0 Monday to place the do-over measure on the November ballot.

Council President Sean Elo-Rivera said taller buildings in the Midway District would help solve the city's housing crisis. Supporters say the area is ideal for dense housing, with its proximity to multiple freeways and the Old Town Transit Center.

A group called Save Our Access says the ballot measure would lift the height limit in too wide of an area, contending it should be targeted more narrowly.

The measure that would repeal the city's 10-year-old ban on union-friendly project labor agreements was approved for the November ballot in a 7-1 council vote, with Cate casting the lone "no" vote.

Supporters say the measure would ensure San Diego gets its fair share of state funding for crucial local projects.

That's because of two state laws that have passed since San Diego voters banned PLAs in 2012. Those laws — SB 922 and SB 829 — say cities with laws prohibiting PLAs are ineligible for discretionary state construction funds.

"This measure is very important to our city," Councilmember Stephen Whitburn said. "We can't afford to lose any money from the state."

Critics of the new ballot measure say it's a power grab by local labor unions based on lies and distortions.

They stress that San Diego got about $140 million in state funding for its Pure Water sewage recycling project despite the PLA ban.

Some also say the measure could have a negative impact on people of color, especially Black people, by making it harder for them to get construction apprenticeships.

"PLAs are racially and historically exclusive," said Abdur-Rahim Hameed, national president of the Black Contractors Association.

Project labor agreements are pro-union construction deals. They are common in Los Angeles and the Bay Area but are relatively rare in San Diego due to the region's tradition of mostly conservative politics.

Such pacts have been used locally to build two North County dams, to expand San Diego International Airport and to build Petco Park. But the city wasn't the lead agency on any of those projects.

Councilmember Raul Campillo is spearheading efforts to overturn the ban.

"We are not voting to mandate PLAs," he said Monday. "This measure would give our city the option to decide whether or not to use a PLA on a project-by-project basis."

The child care measure was placed on the ballot Monday in an 8-0 council vote.

It would amend the city charter to make it legal for 42 city recreation centers to offer child care services.

Supporters say the fit could be ideal, because rec centers are mostly empty during the morning and early afternoon hours when child care centers typically operate.

The ballot measure comes as San Diego officials have been scrambling in recent years to address a shortage of local child care options for city workers and many residents, some of whom can't work due to lack of child care.

A comprehensive survey last winter of 1,100 city facilities found that only 72 are viable candidates for child care services, and that 42 of those are recreation centers in city parks where child care is not a legal activity.

The city charter says any land dedicated for "park, recreation or cemetery purposes shall not be used for any but park, recreation or cemetery purposes," unless city voters approve such an exception with at least two-thirds support.

But the approval threshold for the November ballot measure, which would amend the charter to add child care to the list of allowed uses, is a simple majority — not two-thirds.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

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