Golden Hill Wins Restraining Order on Colossal Housing Complex

By: Kate Callen

The Golden Hill community scored an astonishing win Friday, October 17, in its battle against an eight-story apartment project when a Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order to halt further development on the site.

The decision is believed to be the first successful legal salvo against Mayor Todd Gloria’s Complete Communities densification program. It was the second victory on the same day for land use attorney Everett Delano, whose client Save Our Access won a state appeals decision Friday that reinstates the 30-foot-height limit in the Midway district.

The ruling by Superior Court Judge Joel Wohlfeil also undermined a key component of Complete Communities: “transit-oriented development” near bus stops, some of which don’t exist and might never exist.

Preserve Greater Golden Hill went to court to stop CEDARst from speed-building “The Lawson,” a 186-unit complex at 2935-2961 A Street that would be the largest high-rise building directly under the final approach into San Diego Airport.

“We knew we had a strong case,” said Richard Santini, President of Preserve Golden Hill. “This decision makes it clear that Complete Communities isn’t about affordable housing. This building is more of a luxury tower.”

The ruling also stipulated that a promise of future transit that might never happen does not justify infill density that will immediately disrupt urban residential neighborhoods.

CEDARst acknowledged there is currently no major transit stop within a mile of the proposed building. But it argued that SANDAG “projects” that a qualifying bus stop will be in place by 2035.

But Judge Wohlfeil pointed out that no funding has been identified for the $103 million project (in 2020 dollars). That lack of funding makes the transit stop “speculative,” the judge ruled, and if it “remains nothing more than an aspiration,” residents will have “their tranquility undermined without access to transportation deemed necessary by the City.”

The judge also noted that there’s a “reasonable probability” that Preserve Greater Golden Hill will win its case at trial.

Santini said the restraining order has emboldened the community to take pro-active steps against saturation density.

“We are preparing letters to send out to developers, financiers, and real estate agents,” he said. “We will inform them that Golden Hill has a community plan in place, and we will ensure that projects align with that plan.”

The Chicago-based CEDARst, which launched an aggressive but ultimately unsuccessful community relations campaign in Golden Hill, tried to persuade the judge that a restraining order would cause financial hardship, but Santini said their estimates were not credible.

“They said they’ve spent $18 million up to this point,” he said. “The permitting cost $2.9 million, and they claim they’re spending up to $90,000 to $100,000 a day. But some of their expenditures could not be accounted for.”

The restraining order will remain in effect until a hearing that is scheduled for Tuesday, November 26, at 9:00 a.m. in Department 73 of the San Diego Superior Court.

Preserve Golden Hill will hold a fundraising event to increase awareness of and support for its legal battle at Matteo’s in South Park, 3015 Juniper Street, Thursday, October 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.