Mission Hills Faces a 12-Story Disaster — and City Hall Is Letting It Happen
By Doug Poole, Mission Hills resident
The proposed 12-story project at 820 Fort Stockton Drive is nothing short of a looming disaster for Mission Hills. This isn’t smart growth or thoughtful planning — it’s a reckless gamble that will scar our neighborhood for decades.
The design is physically ugly, completely out of scale, and wildly out of character with the historic charm of Mission Hills. Let’s be honest, it will look like a 12-story prison dropped into the middle of our community. No thoughtful design. No respect for the neighborhood. No consideration for the people who live here.
Developers are exploiting loopholes in the City’s Complete Communities program, fast-tracking this project while silencing community voices. City officials want you to believe their hands are tied — that “ministerial approval” leaves them powerless. That’s simply not true.
Even within Complete Communities, Councilmember Stephen Whitburn has the ability to demand a higher level of review and public accountability. But so far, he has refused to stand up to the developer. Instead, he hides behind process and lets a flawed project sail through without the scrutiny it desperately needs.
Adding salt to the wound, DOMO Modular — the same developer behind 820 Fort Stockton — has already received financing from the San Diego Housing Commission for its project at 3743 4th Avenue, which is being built using the identical factory-built modular process planned for Mission Hills. While it’s not clear yet whether SDHC will also finance 820 Fort Stockton, the very idea that taxpayer dollars could subsidize this 12-story monstrosity is deeply troubling. At best, it raises serious questions about priorities; at worst, it blurs the line between public responsibility and private profit under the banner of “Complete Communities.”
Whitburn faces a defining moment. If this project moves forward, this will be his legacy: a towering, factory-built complex with no parking, virtually no true affordability, and hundreds of micro-units crammed into a fragile canyon-rim neighborhood. Out of 120 units, only two will count as affordable — and even those are just 288 square feet, smaller than a hotel room.
This is not affordable housing. This is a developer cash grab disguised as a public good.
Mission Hills is already burdened by narrow streets, limited parking, and very real fire evacuation risks. Adding a massive modular building here is planning malpractice, plain and simple. If Stockdale Capital’s Horton Plaza project collapsed under a $350 million default, how can we trust them to build safely here? What corners will they cut to make this profitable?
Whitburn and Mayor Todd Gloria must stop hiding behind bureaucratic excuses. They need to face their constituents and answer one simple question:
Do you personally believe this project is right for Mission Hills?
If their answer is yes, they should have the courage to stand before us and say so. If not, they must act now to halt permits, demand transparency, and fix the policies that allowed this mess to reach this point.
Mission Hills residents are not opposed to growth. We support thoughtful, sustainable development that serves families and strengthens our community. But this project is the opposite: reckless, exploitative, and dismissive of the very people who will live with its consequences.
Our message to City Hall is clear, even under Complete Communities, you have the power to act. Use it. Anything less will be remembered as a total failure of leadership — one that turned Mission Hills into a case study of how not to plan a city.
Take Action Now – Stop 820 Fort Stockton!
A massive, 12-story factory-built tower with no parking and only two truly affordable units is about to be dropped in the heart of Mission Hills. We can still stop it — but only if we act now.
Contact Councilmember Stephen Whitburn and Mayor Todd Gloria today. Demand a full review and public meeting before this project moves forward.
- Councilmember Stephen Whitburn
619-236-6633
stephenwhitburn@sandiego.gov - Mayor Todd Gloria
619-236-6330
mayortoddgloria@sandiego.gov
Tell them clearly:
Even under Complete Communities, you have the power to act. Use it to protect Mission Hills.
Councilmember Whitburn could demand a tougher review — but he won’t stand up to the developer.
Category: Architecture, Business, feature, Government, Housing, Life Style, Local News
