Midway Sinking to Make Way for Water Table Rising?
Town Hall Meeting Held to Save and Protect CEQA
By Patty Ducey-Brooks
This past week, a town hall meeting was held at the Point Loma/Hervey Library to discuss efforts to preserve the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA, and to raise concerns about how proposed changes could affect the Midway Rising redevelopment and other coastal communities. The meeting was organized by the Peninsula Planning Group, Uptown Planners Community Planning Group, and Old Town Community Planning Group.
The meeting attracted upwards of 100 people from communities from throughout the city. The panel that spoke during the evening included chairs and vice chairs of the planning groups identified above and professionals trained in engineering and environmental topics. Also present were representatives from Senator Weber-Pierson’s office (Moano Alo) and Assemblyperson Tasha Boerner’s office (Alex Goodman).
The presentation moved from a broader explanation of CEQA to the specific legislation and development concerns now surrounding Midway Rising. It included the following topics:
- What is the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)?
- What is SB958 and its relevance to Midway Rising?
- Impacted communities and growing concern
- Engineering Challenges in delivering “affordable housing”
Those concerns were not limited to environmental review. Speakers also questioned the political and development context surrounding the project, including how Midway Rising advanced and who stood to benefit from changes to the rules governing the site.
What most people don’t know is that though SB958, which was authored by Senator Akilah Weber-Pierson of San Diego, it was the brainchild of Mayor Todd Gloria. Gloria, as most people now know, received over $100,000 from the developer Brad Termini and his wife, Stefanie. Each contributed $50,000 to San Diegans from Every Community in Support of Todd Gloria for Mayor 2020, an independent expenditure committee sponsored by the Laborers International Union of North America, Local 89.
They also together gave at least $4,500 directly to Gloria’s mayoral campaign.
These political contributions were made in 2019 and 2020, months before Termini’s company, Zephyr Partners LLC, began preparing its bid for the massive redevelopment of the 48-acre site surrounding the aging sports arena, now known as Pechanga Arena.
Zephyr Partners is now a driving force behind Midway Rising, the group Gloria picked to deliver a multibillion-dollar makeover of city-owned surplus property. It features a 16,000-seat arena, retail and open space and 4,250 housing units — almost half of which qualify as affordable.
Although the town hall focused on CEQA’s role in reviewing development at the Midway Rising site, speakers warned that weakening CEQA protections could reach far beyond one project. They said the changes could shape future development in coastal communities throughout California. In that sense, they argued that the Midway debate could set a precedent that opens Pandora’s box.
While the panel of speakers provided great insight for those in attendance, it was the audience that also brought significant information to the meeting.
Ex-Assemblyperson Lori Saldaña brought one of the evening’s most urgent warnings. She said the Midway area and surrounding communities are already facing a rising water table, a problem that can worsen as climate change pushes ocean water farther inland and groundwater levels rise below the surface. Her comments shifted the discussion from what could be built on the site to what is already happening beneath it.
The water-table issue matters because it is not simply a surface flooding concern. A rising water table can push groundwater closer to foundations, basements, underground utilities, parking structures, and stormwater systems. In low-lying coastal areas, sea-level rise can also reduce the ability of groundwater to drain naturally, leaving more moisture trapped beneath developed land. For large projects such as Midway Rising, those conditions can affect construction methods, long-term maintenance costs, and the design of drainage, foundations, and waterproofing systems.
The developer is not just building on infill; it may also have to contend with groundwater seepage, saturated soils, and the possibility of long-term pumping or waterproofing needs. Saldana said some San Diego properties are already dealing with persistent brown water under or around their buildings, a warning sign that below-ground conditions may be more complicated than the public discussion has acknowledged.
Those concerns raise several questions that residents said should be addressed before the project moves forward: What groundwater data has been collected at the site? How high could the water table rise over the life of the project? What drainage, pumping, and waterproofing systems would be required? And who would be responsible for the long-term costs if below-ground water becomes a recurring problem?
John McNabb, a founder of Save San Diego’s access reminded the audience, that all of the development currently happening around the city has removed an essential element from communities, park and recreation land. The land in this area is prime for park purposes and could accommodate the needs of residents from throughout the city and county. He asked representatives from Senator Weber-Pierson’s office and Assemblymember Tasha Boerner’s office to bring this back to them for further discussion.
Another critical point of whether affordable housing would ever exist on the site was presented by the panel. The issue of funding sources and the loopholes that exist to prevent it from occurring make it very questionable.
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