San Diegans hold dual rallies for, against ‘Turquoise Tower’ in Pacific Beach

Hundreds of San Diegans rallied and marched in Pacific Beach on Saturday to protest the 23-story “Turquoise Tower” project, as well as

Senate Bill 79

.

SB 79, also known as the

Abundant & Affordable Homes Near Transit Act

, is currently in the California State Assembly. The bill, now in the Assembly Housing Committee, aims to increase housing near existing public transportation stops, even planned future transit stops, by allowing for taller and denser residential development there.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away at 970 Turquoise St. in North PB, the location of the proposed development and the current location of a gym, a liquor store, the French Gourmet, and Froggy’s Bar, others staged an alternate housing rally.

There, a coalition of coastal community groups representing Pacific Beach, Bird Rock, and La Jolla, along with housing allies, held their own press conference to advocate for expanded housing opportunities in San Diego’s coastal neighborhoods.

“We’re out here supporting a middle path,” said Ryan Stock,  a member of

beautifulPB

, a non-profit dedicated to creating a more sustainable, equitable community and a PB planning group member speaking on his own behalf.

“The project that has led to the Turquoise Tower is really an exploit of good-natured laws that are looking to fill a clear demand for more housing in PB. We feel that things like the Turquoise Tower truly are out of scale with the neighborhood. However, we support transit-oriented development and gentle middle-density, such as things enabled by SB 79.”

Back at 5180 Mission Blvd. in the Dunn-Edwards Paint parking lot, a more boisterous rally was taking place, organized by

Neighbors for a Better California

.

Neighbors is a grassroots, non-partisan coalition advocating for housing policies prioritizing people over profit. NFABC is particularly concerned about the effects of state-housing mandates and developer-driven legislation on neighborhoods.

The NFABC rally featured recorded music and civic leaders with bullhorns exhorting the crowd to protest increasing density and high rises like the Turquoise Tower, which protest organizers decried as “luxury towers serving developers and not the local community.”

terms

.

Residents, children, even dogs carried signs with slogans like “Local Voices Not State Choices” and “We Want A Better California For Everyone.”

“This (tower) is not a good future for us, it’s going to hurt businesses like mine and commercial businesses,” said Mike Hill, commander of

VFW Post 5985

and

American Legion Post 552

, during the NFABC rally. “It will negate our ability to be a positive and helpful part of this community. Thank you for being here and caring.”

“The city is not being honest, sharing or respecting us,” said Trudy Grundland, a Bird Rock resident whose website, WeAreSanDiego.org, opposes what it calls exploitation of the city’s

Accessory Dwelling Unit Bonus Program

.

“This tower is not fair housing. This will forever mess up this area, and it will set a precedent for more towers here.”

Charlie Nieto, president of the

Pacific Beach Town Council

, thanked the assemblage for “protesting against government overreach and corporate greed.”

He added, “We are here at ground zero, the epicenter of the latest round of developer greed that has birthed this 23-story abomination. We know if we don’t fight now it (over development) will never end. This is a battle between the people, and established special interests.

“This is not a housing project. It’s a sick abuse of public policy for pure profit. This is not housing that has the appearance of a hotel. This is a luxury hotel masquerading as housing. What’s more serious to me is the disproportionate scale, the impact it has on the surrounding area, and the deceitful actions behind it.”

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Marcella Bothwell, chair of NFABC, closed the rally by encouraging coastal residents to join in the battle to oppose high rises and over densification, and support local control over housing development.

“Your presence matters,” she said. “Together we’re standing up for our neighbors, for the people who call this community home. The developer wants to build a 23-story skyscraper right here in our neighborhood.

“This skyscraper would transform our community forever. It will clog our streets, strain our water and sewer and delay our evacuation routes when really ‘need’ them. And for what? Only five out of 213 units would be affordable for low-income families.”

“We live here,” concluded Bothwell. “We clean up our neighborhoods, raise our families, support local businesses, etc. The city, mayor Gloria, Joe LaCava, all nine council members must stand up for us. We voted them into office and we can vote them out. They need to demand that they reject this (tower) permit. SB 79 will hit here on our streets. We’re in this fight for the long haul.”

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