SB 675 would require a quicker review of a mega project on San Diego’s waterfront

By Phillip Molnar - The San Diego Union-Tribune

A bill making its way through the state Legislature would potentially limit the California Coastal Commission’s ability to deny or slow down the effort to remake Seaport Village.
The state Senate’s Environmental Quality Committee recently voted 8-0 to advance Senate Bill 675 to the Senate Rules Committee. It has a long path through the Legislature before passage. The Seaport San Diego development has been in the works since 2016.

The bill would require the Coastal Commission to provide feedback within 60 days on materials submitted during the preparation of the project’s environmental impact report, would tighten the agency’s approval window to a strict, 180-day period after certification of the environmental impact report, and would prevent the agency from imposing conditions that could render the project infeasible.

There has been little public opposition yet, but the commission’s Legislative Director Sarah Christie wrote in an email its biggest hurdle is incomplete application materials. She also wrote the commission could be constrained by the bill to ensure Coastal Act compliance.

Economists

David Ely, San Diego State University
YES: Speeding up the approval process for the redevelopment would allow the project to be completed in a more timely manner and lower uncertainty over the timeline. Remaking the waterfront site will create jobs and increase the attractiveness of San Diego as a destination for tourists. The sooner this can happen, the sooner the economic benefits will be realized. Concerns with components of the bill can be minimized as it moves through the legislative process.

Ray Major, economist
YES: CEQA laws have become a disaster keeping reasonable projects from moving forward and adding hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers money and countless years of delays to projects. There is no accountability on the part of the California Coastal Commission and they should be abolished. Short of that, SB 675 simply requires them to be responsive to the residents and local governments trying to work through the unwieldly bureaucracy that is Sacramento.

Alan Gin, University of San Diego
YES: One of the big problems with doing business in San Diego and in California is the length of time it takes to get regulatory approvals of projects. The time indicated in the proposal (60 days for feedback on environmental impact report materials, 180 days for a decision after the report is submitted) is reasonable. If the Coastal Commission doesn’t have the resources to act in those windows, then it needs to get more, as this is hurting the state and local economies.

James Hamilton, UC San Diego
YES: Multi-use redevelopment of the area around Seaport Village could help significantly to boost downtown San Diego as a destination for tourists and conventions. But in mega projects like this, time is money. Knowing concrete parameters governing potential regulatory delays and alterations to plans can be vital for securing private financing and making the deal work. If current economic conditions would allow us to go forward with the project right now, we should capitalize on that opportunity.

Norm Miller, University of San Diego
YES: In fact, we should go further and require both the Coastal Commission and the City Council to make all decisions within 60 days of receiving submitted reports on all projects, not just Seaport Village. How will we ever get any developers to bid on major projects when they know it will take decades to get the green flag. Next, let’s accelerate NAVWAR and others.

Executives

Jamie Moraga, Franklin Revere
YES: Major projects like Seaport San Diego often face lengthy reviews and bureaucracy that can span decades (think Navy Broadway Complex). After nearly 10 years in development, further delays to Seaport will only postpone its potential community and economic benefits. This bill has support from key organizations including the Downtown San Diego Partnership and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. If this bill streamlines the process and cuts red tape without sacrificing oversight, lawmakers should support it.

Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Health
YES: There are commissions in California, including the Coastal Commission, set up by the Legislature and governor that have become too powerful and restrictive. These commissions are led by appointees – not elected officials – and are therefore not subject to approval or termination by the voters. As such, their power should be highly limited. In addition, standards of performance should be established and enforced.

Phil Blair, Manpower
YES: But that does not mean important criteria that protect our environment and density standards should be waived. Fast tracking major redevelopment projects that improve the quality of life for the San Diego community do deserve special attention.

Gary London, London Moeder Advisors
YES: Why is Port property even within the purview of the Coastal Commission? I am in support of most efforts to remove the Coastal Commission from the entitlement and review process, a position consistent with Gov. Newsom’s, who put the commission to the sideline for Pacific Palisades redevelopment. It’s high time the commission was pared back to reviewing matters strictly involving coastal access, their core mandate. Everything else is redundant, costly and time consuming overreach.

Bob Rauch, R.A. Rauch & Associates
​ YES: The bill would streamline the approval process, providing clarity for the developer and ensuring the project moves forward without unnecessary delays. While the bill could limit the ability to enforce environmental protections such as public access, coastal hazards and affordable visitor accommodations, this is a once-in-a-lifetime project for San Diego. Lawmakers should approve the bill because the quality of this economic development far exceeds the risk of any reduced environmental safeguards.

Austin Neudecker, Weave Growth
YES: Lawmakers should pass a measure (like SB 675) to streamline the approval process and add accountability to the redevelopment of Seaport Village. This project has languished in uncertainty for almost 10 years, deterring investment and delaying the intended economic and public benefits. This bill does not degrade the environmental review but sets concrete timelines to prevent further delays. If the Coastal Commission is committed to progress and fairness, it should embrace such deadlines and seek to finalize the plans.

4/24/25 - Jennifer Van Grove - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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A bill making its way through the state legislature seeks to push the mega Seaport San Diego project through the state-mandated environmental review process at a faster clip and would limit the California Coastal Commission’s ability to deny the project.
Wednesday, the state Senate’s Environmental Quality Committee voted 8 to 0 to advance SB 675 to the Senate Rules Committee. The vote represents an initial win for a bill that still has a long road ahead through the state Senate and Assembly.

Authored by state Sen. Steve Padilla, D-Chula Vista, SB 675, as recently amended, is singularly focused on the Seaport San Diego project, which promises to remake Seaport Village and surrounding areas into a world-class destination with a marquee, 500-foot observation tower. The bill seeks to remove some of the potential log jams facing developer 1HWY1 as it navigates the environmental review process required by the California Environmental Quality Act.

Specifically, the bill would require the Coastal Commission to provide feedback within 60 days on materials submitted during the preparation of the project’s environmental impact report, would tighten the agency’s approval window to a strict, 180-day period after certification of the environmental impact report, and would prevent the agency from imposing conditions that could render the project infeasible.

“Seaport Village is an iconic but aging waterfront destination in San Diego, and revitalization is urgently needed to better serve the community and support modern infrastructure,” Padilla, a member of the Environmental Quality Committee and a former coastal commissioner, told fellow committee members. “Large, multi-agency projects like Seaport often face years of delay due to multiple discretionary approvals processes that run sequentially to one another. … SB 675 ensures responsible agencies act within 180 days, preventing bottlenecks after EIR certification. Early coordination among agencies, as required by this bill, promotes transparency, reduces duplicity and gives applicants the clarity and predictability that they’re entitled to.”

Backed in part by San Diego’s well-known Jacobs family, Seaport San Diego envisions a complete remake of downtown’s Central Embarcadero, a Port of San Diego subdistrict that includes Seaport Village and follows the downtown waterfront from Embarcadero Marina Park North to the G Street Mole, just south of the USS Midway Museum.

In November 2016, the port selected the entity now known as 1HWY1 to redevelop the expansive area following a competitive bidding process. 1HWY1 is headed by Yehudi “Gaf” Gaffen, Jeff “JJ” Jacobs (son of Irwin Jacobs) and Jeff Essakow.

In September 2023, the port initiated its environmental review of the $3.8 billion Seaport San Diego project. The project description included in the notice of preparation identifies 2.7 million square feet of mixed-use development, including 2,050 hotel rooms spread across seven properties, 215,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 220,067 square feet of office space for ocean research, 159 boat slips, 16 acres of parks and open space, and 2,250 parking spaces.

A draft of the environmental document is expected to be released for agency and public review in the fall. The final version of the report will go to the Board of Port Commissioners for certification.

Although the port is the primary permitting agency for the Seaport San Diego project, the Coastal Commission, which is considered a responsible agency under CEQA, will have the final say. That’s in part because the development requires an amendment to the Port Master Plan. Per the terms of its exclusive negotiating agreement with the port, 1HWY1 has until Oct. 1, 2027, to secure government approvals.

There are timelines around agency approvals in the existing environmental law, but they can hinge on whether a project application is deemed complete, leaving the door open for extended periods of time.

The potentially protracted time between port approval and Coastal Commission approval is of especial concern to Gaffen, whose team has so far spent north of $20 million on pre-development costs.

“The genesis of this bill was talking to multiple legislators to share some of the concerns and the issues we were having (about) the uncertainty of the timing and process for getting the permits to break ground,” Gaffen told the Union-Tribune. “That uncertainty is just a death knell for any big project. … All we’re asking for is fair and timely review.”

SB 675 seeks to provide more certainty by requiring agency feedback on project materials earlier in the process and removing the law’s current provision that the application must be deemed complete before the 180-day approval clock officially starts.

The bill, as originally written, would have applied to all Environmental Leadership Development Projects, or ELDPs, facing discretionary approvals from multiple agencies. An ELDP is a special, state designation for a project that meets high environmental and labor standards, and is already eligible for expedited judicial review. The bill language is in the process of being narrowed to only apply to the Seaport San Diego project at the request of the committee to avoid potential unanticipated consequences, Gaffen said.

The Coastal Commission has not yet taken an official position on the bill. However, the agency’s Legislative Director Sarah Christie submitted a letter of concern to the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, which is chaired by state Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas. The letter states that the commission does not outright object to the bill’s proposed review timelines, but notes that incomplete submittals are a frequent obstacle to timely reviews. As such, the 180-day window should be conditioned on a complete application, Christie wrote.

The commission’s greatest concern is bill language that would limit the agency’s ability to deny the project or condition approval.

“The commission’s most significant concern with SB 675 is the extent to which this bill would potentially constrain the commission’s ability to ensure project compliance with the Coastal Act,” the letter states. “The CEQA process has never been considered a substitute for Coastal Act review and analysis. Coastal Act issues such as public access, coastal hazards, lower-cost overnight accommodations and lower-cost, visitor-serving opportunities are specific and unique to the Coastal Act and assumed to be fully or adequately addressed during the Commission’s review, not in the final environmental document.”

In the past, Coastal Commission staff have objected to the height of Seaport San Diego’s observation tower and other proposed skyscrapers, and have raised concerns about land uses that may be inconsistent with the Public Trust Doctrine.

In addition to the commission’s letter of concern, the Senate Environmental Quality Committee received three letters opposing SB 675 unless amended, and one opposition letter from the Environmental Center of San Diego.

“While incentivizing developers to design their projects with labor standards and basic sustainability principles in mind is laudable, exempting those projects from basic statewide environmental regulatory requirements goes too far,” Pamela Heatherington, who is on the board of directors for the Environmental Center, wrote in the nonprofit’s letter.

The bill also received 11 letters of support from local labor unions and business associations, including the Downtown San Diego Partnership, the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. The city of San Diego also submitted a letter of support.

“Seaport San Diego is a transformative development project that will bring quality jobs and business opportunities to our region, while also providing important tourism benefits,” Downtown Partnership CEO Betsy Brennan wrote in the organization’s letter to the committee. “SB 675 would help bring this exciting project, currently pursuing certification as an ELDP, to fruition sooner, delivering economic and quality of life benefits and making San Diego a better place to live, work and play.”

The Port of San Diego has not taken a position on the bill.
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“With the proposed Seaport San Diego project currently in the environmental review phase, it would be inappropriate for the port to take a position on SB 675 at this time,” port spokesperson Brianne Page said.

8/15/24 - Thor Kamban Biberman - The Daily Transcript

The Board of Port Commissioners agreed on Tuesday to extend Seaport San Diego's exclusive negotiation agreement (ENA) for another three years to ensure the availability of finances, and to fine tune the big mixed-use development where Seaport Village is today.

The ENA was first approved in 2017 and was set to expire this year.

Yehudi Gaffen, CEO of project developer 1Highway1, conceded he is glad he doesn't have to try and finance the project in the current economic environment.

He said what he wants most from the process is clarity. While he wanted to be much further along, Gaffen appreciates the support the project has received from the Port and other governmental organizations.

As for why the project has taken this long, Gaffen said there is no single reason.

The discovery of an 11,000-year-old fault on the site, all the changes going on downtown and the COVID-19 pandemic are some of the setbacks Seaport San Diego has faced.

"We did our best, but that's what happens to plans when God laughs," Gaffen said, adding the project was also delayed by area stakeholders who were concerned about the proximity of the project to the waterfront.

1Highway1 has been able to obtain $550 million in public financing toward a more than $1 billion bill for the project's infrastructure.

Plans are subject to change, but if all goes as Gaffen would like, the environmental impact review (EIR) would be certified by no later than 2026, the Coastal Commission would give its blessing in the 2027-2028 timeframe, and the project would break ground in 2029.

​The current iteration of the plan is highly detailed with everything from the way signage should look to how hotels will be incorporated into the property.

The developer plans to demolish 124,478 square feet of existing land-side development and redevelop the project site with approximately 2.74 million square feet of mixed-use space, along with subterranean parking, and the associated infrastructure.

The project site consists of approximately 105 acres of land and water area on San Diego Bay.

Just how this will be developed and what will ultimately be included depends on market conditions and the availability of financing at the time.

The overall intent of the Seaport San Diego plan is to transform an aging Seaport Village, which was built in a quasi-New England style, into a "world class waterfront development consisting of an integrated, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented project."

On the land side, the uses would include an aquarium, a conference center, public event spaces, shopping, dining, entertainment, marine technology uses, educational uses, and fishing industry services.

The Seaport San Diego development is intended to include as many as 2,050 hotel rooms in seven hotels dispersed among five buildings, reflecting a wide range of room types and costs. As many as 400 rooms would be lower-cost options, such as hostel and/or micro-hotel guestrooms.

The "iconic tower" in the plan would consist of a 410,405-square-foot, 34-story structure that will include 400 guest rooms beneath the tower, a 43,000-square-foot observation deck, restaurants, a 30,000- square-foot art exhibition space, a 40,000-square-foot atrium, and about 3,000 square feet of retail/health and wellness space.

Just how many other hotel rooms will be constructed in other parts of the project would depend on market conditions.

The hotels, tower, and restaurants would be just one part of the development. The project's 540,000-square-foot "Blue Campus" would include a 201,830-square-foot aquarium, a 26,123-square-foot Butterfly Pavilion Learning Center, and a 220,067-square-foot Blue Tech Innovation Center (BTIC).

On the waterside, uses would include an active commercial fishing harbor, sportfishing and recreational boating, public and private boat docking, berthing, mooring, piers, navigation, recreational in-water uses, environmental education, aquaculture, and water transit.

Water-side improvements would involve the construction of 561,400 square feet of floating docks and fixed piers to support a variety of vessels, water taxis, and fishing boats on San Diego Bay.

An event center is also an allowed commercial public assembly use. This could feature a large open-air deck and glass facades to provide visual connections to the water.

8/13/24 - Jennifer Van Grove - The San Diego Union-Tribune

The mega project that promises to turn the bayfront area currently home to Seaport Village into a world-class destination punctuated by a 500-foot observation tower will need at least another three years before it’s shovel ready.

Tuesday, the Board of Port Commissioners unanimously approved an amended and restated exclusive negotiating agreement with Seaport San Diego developer 1HWY1 to allow the project to secure government approvals. The board’s latest action pushes the agreement’s end date to Oct. 1, 2027, giving the development team an unprecedented 10-year window to take the project from concept to construction.

The board approved the item as part of the consent agenda, meaning they did not discuss the contract extension. Commissioners voted 6-0 with Commissioner Dan Malcolm absent.

“By extending the negotiating timeframe, the proposed (ENA) supports 1HWY1’s efforts to raise the significant investor capital necessary to continue moving the proposed development through the entitlement and environmental review phase,” the staff report prepared for Tuesday’s board meeting said.

Backed in part by San Diego’s well-known Jacobs family, Seaport San Diego envisions a complete remake of downtown’s Central Embarcadero, a Port of San Diego subdistrict that includes Seaport Village and follows the waterfront from Embarcadero Marina Park North to the G Street Mole, just south of the USS Midway Museum.

In November 2016, the port selected the entity now known as 1HWY1 to redevelop the expansive area following a competitive bidding process. 1HWY1 is headed by Yehudi “Gaf” Gaffen, Jeff “JJ” Jacobs (son of Irwin Jacobs) and Jeff Essakow. The following year the parties entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement, or ENA. ENAs are designed to allow the developer time to obtain entitlements and typically include milestones that keep the timeline in check.

The Seaport San Diego project has morphed since its selection.

In September, the port initiated its environmental review of the $3.8 billion Seaport San Diego project, as required by the California Environmental Quality Act. The project description included in the Notice of Preparation identifies 2.7 million square feet of mixed-use development, including 2,050 hotel rooms spread across seven properties, 215,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 220,067 square feet of office space for ocean research, 159 boat slips, 16 acres of parks and open space, and 2,250 parking spaces.

The original ENA dates to October 2, 2017, and allowed a two-year window for negotiations. Since then, the contract has been extended several times, with the board approving in late 2020 an amended ENA with an expiration date of Oct. 1, 2024. The project’s timeline has been pushed back substantially in turn. Originally, the development team hoped to start construction in 2020.

The amended ENA now allows for the pre-development, entitlement period to run for 10 years, through Oct. 1, 2027.

“It’s taken longer than I had anticipated. The project complexity is really significant and all the issues we’ve had to deal with, including the COVID period, have affected us,” Gaffen told the Union-Tribune. “We’re committed. We think we can get it done within the 10 years. … The clarity is there on what’s ahead of us.”

The 10-year ENA period is the longest in the port’s history, in part because the agency only started using the contracts in 2015, a spokesperson for the agency said.
1HWY1 needs additional time to complete the environmental review process and finalize an amendment to the Port Master Plan.

“1HWY1’s proposed project is currently going through CEQA review, as well as review by the California Coastal Commission, and, if constructed, will be located within downtown San Diego — the highest density location in the county,” the port spokesperson said. “All of these factors increase the timeframe to move from the ENA phase to presenting any sort of entitlements or definitive development agreement to the board for consideration.”

8/7/2024 - Christina Griffin Jones & Yehudi Gaffen - The San Diego Union-Tribune

If we asked everyday San Diegans about their vision for the Downtown waterfront, what would they say?

That’s what we wanted to know — so, we set out to find the answer to inform the Seaport San Diego project.

In 2016, our development team, 1HWY1, was selected by the Port of San Diego to propose redevelopment of the urban Central Embarcadero, which includes Seaport Village and surrounding areas.

We knew from the start that coastal access would be a priority. Our Seaport San Diego concept is a bold vision of transformation that would include an observation tower; a Blue Campus with ocean-related uses such as blue tech, educational and outreach programs; hotels, stores and restaurants; an entertainment venue for concerts; commercial fishing facilities and more than 16 acres of parks and recreational and open space, along with new public access piers and a marina.

The proposed project is currently going through the Port’s environmental review process as we continue to develop plans for the public access component.
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Our extensive outreach initiatives, such as the Seaport Climate Science Program, Seaport San Diego for All and Seaport San Diego Parks for All, underscore our dedication to forming local partnerships, engaging historically and systematically excluded communities and ensuring that this part of our waterfront is a welcoming place for everyone. 

So, what have we learned?

Not surprisingly, we repeatedly heard “free, family friendly” activities mentioned. “Local jobs” was another top priority for San Diegans. We also heard calls for easier ways to get around the waterfront.

This is important feedback. With Seaport San Diego, we envision a waterfront that expands existing access and continues to be open to everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, income, disability or background.

Coastal access is an equity issue, according to the California Coastal Commission and the Port of San Diego, both of which will consider our proposal for approval. Both agencies set a high standard for an open and accessible public waterfront. Historically, non-White and lower-income residents have been excluded from the California coast through various barriers such as policing, redlining, limited transportation options and high prices.

For example, we heard people’s memories of visiting Seaport Village and having a good time on a tight budget. San Diegans want to visit the waterfront without having to spend a lot of money.

For our team, this underscores the importance of public space as we refine our designs for the urban beach, a living shoreline with tide pools, and improved bicycle and pedestrian access — all free to everyone.

Our understanding of the community’s aspirations are informed by outreach data.

Most recently, we held the Seaport San Diego Parks for All event, with our design team sharing concepts for the proposed parks and open spaces. In collaboration with San Diego Coastkeeper, Ocean Connectors and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, the event attracted hundreds of participants. Initial takeaways indicated strong support for children’s play areas and the living shoreline.

Participants also shared concern about potential encampments in the new park spaces. We are committed to working with local partners to be a part of the regional solution and our outreach has included input from unhoused individuals to inform our planning.

The event builds on the Seaport San Diego for All outreach effort with Womxn’s Work Consulting. This 2023 initiative gathered input from lower-income and Black, Indigenous and people of color communities. Among other findings, we heard strong support for honoring and celebrating indigenous nations as past and current caretakers of this land.

We are listening and will address these issues in the planning process.

We heard loud and clear that economic opportunities should be inclusive, too. Endorsed by a broad coalition that includes local labor unions, Seaport San Diego projects to create 25,000 construction jobs and 4,500 permanent jobs and will include local businesses and artists.
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Seaport San Diego is more than just a redevelopment project; it is a vision for a vibrant, inclusive, and accessible waterfront that reflects San Diego’s diverse voices and experiences.

Gaffen is CEO of 1HWY1, the developer of Seaport San Diego and lives in Downtown San Diego. Griffin-Jones is co-founder and vice president of Womxn’s Work Consulting and lives in City Heights.

6/11/2024 - Article by Times of San Diego
6/16/2024 - Video by FOX 5/KUSI Tony Shin

Seaport San Diego Parks for All will host a free event Saturday to gather input on the future of parks and open spaces within the Central Embarcadero on the downtown waterfront. 
The developer, Seaport San Diego, in partnership with San Diego Coastkeeper and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, are sponsoring the community event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Embarcadero Marina Park North, 400 Kettner Blvd.

To make it easier for families to attend, the event is set to include festival elements as well as opportunities to shape what developers plan for parks along the Embarcadero. Highlights include:

• Family-friendly activities: Enjoy a bike rodeo for kids, interactive learning experiences about the bay and Sumo wrestling demonstrations.
• Meeting the design team: Engage with experts shaping the vision for Seaport San Diego’s parks and open spaces – including an Urban Beach, living shoreline with tidepools, improved bicycle and pedestrian access, with a sneak peek at the plans.
• Community engagement: Attendees may voice their thoughts and ideas.

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The developer of Seaport San Diego is 1HWY1, LLC, a partnership that includes Yehudi “Gaf” Gaffen, CEO, Jeff Jacobs and Jeffrey Essakow.

“The opportunity to redesign the Downtown San Diego waterfront is deeply meaningful to our team. We want Seaport San Diego to be an iconic gathering place and point of pride for all San Diegans and Californians,” said Gaffen, 1HWY1’s CEO. “We invite the community to join us in this conversation and share their thoughts, helping us shape a future that expands coastal access for all and reflects the diverse voices and needs of our city.”

​9/18/2023 - San Diego Daily Transcript
Commentary by Thor Kamban Biberman and Yehudi Gaffen
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The Port of San Diego is seeking comments for the draft environmental impact report for the proposed Seaport San Diego redevelopment project on the bayfront.

The move toward preparing a draft EIR is just the latest in a very lengthy process -- a process slowed significantly by the discovery of an earthquake fault line that forced a redesign.

Last November, Port Commissioners authorized their staff to begin the environmental review process. On Sept. 14, the notice of the planned preparation of a draft EIR was issued, and public comments will be incorporated into the document.

Port staff anticipates the draft EIR will be released for public review and comment in the fall of 2024. Concurrently, staff are continuing to work with Seaport San Diego developer 1HWY1 on financials and feasibility for the proposed project.

After the final EIR is complete, the Port will consider its certification and the approval of a Port Master Plan Amendment (PMPA). If the Port board certifies the EIR and approves a PMPA, the amended plan would then go to the California Coastal Commission for approval.

Once a PMPA is certified, 1HWY1 must also get a coastal development permit at which time Port Commissioners will also be asked to approve some form of real estate agreement with 1HWY1.

The 1HWY1 team is headed by Gafcon founder Yehudi Gaffen, Jeff Jacobs, son of Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs, and Jeff Essakow of Protea Properties.

In 2016, the Port selected 1HWY1 to redevelop a large portion of the Central Embarcadero, including Seaport Village, Tuna Harbor, Embarcadero Marina Park North, and Ruocco Park.

1HWY1 is proposing a mix of uses, including extensive plazas, parks and promenades; piers and marinas; hospitality, retail and restaurants; commercial fishing uses; multiple visitor attractions; an urban beach; and educational uses. The Seaport San Diego plan covers approximately 39 acres of land and 63 acres of water.

Gaffen said in a prepared statement that progress continues to be made.

"Our team is brimming with energy and momentum as we enter the next milestone in this process, the official start of the environmental review process for Seaport San Diego," he said. "We understand the Port's process will be thorough and will include ample opportunities for public review and feedback.

"We look forward to the analysis of the many proposed improvements to public access, including a greatly expanded public promenade along the waterfront. While the release by the Port of the Notice of Preparation is one step in a technical process, it represents significant progress and demonstrates the substantial amount of resources being invested in our proposed project. We are also using this period to seek out even more participation from our community that will inform (and help develop) a Public Access Plan for the project to be studied in the Draft Environmental Impact Report.

"We recently launched an outreach effort, Seaport San Diego For All, which aims to gather a diversity of voices to enhance accessibility and the public experience of the Seaport San Diego bayfront."

Plans for the landside portion of the project include 10 new buildings ranging in size from two stories to 34 stories comprising approximately 2.7 million square feet of mixed-use development.

Specific plan details include:

• As many as 2,050 hotel rooms in seven hotels dispersed among five buildings. As many as 25 percent of the overnight accommodations will be lower-cost options, such as hostel and/or micro-hotel guestrooms.
• A 500-foot tower, featuring a multi-story hotel, with an observation deck.
• A "Blue Campus" consisting of an aquarium, marine technology offices, a butterfly exhibit, and a learning and event center.
• Approximately 215,000 square feet of commercial space, including retail, health and wellness facilities, and indoor and outdoor restaurants.
• A new commercial fish processing facility with offices and a learning center for environmental education.
• Seaport San Diego will also provide more than 16 acres of plazas, parks, walkways, and recreation facilities, including an urban beach, living shoreline with constructed artificial wetlands and tidepools, expanded promenade, and an elevated walkway.

The Port is holding two public scoping meetings during the current 33-day comment period. An in-person meeting will be held Wednesday Sept. 27 at 5 p.m. at the Port of San Diego Administration Building (3165 Pacific Highway) while a virtual meeting will be held Thursday, September 28 at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Written comments will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 16 and should be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to: Port of San Diego, Attn: Development Services Department, 3165 Pacific Highway, San Diego 92101. Those commenting are asked to put "Seaport San Diego Redevelopment Project" in all correspondence.

9/14/2023 - The San Diego Union-Tribune
​Commentary by Jennifer Van Grove, Yehudi Gaffen, and Shaun Sumner

​The Port of San Diego has initiated a state-mandated environmental review of developer 1HWY1’s Seaport San Diego project, which proposes to demolish Seaport Village and redo surrounding areas with thousands of hotel rooms, ocean-research facilities, public attractions, and new marinas and piers.

The agency’s environmental work, a requirement of the California Environmental Quality Act, officially got under way Thursday with the publication of what’s known as a notice of preparation. The 163-page document includes a preliminary evaluation of anticipated impacts to the environment, which are expected to be substantial across categories such as air quality, water quality and transportation.

The notice of preparation alerts the public and other agencies to the ongoing review and solicits input on the areas the port should consider as it works to prepare a draft environmental impact report.

The document’s publication comes more than 10 months after Port of San Diego commissioners agreed to launch the environmental review, and speaks to the breadth of analysis needed to understand the implications of a project proposing to redevelop 102 acres of land and water area on San Diego Bay.

“The notice of preparation is a huge milestone from a processing standpoint,” said Joseph Smith, whose firm California Coastal Works is the port’s contracted project manager for the environmental review. “What we’re communicating to the public is essentially a preliminary judgment call. We’re saying that there’s a lot to this project. There are a lot of issues to be explored.”

Backed in part by San Diego’s prominent Jacobs family, Seaport San Diego is a total reimagining of downtown’s Central Embarcadero, which includes Seaport Village and follows the waterfront from Embarcadero Marina Park North to the G Street Mole, just south of the USS Midway Museum. The port selected 1HWY1 — an entity headed by Yehudi “Gaf” Gaffen, Jeff “JJ” Jacobs (son of Irwin Jacobs) and Jeff Essakow — to redevelop the expansive area in November 2016 following a competitive bidding process.

The project, now estimated to cost $3.8 billion, proposes 2.7 million square feet of mixed-use development, including 2,050 hotel rooms spread across seven properties, 215,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 220,067 square feet of office space for ocean research, 159 boat slips, 16 acres of parks and open space, and 2,250 parking spaces.

The project also features a school, a commercial fishing facility, an urban beach, a large event center, an aquarium, a butterfly pavilion, a yacht club and an elevated walkway — or Green Strand — that travels the length of the site. Its centerpiece is a 500-foot observation tower and hotel located at the start of Pacific Highway.

“Our team is brimming with energy and momentum as we enter the next milestone in this process, the official start of the environmental review process for Seaport San Diego. We understand the port’s process will be thorough and will include ample opportunities for public review and feedback,” said Gaffen, who runs 1HWY1. “While the release by the port of the notice of preparation is one step in a technical process, it represents significant progress and demonstrates the substantial amount of resources being invested in our proposed project.”

​Seaport San Diego is divided into 12 subareas — seven land blocks and five water zones — that will be analyzed in the draft environmental impact report. The report will also study three optional project additions, including a water cut feature between land blocks A and B, and an extended pier in the project’s Midway Cove Marina allowing for additional boat slips.

As it stands, the project is anticipated to have a significant impact across 17 different environmental topics identified by state law, according to an initial study of impacts that will need to be analyzed in greater detail.

The project is expected to be built in phases over a seven- to nine-year period. It has the potential, both during and after construction, to negatively affect scenic vistas, increase pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, disturb the bay floor and lower water oxygen levels, create more traffic congestion, increase bird strikes and cause the release of hazardous materials, among other things.

In addition, the project straddles an earthquake fault and falls within a 100-year flood hazard area and tsunami hazard area. The project site is located in an area that has a high potential for liquefaction, meaning loose sand could be saturated with water and behave like liquid during an earthquake, according to the initial study.

The developer is also proposing to raise the elevation of the project site by up to 3 feet in some areas with engineered fill. The strategy is meant to address anticipated sea level rise, but the elevation change could result in other environmental impacts that also need to be studied.

The Port of San Diego has hired California Coastal Works and HDR Engineering to oversee the environmental review process and perform the bulk of the analysis, which includes an estimated 18 different studies and technical reports, Smith, the project manager, said. The firms are budgeted for work that could cost as much as $2.9 million, when including potential contingency costs and other factors. The developer is responsible for footing the bill.

“It’s not a check-the-box exercise. ... We’re trying to be thorough and disclose as much as we possibly can,” said Shaun Sumner, who is the port’s vice president of business operations. “(The environmental impact report) discloses (impacts) to the public, and provides a mitigation, monitoring and reporting program that will allow us to implement measures that ultimately will help benefit the public.”

The port expects to release a draft environmental impact report next fall and return to the board with a final document in the summer of 2025, although the timeline is tentative. Port staff will work in parallel to negotiate a lease and other business agreements with 1HWY1, Sumner said.

“The board can’t make a decision on a business deal until (the environmental impact review) is complete,” Sumner said.

While the port is the primary permitting agency, and thus responsible for the environmental review, the mega development may also require approval or permits from a long list of local, state and federal agencies, including the city of San Diego, California Coastal Commission, San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to the notice of preparation.

The port is hosting two public meetings to collect comments on the notice of preparation. The first will be held at 5 p.m. on Sept. 27 in the training room at the Port Administration Building at 3165 Pacific Highway. A second, virtual-only meeting will take place via Zoom on Sept. 28 at 5:30 p.m. Written comments in response to the notice of preparation are due by Oct. 16.

Additional information about the project, environmental review and public meetings is available at portofsandiego.org/projects/central-embarcadero.

8/7/2023 - kpbs

For Christina Griffin-Jones, consulting on accessibility for the development of Seaport San Diego feels personal.

She grew up riding the merry-go-round in Seaport Village, getting pizza with her family and feeding the seagulls against their advice. On a really good day, they’d end with ice cream.

As a young adult, the seaport was near to one of her many trolley and bus transfers on the commute to her job as a hotel worker. It provided a well-lit respite — somewhere safe to sit in her uniform and find peace in San Diego’s waterfront.

“In all those parts of my life — as a little kid, as a young grown up struggling to survive capitalism,” she said, “Seaport San Diego (was) a space that was able to support and hold me in those different transitions. And honoring that folks with less privilege than I have, that that might not be a reality for them.”

Historically, some — especially non-white and lower-income residents — have been excluded from San Diego’s waterfront areas through policing, redlining and transportation and financial barriers.

Griffin-Jones’ consulting company, Womxn’s Work, is now gathering public input to ensure everyone can experience it.

“No matter where they live in San Diego, no matter how hard they have to work or how low they're paid, they deserve access to fun,” she said.

Griffin-Jones was coy about the specifics of what accessibility might look like. She said she didn’t want to influence the results of the public listening sessions.

Yehudi Gaffen, CEO of 1HWY1, the development company in charge of the $3.6 billion redesign, offered some clues.

They are looking to diversify the pricing of attractions and hotels to make them financially accessible. The infrastructure needs to be accessible to people with disabilities and those who use wheelchairs. The bus and trolley routes need to connect those from historically excluded neighborhoods.

But they’re also looking at factors that influence whether someone feels like they belong in the space, like what kind of food and shopping the vendors offer. Griffin-Jones said what police presence looks like can also affect that feeling, especially for groups disproportionately harmed by the justice system.

“For us,” Gaffen said, “we will have failed if Seaport San Diego is not a comfortable place for everyone, whatever walk of life, whatever economic strata you come from, whatever color you may be.”

The redevelopment plan extends to roughly 70 acres of land and water between downtown San Diego and the San Diego Bayfront. It includes Seaport Village, Santa Monica Seafood (formerly Chesapeake Fish) and surrounding areas between the Manchester Grand Hyatt and the USS Midway Museum. Embarcadero Marina Park North, Ruocco Park, and Tuna Harbor are also included.

Gaffen’s team dreams of an observation tower with different activities on every level – a “mist garden” that simulates clouds; a cargo net near the top that visitors can lie out on “if you have the stomach for it;” a highly polished reflective surface intended to make visitors feel like they’re floating in the clouds.

They want to curate retail stores to offer unique sustainable products, like shoes made of recycled ocean plastic that are designed and 3D printed in real-time in front of the customer.

He envisions a butterfly garden, a world-class aquarium and a live auction fish market. He wants it to be a destination for both San Diegans and tourists.

His challenge is ensuring that in all of these fantastical elements, there will be something for everyone — and they can access it.

Gaffen said groundbreaking is “three to four years away at best.”

The next listening session will be at the Chula Vista Library on Saturday, Aug. 19 from 2 to 4 p.m., with Spanish language facilitation. There will be another session at the Skyline Hills Library on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 12 to 1:30 p.m.

Residents who can’t participate in the listening sessions can provide input through the online survey.

Find listening sessions and survey here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
​MEDIA CONTACT: Tanya Castaneda | 619.764.9874 | [email protected]

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. (July 26, 2023) – The development team for Seaport San Diego invites the community to participate in “Seaport San Diego for All,” a community outreach program happening now. Seaport San Diego is a proposed $3.6 billion redevelopment of the Downtown San Diego waterfront within the Port of San Diego. Rooted in concepts of social justice and equity, Seaport San Diego for All includes a series of listening sessions, a survey, data collection and research to inform a Public Access Plan for this transformative project.

Designed and led by Womxn’s Work Consulting, the Seaport San Diego for All community outreach program will seek perspectives from people who have historically been excluded from opportunities to provide feedback on impactful projects. The goal of this effort is to understand barriers community members have faced in accessing the coast, considering factors such as racial, economic and social inequity, and how the Seaport San Diego project can be designed to reduce such barriers, create a welcoming environment, and provide equitable public access. The Public Access Plan for Seaport San Diego will address physical and mobility connections to and within the site, including access for persons with disabilities, as well as ensuring that the site is socially and economically accessible to everyone. 

The next listening session will take place on Saturday, August 5, 2023 from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. at the Pacific Beach/Taylor Branch Library at 4275 Cass St, San Diego, CA 92109. For details on this event and other ways to participate in Seaport San Diego for All, please visit seaportsandiego.com. 

The developer of Seaport San Diego is 1HWY1, LLC, a partnership that includes Yehudi “Gaf” Gaffen, CEO, Jeff Jacobs and Jeffrey Essakow. 

“The opportunity to redesign the Downtown San Diego waterfront is deeply meaningful to our team – and it comes with great responsibility to ensure access for all. We want Seaport San Diego to be an iconic gathering place and point of pride for all San Diegans and Californians,” said Gaffen, 1HWY1’s CEO. “In collaboration with Womxn’s Work Consulting, we are engaging with our communities in a dialogue about how the waterfront can be a more inviting and inclusive place for future generations. Seaport San Diego for All will help us identify public access improvements that will benefit everyone.”

Christina Griffin-Jones is co-founder and Vice President of Womxn’s Work Consulting, a San Diego-based firm that helps nonprofit organizations, government agencies and companies build meaningful and equitable relationships with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
 
“It’s a fact that historically, many people have faced unfair barriers to accessing the California coastline. It’s time to make inclusivity a priority as we redevelop San Diego’s waterfront for future generations – and Seaport San Diego is setting a new standard for equitable coastal access,” said Griffin-Jones, Vice President of Womxn’s Work Consulting. “Seaport San Diego for All is an inclusive outreach effort that intentionally seeks perspectives from people who may have been excluded from visiting our waterfront, beaches and coastal areas. By hearing their lived experiences, we can plan for a Seaport San Diego that is welcoming to all.” 

1HWY1 was selected by the Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners for its Seaport San Diego concept after a competitive process in 2016 in which developers submitted ideas for the land and water area known as the Central Embarcadero. After extensive community outreach and several design refinements, the Port of San Diego Board voted to advance the project into the California Environmental Quality Act review process in 2022. After the environmental review is complete, the project will be considered for approval. ​​