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City leaders took the court-ordered action necessary to reinstate the 30-foot height limit in San Diego’s Midway District.
Monday, San Diego City Council members voted unanimously to repeal the ordinance that submitted Measure C to city voters in 2022 and to repeal the related amendments in the municipal code.
Measure C sought to strike the entirety of Midway-Pacific Highway Community Plan area from San Diego’s Coastal Height Limit Overlay Zone, where there is a 30-foot height limit. It passed with 51% approval, but nonprofit Save Our Access challenged the legality of the measure and won.
In October 2025, California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled that the city illegally put the ordinance before voters without adequately informing them about the environmental impacts associated with taller builders, as required by California’s Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.
In March, San Diego’s Superior Court, where the suit was filed, issued the writ of mandate for the city to set aside its Measure C approvals within 120 days. “I think we’re all a little bit sad,” Councilmember Jennifer Campbell said at Monday’s hearing.
“However, the court has ruled, and we have exhausted all legal appeals.
Our case was not taken by the (state) Supreme Court , and so we’re stuck with what the Superior Court ruled, and we must abide by the court’s writ of mandate because we believe in following the law.” Monday’s “bookkeeping” item, as it was characterized by Council President Joe LaCava, is not expected to stop the height-limit-busting Midway Rising project proposed for San Diego’s sports area real estate in the Midway District.
The project calls for 4,254 total residential units in 105-foot-tall buildings, a 16,000-seat replacement arena that is 165 feet tall, 130,000 square feet of commercial space, 8.1 acres of parks, and an additional 6.4 acres of plazas and public space.
The development team has promised to set aside 2,000 residential units for households earning 80% or less of the area median income, or what’s considered affordable housing.
The city and the development team are nearing the end of a four-year negotiating period that is expected to culminate with a long-term ground lease. The environment analysis for the project’s specific plan is awaiting certification by the City Council.
Although the court order slowed momentum, the development team believes that it ca n legally breach the 30-foot height limit by applying California’s density bonus law.
A state housing department later has also said that the special benefits granted to housing developments with affordable units — additional units, incentives to reduce costs and waivers from development standards like the height limit — can be applied to the project’s commercial components .
Midway Rising may also be helped along by two bills actively being considered by the state Legislature that are designed to help insulate the project from legal challenges.
“Monday’s action is a procedural step required to comply with the Superior Court’s writ of mandate regarding Measure C,” Peter Kelly, a spokesperson for San Diego’s Planning Department, said in a statement.
“The city remains committed to the Midway Rising project and to delivering a transformative redevelopment of the sports arena site that creates much-needed housing, strengthens the regional economy and provides long-term community benefits.” Some public commenters attempted to note the irony between the council’s action to reinstate the height limit and the city’s desire to greenlight the Midway Rising project.
Those who were critical of the mega project were, however, cut off by LaCava, who said remarks must focus on repealing Measure C.
“When you repeal Measure C today, as the court has ordered, don’t turn around and use the state density bonus law as a backdoor to accomplish the same thing, allowing Midway Rising to exceed the 30-foot height limit.
Now we have (Senate Bill) 958 and (Senate Bill) 344 coming out of Sacramento, creating yet another backdoor around the environmental review of this massive project,” Angela Vedder said before being interrupted by the council president.
The proposed real estate terms for the Midway Rising development deal with the city are expected to be discussed publicly for the first time at San Diego’s Land Use & Housing Committee on Oct. 8.
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