2026-09-23 - City Council (2)
Summary
- Opening: special meeting called to order, roll call with a quorum present, followed by an invocation, a land acknowledgment and the Pledge of Allegiance. The City Attorney, Independent Budget Analyst and City Clerk were present.
- Format: the Council President explained that this special meeting is a hybrid of the usual Monday and Tuesday orders of business: a special closed session in the morning, then at 2 p.m. the consent agenda and two discussion items, with non-agenda public comment at the end of the afternoon session. Speakers get one minute per item. The afternoon session is on 2026-09-23 - City Council.
- Special closed session item 1: conference with the real property negotiator (Government Code Section 54956.8) on price and payment terms for a potential long-term ground lease with Midway Rising LLC to redevelop the city-owned property on Sports Arena Boulevard. See Midway Rising Sports Arena Ground Lease.
- Public comment on the item (about seven speakers in person and remote, mostly opposed): concerns that the lease rent is too low and lets the developer recover its equity first, that affordable housing should be publicly financed and tax credits checked, liability for construction defects and unbuilt low-income units, groundwater pumping, flood and sea level rise risk on marshland, foundation and soil conditions, traffic and the limited roads in and out, and a proposed financing district. One speaker asked for due diligence and said they would support the deal if it is done well. One speaker's remarks were not about the item. Written comments could be emailed to the City Clerk.
- Outcome: no vote or action appears in this recording. Council recessed into closed session and planned to reconvene at 2 p.m.
- Time on topic: roughly 3 minutes on opening and format, 1 minute on the closed session item, 15 minutes on public comment, under 1 minute on the recess.
Built from the Whisper speech-to-text transcript only (about 18 minutes, no agenda or minutes on this page). Speaker names are not labeled and may be misheard, so public commenters, private parties and uncertain names and figures are omitted.
Sources
- Video: https://sandiego.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=9498
- Whisper speech-to-text transcript of the morning session
Video
Transcript
Whisper speech-to-text; names and numbers may be misheard. Personal names are redacted, and public comment is summarized rather than transcribed.
Transcript
00:00.03] Call the special City Council meeting to order.
00:05.07] Clerk, please call the roll. [Roll call: quorum present.]
00:35.20] A quorum is now present.
00:37.60] We will begin this morning with an invocation, followed by the land acknowledgment and the Pledge of Allegiance.
01:58.43] Today is a special council meeting because it differs from our regular Tuesday order of business. Consider this a hybrid of what we do on a Monday and what we do on a Tuesday.
02:15.97] This morning is scheduled for a special closed session, and this afternoon at our 2 p.m. session we will hear our consent agenda and our two discussion items.
02:27.49] Non-agenda public comment will be taken at the end of the afternoon session.
02:32.27] Clerk, please go over how the public can offer their testimony. [Clerk reviews in-person speaker slips and remote testimony; each speaker has one minute per item.]
03:03.51] Please read the special closed session item into the record.
03:10.80] Special closed session item one is conference with real property negotiator pursuant to California Government Code Section 54956.8. The council will meet with its negotiator regarding the price and payment terms for a potential long-term ground lease with Midway Rising LLC to redevelop the city-owned real property located on Sports Arena Boulevard, San Diego.
03:51.08] Please proceed with public comment.
04:26.14] [Public comment: one speaker opposed to the item and to the Council generally; remarks not related to the lease.]
05:41.41] [Public comment: one speaker opposed to the lease, citing flooding risk on marshland and storms, and urging the Council not to proceed.]
06:51.87] [Public comment: one speaker urged care with the lease terms and the choice of developer, and said groundbreaking notices had gone out to nearby residents before approval.]
08:01.07] [Public comment: one speaker urged care about liability for unbuilt low-income units and groundwater pumping.]
09:14.31] [Public comment, remote: one speaker opposed, asking that lease payments fund housing vouchers and publicly financed affordable units, and raising construction defect liability and foundation soil conditions.]
10:23.18] [Public comment, remote: one speaker opposed, questioning ground rent starting at 1.5 percent of net operating income with the developer recouping its equity first.]
11:30.60] [Public comment, remote: one speaker opposed, asking about a financing district, transparency, independent oversight and funded mitigation.]
12:46.38] [Public comment, remote: one speaker asked staff to check the affordable housing component, including tax credits, and apply due diligence.]
13:38.69] [Public comment, remote: one speaker raised traffic and the limited roads in and out of the area.]
14:50.48] [Public comment, remote: one speaker asked for open discussion of sea level rise mitigation for the project.]
16:06.49] [Public comment, remote: one speaker opposed, citing city spending, development safety and environmental review.]
17:10.87] The final remote speaker could not be heard because of a microphone problem. We will have to conclude public comment. Additional comments can be emailed to the City Clerk and will be distributed.
18:08.56] We will now recess into closed session and reconvene council today at 2 p.m.