Judge allows Blackwater to resume work on San Diego facility

A federal judge today cleared the way for the controversial Blackwater Worldwide security firm to open a facility here to provide weapons training and other “force protection” techniques to U.S. Navy sailors.

District Court Judge Marilyn Huff ruled that “the public interest weighs in favor” of allowing the company to open its facility in a warehouse on San Diego’s Otay Mesa near the Mexican border.

Still, Huff gave lawyers for San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders a final chance to make their argument that the company, in effect, engaged in trickery by applying for permits under the names of subsidiaries. A hearing is set for June 17.

The Blackwater facility has been opposed by a coalition of environmentalists, Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) and opponents of U.S. policy in Iraq. The same group opposed Blackwater’s plan to build a much larger complex in a rural area east of San Diego, a plan that was scrapped in March.

Dan McGrath, executive assistant city attorney, said that Huff’s ruling improperly robs the city of its right to make land use decisions. Sanders wants the project submitted to further review by the Planning Commission.

Only after the permits were issued did opponents find out that the project in question was Blackwater’s. Blackwater has a training contract with the Navy that was to begin this week.

Among other things, Blackwater instructors plan to instruct sailors on tactics to use if insurgents assault a ship at sea. The Navy has increased such training in the wake of the 2000 incident in which 17 sailors were killed when a suicide bomber attacked the guided-missile destroyer Cole while it was off the coast of Yemen.

When the city issued a stop-work order on the Otay Mesa project, Blackwater sued in federal court.

 tony.perry@latimes.com