Trade Center Consultant Jettisoned

Newly elected Supervisor Susan Golding on Wednesday dealt a setback to the world trade center development envisioned for the parking lots adjacent to the County Administration Center when she persuaded fellow board members to rescind a $21,133 allocation to pay an executive director to manage the preliminary stages of the development.

Patrick Boarman, Golding’s predecessor as the District 3 representative on the board, late last year won approval from the previous board to spend the money--which represented all of the district’s discretionary funds from the county’s transient occupancy tax (TOT)--for six months’ salary for the consultant. The executive director was to guide a volunteer task force studying the economic viability of the development, which is known as Harbor Square.

Task Force to be Named

Boarman had been the county’s most enthusiastic proponent of the world trade center concept, while Golding opposes development of the county-owned bay-front parking lots. The board’s vote to jettison funding for the executive director position was unanimous.

‘I’d just like to see (a world trade center) somewhere else. --Susan Golding Other county supervisors had spent their discretionary TOT money on tourist attractions and community projects within their own districts.

“A number of community groups were quite angered by Supervisor Boarman’s decision to spend the funds on Harbor Square,” Golding said.

“Funding the position of executive director would constitute a fiscally imprudent action by the board inasmuch as the viability of the world trade center concept has yet to be demonstrated.”

The board’s action does not alter the county’s plan to name a citizens’ task force to study the world trade center concept. Chief Administrative Officer Clifford Graves said the executive director was “not necessary for the task force to convene.”

“I don’t like the idea of Harbor Square,” Golding said. “But I do think we should find out if the trade center idea is economically viable. I’d just like to see it somewhere else--it doesn’t have to go there (on the county building parking lots). There’s enough talent out there willing to volunteer for the task force to proceed without the executive director.”

Plans Scaled Down

Golding said it might in the future be necessary to allocate money for the task force. “But this is a countywide issue, and I think it would be more appropriate if the funding came from a source other than the TOT money set aside for one district,” she said. (Ten percent of the revenue from the county’s transient occupancy tax, paid by guests staying at hotels and motels in the unincorporated areas, was divided among the five supervisors to be spent at their discretion.)

Harbor Square is a $124-million proposal approved by the county for the parking lot property. The developer, ZRD Development Corp., of Solana Beach, originally won approval for a $240-million project stressing retail and commercial businesses to be built in conjunction with the Marriott Corp.

Marriott later pulled out of the project, however, after its economic consultants determined that the luxury hotel it had planned at the site could not successfully compete with the convention center hotels at Navy Field.

ZRD then scaled down its plans, opting for a smaller hotel and a world trade center development dominated by office space. Annual county revenues from the project are projected to be $4 million.

Golding and other opponents of the proposal, including Supervisor Paul Eckert, have said the valuable, publicly owned bay-front property should be used for a more “human purpose.” Both Golding and Eckert have suggested the parking lots be converted to a park.

The San Diego City Council and state Coastal Commission still must approve Harbor Square before construction could begin. Golding, a former councilwoman, said she envisioned “major problems” for the development when it goes before the City Council.