Council Unanimously Rejects Moratorium on Building in Otay Mesa

Fearful of undermining the city’s long-range industrial development goals, the San Diego City Council on Tuesday rejected a proposed temporary moratorium on Otay Mesa development.

The council unanimously rejected a San Diego Assn. of Governments request for a temporary ban on the filing of tentative subdivision maps in Otay Mesa that the agency said was needed to give it more time to study potential traffic problems in the sprawling U.S.-Mexico border region. The City of Chula Vista, worried that clogged freeways in southern San Diego County could hinder its own development plans, also supported the moratorium.

The council and developers acknowledged that traffic congestion will probably be a growing concern as the now largely undeveloped area is built up over future decades. However, following the lead of Councilman Bill Cleator, the council expressed concern that even a temporary moratorium would frighten off potential investors by “sending out the wrong message,” perhaps endangering the long- term success of an area that city leaders for years have referred to as San Diego’s “next frontier.”

“This is going to be the greatest industrial park in the country,” Cleator said. “We can’t do that by saying . . . we want to stop building.”

Sandag officials told the council that computer models dealing with future traffic needs project that gridlock will occur on the freeways and roads in and near Otay Mesa if, as anticipated, development there increases dramatically during the early 21st Century.

Chula Vista City Councilman David Malcolm told the San Diego council members that the potential traffic problems stemming from the projected 6,000-acre industrial development are a major concern to his city. Because of Chula Vista’s proximity to Otay Mesa, traffic problems in the region could complicate Chula Vista’s own plans for attracting developers and investors, Malcolm explained.

“Everything that we’ve dreamed of and hoped for in Chula Vista can be taken away if the City Council doesn’t respond properly,” Malcolm said.

Calling the proposed moratorium a “proper solution” to the traffic concerns, Malcolm added the temporary ban would not sidetrack Otay Mesa development, noting that city planning officials estimate that projects already approved or under review could accommodate the area’s expected industrial growth rate for about the next 15 years.

Cleator questioned the accuracy of Sandag’s traffic figures, pointing out that they were based on patterns in North County, where the density of office and commercial development, which generally generates relatively high volumes of traffic, could skew the figures for a largely industrial area such as Otay Mesa.

Sandag staffers said that it would take about six months to develop a new computer model to evaluate future traffic needs. However, even a moratorium for that brief period could precipitate what Cleator termed “a major, major image problem” by causing skittish potential investors to worry that Otay Mesa development plans are destined to get bogged down in a bureaucratic morass, council members and developers said.

“A moratorium may result in the stillbirth of the entire project,” said newly appointed Councilwoman Celia Ballesteros, whose district includes Otay Mesa.

Tentative development maps covering about 1,500 acres in Otay Mesa already have been filed with local planning officials, according to Assistant City Manager John Fowler. As evidence of the negative repercussions that a moratorium could have, attorney Paul Robinson, representing the Otay Industrial Center, pointed out that, in the 10 days since the proposed ban became known within development circles, tentative development plans covering an additional 800 acres have been filed in “a rush . . . to beat a moratorium.”

Other developers stressed that they, too, are vitally interested in guarding against traffic congestion, which could damage their own development plans. But, saying that Otay Mesa now is at a critical stage frequently described at Tuesday’s hearing as “a narrow window of opportunity,” council members and others warned that a moratorium would, in the words of developer Bernie Fipp, “slam the window shut on our fingers.”

Despite the council’s rejection of the moratorium, Mayor Maureen O’Connor praised Chula Vista Councilman Malcolm for “raising the red flag early” and said that traffic in the Otay Mesa region needs to be closely monitored as development progresses.

“We have to worry about tomorrow’s problems today . . . or they will become serious problems,” O’Connor said.