Effort Being Launched to Forge Port Tenants Into a Lobbying Force

A group of tenants of the San Diego Unified Port District, saying that a unified voice would strengthen their influence with the port commissioners, will meet today in an effort to form an association to represent them. As many as 60 representatives of port leaseholders are expected to attend the meeting, said one of the organizers, Ray Carpenter, president of R. E. Staite Engineering.

Carpenter said the meeting is the result of years of informal discussion with other tenants. But the recent growth of San Diego, and particularly large-scale development in the port area, spurred interest in forming a tenant group.

Growth a Concern

“In the old days of the port, there were a lot of owner-operators,” Carpenter said Wednesday. “They didn’t have time to look up from their work. But, with the tremendous growth in Southern California in the last 10 to 15 years, and the potential for even more growth, the tenants have come to the conclusion that it is time we had a say in what happens with the port.

“As tenants, we produce millions of dollars in revenue to the port, yet we have no say in how the port solves problems or where the port is headed. We thought it was time to get together and make our feelings known.”

The group mailed a letter to about 120 tenants two weeks ago, asking them to attend today’s initial meeting at the San Diego Marriott. The letter was signed by Carpenter and Kipland Howard, president of Torrey Enterprises.

Carpenter and Howard represent two of the more significant tenants. R. E. Staite Engineering, on 3 1/2 acres of port property on Harbor Drive, has done business on the waterfront for 50 years. Torrey Enterprises, whose general partner is developer Doug Manchester, owns the San Diego Marriott and plans to build a 39-story Hyatt Regency Hotel on adjoining port land between the Marriott and Seaport Village.

An informal sampling of port tenants Wednesday showed most taking a cautious approach to the idea. Several said they plan to send observers to the meeting. Some expressed concern that the group not become a mouthpiece for a few powerful port tenants.

Rent, Pollution on List

Carpenter and Howard said no specific issue or problem prompted them to form the group, rather it had been an idea whose time had come. Howard said possible areas of discussion for the group include rent, pollution in the San Diego Bay and the pace and mix of port development.

“It is just amazing to me that there has not been this type of organization formed before,” Howard said. “It is long overdue.”

Several groups, such as associations on Harbor and Shelter islands, represent smaller interests in the port, but organizers said this will be the first attempt to put together a port-wide lobbying group.

Dan Wilkins, a Port District spokesman, said the district is aware of the organizational meeting but is taking a wait-and-see approach.

Carpenter said he has not targeted specific major tenants nor decided how many charter members he believes it will take to make the organization viable. But he said it is important that the group represent a variety of tenants and their interests, be they large or small. This would include such diverse groups as retail, commercial, fishing and industrial tenants. He said there might be as many as 400 potential members who hold leases with the Port District.