A judge is halting construction of an eight-story apartment tower in Golden Hill after a group of residents sued, contending the project wouldn\u2019t be so tall if it weren\u2019t relying on what they call a bogus claim about nearby transit.<\/p>\n
The key issue in the lawsuit \u2014 which could affect many other projects across the city that rely on density bonuses related to transit \u2014 is whether future bus and trolley routes should qualify if they are planned but not funded.<\/p>\n
Under city rules, projects are eligible for density bonuses if they are in zones called sustainable development areas, which must be within a mile of an existing or planned transit route. City policy doesn\u2019t mention funding.<\/p>\n
But Superior Court Judge Joel Wohlfeil issued a temporary restraining order last week that seems to indicate he thinks funding might be a key factor.<\/p>\n
Wohlfeil expressed doubts that an unfunded future transit route should allow a developer to build as many units as an existing route or a funded future route.<\/p>\n
The apartment tower, which would be built on a recently cleared lot just southwest of Balboa Park municipal golf course, relies on a future rapid bus route in Golden Hill that county planning officials call Project TL46.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question is whether a \u2018major transit stop\u2019 is planned to exist within one mile of the project site,\u201d Wohlfeil said. \u201cProject TL-46 strikes the court as speculative. If, for example, TL-46 were an economic forecast, the court questions whether evidence of TL-46 would be sufficiently trustworthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
TL46 is a planned rapid bus route that will be called Route 637 if it begins operating as scheduled in 2035. It is estimated to cost $130 million by the county\u2019s regional planning agency, the San Diego Association of Governments.<\/p>\n
The route, which would get within one-third of a mile of the project site on A Street between 29th and 30th streets, would connect North Park and Golden Hill to the 32nd Street trolley station.<\/p>\n
Wohlfeil stopped short of issuing an injunction in the case, but he accelerated from Dec. 12 to Nov. 26 a scheduled hearing on the plaintiffs\u2019 request for an injunction \u2014 a less temporary more rigorous block on construction.\n<\/p>\n
But Wohlfeil noted that his issuing of the restraining order and acceleration of the injunction hearing don\u2019t mean his mind is made up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court emphasizes that its findings and orders herein are without prejudice to a different outcome at the Nov. 26 hearing,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
The residents group, which calls itself Preserve Golden Hill, said the case is significant for another reason related to potential gentrification of low-income neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe significance of this project is that, if ruled legal by the courts, it would allow developers to target prime lower-income rental areas such as Golden Hill,\u201d the group said this week. \u201cUnder the guise of \u2018affordable housing,\u2019 this would decimate affordable housing stock for luxury apartments.\u201d<\/p>\n