Protesters decry 14-story apartment proposal in Middletown, but a YIMBY dissents

Scott Case denounced a proposed 161-unit, 14-story apartment complex in Middletown, his neighborhood, at a rally Satuday, August 2. (James Miller/Times of San Diego) At a rally Saturday morning in Middletown, neighborhood homeowner Scott Case condemned the proposal to build a 14-story, 161-unit apartment building on his block. Case said the development will tower over the neighborhood. “This high rise does not fit into the community,” he said. The project developer, ELDA Developments, pulled their initial plans for the complex, but has yet to release an updated proposal. The building would be constructed on two parcels of land in the 3600 block of Columbia Street. The land is currently occupied by a single home and a two-story apartment building with three affordable units, according to Case. A retiree in his 60s, Case told the crowd that affordable housing is “an issue for all of us,” but that the developer is required to build only six affordable units at the site, because of San Diego’s Complete Communities initiative. The two lots in Middletown where a 161-unit, 14-story apartment building is proposed. At a rally Saturday, Aug. 2, Scott Case, who lives on the same block as the proposed development, said the developer is required to designate six of the 161 units as affordable housing. (Photo by James Miller/Times of San Diego) The block is zoned for multi-unit housing. Case’s 15-minute speech was punctuated by the crowd chanting “responsible growth not corporate greed,” which the group followed with a march around the neighborhood. According to Case, the development includes a total of 70 parking spots, but parking in the neighborhood is already an issue for residents and nearby businesses. Signs on a street in Middletown where a 161-unit, 14-story apartment complex is proposed. (Photo by James Miller/Times of San Diego) The development should be canned on its own merits, according to Case. “Nearly 80% of the units coming in here are studios and one-bedroom units which do not support families,” Case said, adding that an investment brochure from the developer estimated that rents at the complex will begin at $3,000 — presumably for a studio — and go all the way up to $10,000 for the penthouse. A member of the Uptown Community Planning Group, Case said the councilmember who represents Middletown, Stephen Whitburn, has refused to meet to discuss the proposed development. Erik Becerra — a homeowner in Encanto who came to the protest with his children and a member of Case’s coalition — said the studios and one-bedroom apartments at the proposed development cannot accommodate families. Becerra said he has been called a NIMBY — short for “not in my backyard,” a term leveled against people who support affordable housing, but not in their neighborhoods. “We’re not NIMBYs,” Becerra said. “We want responsible growth.” Mission Hills resident Wesley Morgan was the lone counter-protester at the rally. Many in his number have embraced the term YIMBY — or “yes, in my backyard.” The 49-year-old financial consultant said he is selling his home in Mission Hills and moving downtown to be closer to transit and free up resources for his daughters, who are 19 and 21, to find their own abodes. Morgan said he moved from a suburb in greater Los Angeles to Middletown 11 years ago and loved the neighborhood’s charm and history. He said the anti-development protesters had the loudest voice Saturday, but it is not the most pervasive one. “Sometimes it just takes a couple people with the time and resources to balance out that voice,” Morgan said, adding that San Diego “cannot be a sustainable community without allowing people of all incomes and all diversities to be able to live here at the price they can afford.” Anti-development protesters behind counter-protester Wesley Morgan as he is interviewed by a TV station Saturday, Aug. 2. (Photo by James Miller/Times of San Diego) He said if the development is built, it would incentivize landowners in Middletown to use their property more efficiently by replacing their homes with apartment buildings. “It might not be worth just owning a single family home on a plot of land that is so desirable, and you can put multifamily units on,” Morgan said. “I don’t think they’re protecting their financial interests. I think they’re protecting a way of life.”