A new court battle is unfolding in San Diego after a lawsuit has been filed to thwart the city's plan to establish a homeless shelter near Liberty Station, a once-naval training center turned cultural hub. According to FOX 5 San Diego, the McMillin Companies, the original developers of Liberty Station, are challenging the city and California Coastal Commission's authority to convert a disused lot, the H Barracks, into a shelter for the homeless.
The legal challenge is based on the contention that the original "reuse plan" excludes homeless services as a permissible use for the site. This issue has been contentious from the beginning, with neighbors expressing concern about potential impacts on local businesses and schools in the area. Some opposition even culminated in the forming of a nonprofit poised to challenge the proposal legally. However, as the San Diego Union-Tribune detailed, they ultimately decided to file a supportive amicus brief instead.
On top of the suitability of the site, there are also worries about the effects a homeless shelter might have on plans for further development in the vicinity, specifically the creation of a third hotel. McMillin Companies argue that such a shelter could undermine the success of existing hotels and dissuade financial partners from investing in future developments. "The H-Barracks site cannot be legally used for homeless parking, homeless sheltering, or homeless services," the lawsuit contends, pointing out that these additions "will have adverse impacts on the existing hotels on the nearby Liberty Station property and on the third hotel to be built by McMillin in that vicinity," as noted in the lawsuit covered by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The City of San Diego proceeded with its plans, believing it followed the original reuse plan and had support from the California Coastal Commission before the lawsuit was filed. The lawsuit, however, questions whether it met the California Environmental Quality Act requirements, especially with new state laws that let shelters skip some environmental reviews.
The city has now asked property owners to come forward with buildings that could be converted into shelters to more effectively address the problem.
