San Diego taxpayer sues over transparency in 101 Ash Street $250M proposal

The blighted Ash St building in downtown San Diego has been a source of disagreement for years Photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego A masses records lawsuit was filed Monday seeking documents from the city of San Diego related to the modern million proposal to transform the blighted Ash St building into affordable housing units The city s Land Use and Housing Committee in recent months voted unanimously to recommend approving a deal to enter into a -year lease to convert the long-vacant property into nearly residential units for families earning between and of the area s median income Copies of the ground lease and disposition and progress agreement which were not available at the time of the committee s vote are being sought in a new lawsuit filed on behalf of city resident John Gordon who previously sued the city over its lease-to-own agreement for the Ash St property City representatives are attempting to approve the Ash Street disposition and advance agreement and ground lease and related documents while concealing their essential terms from society scrutiny the complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court reads Christina Bibler director of the city s Economic Improvement Department has revealed those documents will be publicly available before the proposal goes before the San Diego City Council At a Monday morning news conference held outside the vacant skyscraper Gordon and one of his attorneys former San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre argued that multiple of the proposal s particulars such as how much it will cost to renovate the unoccupied asbestos-riddled building have been kept out of the population eye Aguirre revealed another concern is that one of the companies selected to helm the project is headed by Kelly Moden who sits on the city s planning commission No city official should be entering into a contract with the city that s going to give them an economic advantage Aguirre disclosed The deal proposes a loan equaling the building s value million and issuance of a seller s note to recoup the money plus simple interest over a -year period The developers are also seeking millions in housing and historic tax credits but Aguirre announced the city has already missed a deadline for low-income housing tax credits and he questioned whether historic tax credits can feasibly be acquired as Ash St is not a historic property There s real jeopardy that we will have to pay for Ash St again and that s via the million in bonds Gordon reported This transaction really is a house of cards