Why this matters
Imperial Beach, grappling with a decadeslong sewage crisis, has seen residential and commercial vacancies. But officials are putting support behind a new, mixed-use development for a popular spot in their beach town.
Despite sewage pollution swaying people away from Imperial Beach, officials moved forward with a new mixed-use development in a popular area.
City councilmembers earlier this month unanimously approved building a three-story project with commercial space and six residential units on a vacant, more than 9,500-square-foot lot at Seacoast Drive and Date Avenue.
Far West Industries, the developer, proposed building four townhomes and two split-level units, decks and solar panels on the roof, and 14 parking spaces, according to city documents.
More than 1,800 square feet of the site will be used for the commercial space on the ground floor, records show. The project “should contribute favorably to the commercial activity of the mixed-use corridor,” according to a city staff report. The neighborhood is also home to eateries, more homes and a hotel across the street.
Over decades, a sewage crisis from the Tijuana River has polluted Imperial Beach and nearby communities across southern San Diego. The stench has driven people away from the city, and as inewsource previously reported, real estate agents have said it’s been more difficult to sell or rent homes in the area.
Councilmember Mariko Nakawatase said “external factors” keep some of the city’s existing mixed-use spaces empty, so she wants the city to focus on finding and retaining tenants.
From the Documenters
This story came in part from notes taken by Carlos Luna, a San Diego Documenter, at an Imperial Beach City Council meeting this month. The Documenters program trains and pays community members to document what happens at public meetings.
“Personally, in my district alone, we have a lot of those projects where, again, beautiful, constructed development projects, but there’s nobody in them,” she said.
Councilmember Jack Fisher said he’s seen the project site go through many phases as he grew up in Imperial Beach. A boarded-up building sat there for years after a fire, and more recently the property owner has allowed the city to use the lot for special events.
“I think the investment probably comes from the hopes just like the rest of us and, and the residents of Imperial Beach, that our problem will go away at some point,” Fisher said.
City staff said financial constraints and additional code requirements prevented the developer from meeting four of the city’s Design Review Board recommendations, such as the lack of an elevator and designating a specific parking space for residents with disabilities.
Some city officials had also opposed the developer’s plan to plant Chinese evergreen elm trees, saying they could take up more right-of-way space and are messy when shedding leaves.
A representative for the developer said at the City Council meeting that they can still negotiate landscape design features with the city.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
