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 dispute for years Photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego A residents records lawsuit was filed Monday seeking documents from the city of San Diego related to the up-to-date million proposal to transform the blighted Ash St building into affordable housing units The city s Land Use and Housing Committee lately 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 advance 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 agents are attempting to approve the Ash Street disposition and advancement agreement and ground lease and related documents while concealing their essential terms from inhabitants scrutiny the complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court reads Christina Bibler director of the city s Economic Rise Department has commented 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 several 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 populace eye Aguirre announced 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 noted 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 reported 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 exposure that we will have to pay for Ash St again and that s via the million in bonds Gordon explained This transaction really is a house of cards