Board of Port Commissioners To Hold Special Meeting on Nov. 4 Ballot Measure

Monday, 18 August 2008
Contact: John Gilmore (619) 686-7206, (619) 341-5684; Irene McCormack (619) 686-6462, (619) 990-3576

The Board of Port Commissioners will meet in a special session tomorrow at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19, to consider changing the ballot language for the Nov. 4 measure that seeks to amend the Port District's master plan to allow hotels, restaurants and possibly a football stadium at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal.

The Board, which does not support the initiative, agreed last month to place the measure on the ballot because of state Elections Code requirements. After approving the placement, the commissioners unanimously agreed to file a lawsuit challenging the measure. The Port also is paying $435,000 to cover the costs for printing the ballot arguments and other election-related expenses by the county Registrar of Voters.

The initiative, "The Port of San Diego Marine Freight Preservation and Bayfront Redevelopment Initiative," was proposed by San Diego Community Solutions. Proponents of the measure have said they want to put a deck atop the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal to make way for hotels, restaurants and most probably a sports venue.