Port of San Diego Will Appeal Court Ruling to Allow Measure on Nov. 4 Ballot

Thursday, 04 September 2008
Contact: John Gilmore (619) 686-7206, (619) 341-5684; Irene McCormack (619) 686-6462, (619) 990-3576

The San Diego Unified Port District will appeal a Superior Court judge's ruling allowing a measure on the Nov. 4 ballot that would amend the Port District's master plan to allow hotels, restaurants and a sports venue at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal.

Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Styn issued his ruling during an hour-and-a-half hearing Thursday afternoon.

• Superior Court Tentative Ruling: San Diego Unified Port District vs. Deborah Seiler (29.48 kB)
• Superior Court Tentative Ruling: Litrenta vs. Deborah Seiler (20.53 kB)

The initiative was proposed by San Diego Community Solutions and the county Registrar of Voters determined the proponents had gathered the required number of valid voter signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot.

In a separate action, the judge also denied a request to change the ballot language. That action was filed by Peter Litrenta, a representative of the ship repair industry.

The language on the ballot will read: "Shall the San Diego Unified Port District's Master Plan be Amended by the Adoption of "The Port of San Diego Marine Freight Preservation and Bayfront Redevelopment Initiative."

The Port argued in a pre-election challenge that the law vests with the San Diego Unified Port District the exclusive jurisdiction over San Diego Bay and the tidelands. That exclusivity was vested in the Port District and the Board of Port Commissioners when the district was formed by the state Legislature in 1962.

The judge said he was not pre-judging the merits of the Port's case. Yet he said the Port's challenges don't justify withholding the initiative from the ballot. "The court finds the "wiser course" is to allow the initiative to appear on the ballot...," he said. The merits of the Port's lawsuit will be argued after the election.