Maienschein called the building review process a matter of local control and noted that the San Diego City Council always has the option to tighten CivicSD's rules, replace its board members or abolish it entirely. Currently, developers can negotiate project labor agreements to cover such matters and what happens, labor groups typically withdraw objections on environmental and zoning grounds. That policy matter should be dealt with separately citywide, said Kris Michell, CEO of the Downtown San Diego Partnership business group. It's unclear whether CivicSD has the leeway to condition design approval on wage rates or whether the City Council could impose such economic controls on a private development that does not include public funds. "They can't talk about job equality, living wages - they can't talk about anything other than what it looks like," Gonzalez said. While CivicSD typically debates the design elements of major projects, it has declined to get involved in workers' rights and other labor issues when critics have criticized various hotel projects. "Communities like Encanto need Civic San Diego to help them succeed, and we can't let Sacramento stop our progress with one unnecessary bill," Faulconer said. "We owe it to our residents.to allow them to have a voice in the process," Gonzalez said.įaulconer, who led a news conference in Encanto prior to the vote, said CivicSD has been instrumental in "neighborhood transformation," especially downtown. But she said the City Council is split on the reforms she proposes and tighter restrictions would ensure that cities cannot "outsource" land-use decisions to nonprofit organizations. In defense of her bill Wednesday, she acknowledged that CivicSD is the only such organization statewide that would be covered by the legislation. Gonzalez, when she was the secretary-treasurer of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, pushed to have CivicSD's real estate decisions take into account social impacts, such as the level of wages paid at hotels.
The bill next moves to the full Assembly, possibly next week, and if approved, to the state Senate. The Local Government Committee approved the bill on a 6-1 vote with opposition from Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, R-San Diego, the committee chairman and a former city councilman.
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