This could ultimately be beneficial. When reading the comments, it sounds like the developers could finally challenge the unused runway notion. http://m.utsandiego.com/news/2015/ja...downtown-port/

^^^ Exactly this combined with the Port thinking big can only be a positive step towards challenging this ignorant height limit thing. Especially south of Broadway. I know you guys have seen aborted landings at Lindbergh and have you ever seen them bank to the North or South??? I have not ever, they always just lift up and go straight out over the airport no movement to the left or right at all.

Now on to the Ports visionary thing, lets see how they handle NBC and Chula Vista Bayfront the two mega projects that are pretty much "ready to go". If these get down well then maybe there is something to the Port becoming an agent for change and getting big ideas done. Lets not immediately pan their visionary plans. They will obviously have to deal with FAA, NIMBY's to an extent (no one lives on Harbor Island and intensive development on the bay/downtown is preferable to infill in their neighborhoods), and the Coastal Commission.

I have been spending a lot of time in the South Bay lately and there is so much potential in National City, Chula Vista, and IB. That "Pond 20" at the South end of the Bay is huge, I have biked past it on the bayshore bikeway and was thinking crap this is tons of prime land sitting here.

I was hoping it would be a >500 ft building and not a terrible unimaginative idea of a giant ferris wheel that would get the height limit discussion going, but I guess it's good that the conversation is happening at all. My concern is that the stupid ferris wheel might end up becoming the token approval the faa gives the city for height so they can go on indefinitely denying everything else.

I do agree that the port talking big and bold is very GOOD. I know some are cynical, but change doesn't happen overnight and sometimes it takes a key player to start the dialogue and it seems the port is willing to do that.

If any of you have an account on airliners.net, you should be able to post and get a good answer as to why the height limit exists (including if its totally pointless), and what kinds of emergency routes might actually see use. Lots of very knowledgeable people there.

Who knows, the emergency routes could have been formulated for piston engined aircraft lacking climb performance, and then never updated. wouldn't surprise me, haha.

I agree. I could see IB becoming a hot neighborhood. There is so much under utilized real estate next to beautiful beaches.

I could also envision El Cajon getting their act together and building a small highrise regional node in a few decades as the scarcity of land and regulations in DTSD will push development outwards.

Before the economy tanked El Cajon was supposed to get mixed use development at Parkway Plaza. I imagine the plans will come to light again soon.

Was just in downtown Vista, its a short little two block strip with a new center with a huge movie theater and stores just west of it. The strip has tons of breweries, a wine place, and art. Its like a little wanna be North Park. There is even a historic theatre "The Avo" that has lots of performances now. For what it is I'm slightly impressed. New housing is going up close by and Belching Beaver Brewery is going to open up in an old bank right off Main St. so it will give the downtown some width.

Just letting you guys know what is out there. Some chick at the art gallery was saying that Oceanside is really stepping there game up too, they have a new Art Museum and a big brewery complex just opened on Pac Hwy.

Was in Carlsbad two weekends ago visiting grandparents and they are stepping game up too, lots of ped activity for January and food scene is getting legit. Also have two huge sidewalk dining expansion things like at Cafe Calabria in North Park.

--- End of North County Update --- :cheers:

Beautiful shot from Reddit:

http://i.imgur.com/PN2xZD9.jpg

Guess its official if the Padres say so
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/sd/ba...nt=downtownmap

http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/sd/im...led_150202.jpg

That seems legit! :)

another waterfront ride proposal. I wonder who floated this one. don't have a sub to the UT
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8-DKnaIgAIAdt8.jpg

utsd.us/1LK8zGU

Wow, that's hideous! I know there is a 0% chance that gets built, but for someone to even propose it...for someone to think that was a good idea...WTF is wrong with these people?!?!?

That is AWFUL! At this rate, 2015 will be the year of proposals to trash San Diego's waterfront. Next thing you know, the Wings of Freedom will be back with zip lines inbetween the two wings.

This would become the focal point of DT and is really ugly. $15 to only go up 250 ft? I don't really see the point.

Kinda looks like that new ride they are building in Disney but at least that is like 600' in the air.

I like the idea of an iconic tower, and I like that people are noticing how limitingthe height limit is, but that proposed tower looks like a circus freakshow.

There have been plenty of proposals I didn't find pleasing presented over the years, but few have literally offended me on a personal level. This one did. I feel like someone is trying to make a joke out of the city I live in - intentionally. Was this some architecture students joking around drunk one night and the UT idiotically picked it up as a legitimate proposal? It's like someone decided to take the sleek design of Seattle's iconic space needle, squash it to about a 10th of the height, make it look like a stubby mushroom (or worse - think sex toy) and adorn it with more hideous embellishments that allow it to serve as a circus ride. Not only is it reprehensible but the background isn't even accurate. That doesn't look like SD, it looks like they just picked some random stock photo for which to serve as the backdrop for their giant vibrator fun ride. Seriously, this is offensive in every sense of the word!!!!!:slob:

What is Disney building that is 600 feet? Was just in Anaheim and did not see that

Looks as though D.C. and NYC are beating us to the punch in the novelty idea category.

D.C.
http://i.imgur.com/8ZGnnz0.png


NYC
http://i.imgur.com/eQ3u5cS.jpg