Lawsuit Filed Against San Diego Unified Port District Over Waterfront Plan
 

People who say San Diego's downtown waterfront plan lost too much public space along the way toward receiving construction permits have sued.

Public Rights to Bay Access and Parks, a new nonprofit group,filed a lawsuit Friday against the San Diego Unified Port District.

At issue is the long-debated North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, a $200 million proposal to turn the downtown waterfront along San Diego Bay into a showpiece of promenades and plantings. The city and the Port share responsibility for the plan, which has been in the works since the late 1990s. Detailed drawings were inked in 2005.

In July, the Port issued permits for the $28.6 million first phase, which covers Harbor Drive and West Broadway from Navy Pier to B Street.

Activists and two California Coastal Commissioners appealed. The state commission is expected to address the issue at a meeting Friday. Commission staff have said the Port needs to revise its master plan because changes to the waterfront blueprint are significant.

The lawsuit also says the revisions to the plan are too great, such as the downsizing of a 10-acre park at Broadway and the placement of new cruise ship terminals at the Broadway and B Street piers.

If either the court or coastal officials demand further environmental analysis, the waterfront project would likely be delayed.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stori...&zIndex=146836

Another waterfront project gets fucked up
 

Manchester's wife files for divorce after 43-year marriage
By Jeanette Steele
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
8:54 p.m. August 12, 2009

SAN DIEGO – The wife of San Diego developer Doug Manchester, who helped finance the 2008 fight against same-sex marriage in California, has filed for divorce after 43 years of marriage.
The case could complicate Manchester's finances as he tries to move forward with a major project on San Diego's waterfront and operate two luxury hotels amid the prolonged recession and a boycott from gay-rights groups.
Manchester built and owns the Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego and the Grand Del Mar in Carmel Valley. He also has been tapped to remake the Navy Broadway Complex and the land around it, one of the last undeveloped swaths of the San Diego bayfront.
A divorce that cuts Doug Manchester's assets in half could force him to sell some properties. It also could make it harder for him to finance the Broadway development, said real estate economist Gary London.
These days, banks demand a large down payment before approving a loan.
“A bank would say, 'You have to have more skin in the game right now.' So where a divorce comes in, it typically takes skin out of your game,” London said.
But he and another economist said they don't expect the Broadway project to get going for several years anyway due to lack of demand for new hotels and office space.
According to court papers, the Manchesters separated in October and Elizabeth Manchester sued for dissolution of marriage in June, citing irreconcilable differences.
Doug Manchester responded last month to his wife's lawsuit by filing court papers asking only for a legal separation.
The next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 17 in Superior Court.
Doug Manchester's attorney, Robert Wood, declined to comment Wednesday. Elizabeth Manchester's lawyer didn't return a phone call.
A battle over money is brewing between the Manchesters, who own an oceanfront home in La Jolla Shores and four other houses in Indian Wells, Idaho and North Carolina.
In court papers, Elizabeth Manchester said her husband has $56.9 million in bank accounts but has “secretly transferred” at least $9.3 million from their joint accounts into his own. She also alleged that he kept her half of an $8.2 million tax refund, potentially cashing it without her signature.
And she said that after the couple's separation last fall, he stole her mail while she was away from the La Jolla home.
Last week, Superior Court family law Judge Lisa Foster ordered Doug Manchester to restore $100,000 that he had transferred out of the joint bank account his wife uses to pay bills.
Foster also gave Elizabeth Manchester, known as Betsy, exclusive use of the couple's 9,300-square-foot La Jolla home and directed that her mail be returned.
Last year, Doug Manchester jumped into the middle of California's same-sex marriage debate by donating $125,000 to support Proposition 8, the successful November ballot initiative that canceled the rights of gays to marry.
Gay-rights groups organized a boycott of Manchester properties. Manchester, a Catholic, later offered $125,000 in cash and hotel credit to same-sex rights groups, saying he's against gay marriage, not gays and lesbians. The boycott continues.


Jeanette Steele: (619) 293-1030;

Wow, first John Moores gets divorced after a long marriage, now Manchester.

It's pretty sad the fool couldn't have focused his time and money on saving his marriage, instead he chose to promote intolerance and destroy the chance for others. A true hypocrite! He gets what he deserves.

Pictures plz....

My friend (who is gay) took me to lunch the other day and I told him that I did not want to have marriage redefined and I was surprised when he told me that he thought it should stay the way it is and he was tired of the 'queens' who are pushing this agenda for political reasons and have no intention of getting married.

You are on a non political, skyscraper forum, leave your bigotry for discussion over cheeseburgers at The Hole this weekend.

I'm a married heterosexual, but I agree with TDavis. It is sad that people want to stop a couple that is committed to each other from marrying. It is un-American, and un-Christian. These very people need to start focusing on their own relationships and the high divorce rate of heterosexuals.

That being said, I hope the Broadway development can move forward sooner rather than later.

Not every gay man in SD goes to The Hole on Sunday, thank you very much.

If you guys really want to talk about politics please take it to the Current Events section on this forum.

^^^ well adios a new stadium will most likely not be built in the next 2 to 3 years and LA is getting more aggressive about having a NFL team.

In the end the team will do what makes most sense to their pocketbooks. And being in L.A. or other markets could draw more people. Given the lack of leadership by the city of San Diego on this matter I predict we will lose the Chargers.

I've already been feeling beaten down about certain aspects of living in a city that at best, is not living up to its potential, but man, if we lose the Chargers, this "city" is going to become a downright depressing place to live.

If we lose the Chargers, I'm seriously moving to Chicago. That would be my breaking point.

Chargers won't move for another two years as they would have to pay about 50 million dollars to the city to move. If there's no moment at all then yes they might move. Even then, Spanos won't sell the team and won't be a leaser in an LA stadium.

Also, Gaylord Site.

I hear you. Speaking of Chicago, now that is a CITY! It's not perfect, but it has public transportation that gets people where they need to go, grand civic projects, a real airport, a soaring skyline, an enormous corporate infrastructure, and a population that puts the needs of the region above their own.

Until the team is actually threatening to move I wouldn't worry about it too much. There are plenty of feasible locations to build the Chargers a new stadium. All that we need is a local representative to take lead of this issue.





On second thought we're probably screwed. :haha:

I predict the area in the East Village next to PETCO will be the eventual site of the Charger Stadium. It makes sense as they can receive redevelopment dollars, help an area that needs a shot in the arm, and is right in the middle of mass transit.

I agree with tdavis. I don't think the Chargers will be here in 5 years due to a lack of leadership all around by the city council, mayor's office, etc. And btw, the area next to Petco was identified as having a fault line underneath. This was found when there was discussion of expanding the convention center to the area. This was the reason the convention center changed plans and are now proceeding with the expansion on the park next to the Hilton. This area next to Petco will be most likely a parking lot for many years to come due to this fault.

Link to the fault line?