Opponents of a 20-story apartment building proposed for next to Balboa Park are gearing up for next Monday’s City Council hearing on the project with a petition drive and an “umbrella demonstration” of the long shadows it would cast.

In advance, several dozen nearby residents stood in formation in the park carrying black umbrellas last Sunday to show how the 223-foot, 204-unit building would change the character of Bankers Hill and the park’s nearby recreation areas.

Opponents of the proposed tower call it a “rogue project” that could set a precedent for additional buildings of the same height — or even taller — in Bankers Hill, which is just west of the park.

Supporters, including the somewhat unusual combination of environmental groups and the Chamber of Commerce, say it would help solve the city’s housing crisis and reduce greenhouse gases because of its ideal location.


It’s the latest battle in what is becoming a citywide war over proposals for taller, higher-density housing projects.

City officials and many civic groups say San Diego must build more high-rises along transit routes and in areas such as Bankers Hill, which is walk-able, bicycle-friendly and near multiple job centers.

Residents living near such proposed projects typically fight against them based on concerns about neighborhood character, traffic congestion, views and other perceived problems.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer said last week in his annual State of the City speech that such opposition is preventing the city from making a dent in its severe shortage of affordable housing.


He proposed streamlining approvals for projects like the Bankers Hill tower to prevent anti-growth residents from derailing proposals. He also urged San Diego to adopt a “yes in my back yard” approach.

“The bureaucracy has been set up to empower anti-housing forces that delay or deny projects at every turn,” Faulconer said. “Obstructionists must never again be able to halt the housing that San Diego needs.”

Residents in Bankers Hill say the mayor and other officials are mischaracterizing their stance.

“We’re not against building, and we certainly recognize the need for affordable housing,” resident Sue Strom said Tuesday. “But we don’t embrace this rogue project.”


Strom stressed that community leaders have said they would support an apartment tower of 170 feet, but that the current proposal is simply too tall.

“We’re ‘yes in my backyard’ but ‘do it right in my back yard,’” she said. “You hate to see your public officials run like lemmings without thinking about what they are doing.”

She also said the concerns of the neighborhood, where more than 1,000 residents have signed petitions opposing the project, go beyond just this tower.

“If you let one developer put in a building at 225 feet, then how are you going to say no to the next developer?” she said.


The apartment tower is proposed next to iconic St. Paul’s Cathedral, at the corner of Olive Street and Sixth Avenue, a few blocks north of the El Prado entrance at Laurel Street.

It would include studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. It also would include 18 units reserved for people who earn less than 50 percent of the area’s median income.

To illustrate how shadows cast by the proposed tower would darken sunny areas frequented by volleyball players and picnickers, the residents staged the umbrella demonstration Sunday. It was based on a similar demonstration in 1987 led by Jacqueline Onassis in New York City to show how a proposed building would cast shadows on parts of Central Park.

“We were initially thinking of doing a demonstration just wearing black,” said Roy McMakin, a noted sculptor and Bankers Hill resident. “But then we stole the umbrella idea from Jackie O.”


McMakin said the residents want the city to have an independent consultant analyze the shadows the building would cast during different times of the year when sunlight varies. Such studies are common practice in San Francisco, he said.

“It’s just unbelievably impactful because of the height and how close it gets to Sixth Avenue,” he said. “People say ‘shadow, shmadow, whatever — we need housing.’ But the shadow is huge and there aren’t that many grassy, sunny playfields around here.”

The developer of the project, Greystar, says the shadow argument is overblown.

Omar Rawi, a Greystar senior official, said the building is oriented east/west, instead of north/south, to reduce shadows. Greystar opted for the tower primarily to avoid impacting the iconic architecture of the 149-year-old church next door,he said.


Rawi also disagreed with concerns about a precedent, calling his project unique. Most developers in the area, where available land is scarce, will opt for shorter and wider projects because high-rises cost more to build, he said.

Monday’s council hearing on the project is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. in City Hall, 202 C St.


david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick