The Midway-Pacific Highway community planning group voted on Wednesday, May 28, 2026 to pass a letter of support for SB 958 — a state bill proposed by Senator Akilah Weber Pierson designed to save the Midway Rising project from being killed by the 30-foot height limit in the coastal zone.
Midway Rising is planned to demolish Pechanga Arena and construct 4,250 homes, a 16,000-seat arena, an urban park, and an arts and cultural district. The project exceeds the 30-foot limit — a restriction that courts reinstated in 2025 after the Save Our Access group won a lawsuit, claiming the city failed to fully analyze environmental impacts before putting the height limit removal to a voter referendum.
SB 958, under its current language, prohibits using environmental impacts related to building height as a primary reason to halt a project. The bill is currently awaiting consideration by the California Assembly.
Midway Rising is a boost to redeveloping a blighted and underdeveloped area of San Diego — but the bill that saves it could create a dangerous precedent.
Analysis
The California court has overturned the will of San Diego voters twice — in 2020 and 2022 — through a technical ruling on environmental review procedures. This is a typical consequence when advocacy groups with stronger legal resources can nullify common voter results through litigation.
SB 958 is a direct legislative response: rather than wait for the city to redo the entire environmental review process — which could take years — Senator Weber Pierson chose a state-level legislative solution to lock that litigation pathway shut. This is not a new tactic in Sacramento; California has previously used similar mechanisms to expedite housing projects past CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) barriers.
The problem is that SB 958 is setting a precedent: if passed, any developer facing CEQA litigation over height could lobby for their own legislative exemption. This weakens the power of environmental review mechanisms — tools meant to protect communities, though sometimes misused to block affordable housing.
A project with 4,250 homes in an area that the planning group itself describes as "blighted and unsafe" is a genuine benefit. The real policy question is: what precedent will this create for which projects come next?
Diaspora Impact
Vietnamese-American real estate investors in Southern California — particularly the concentrated communities in the San Diego, Garden Grove, and Westminster areas — should closely monitor SB 958. If the bill passes and Midway Rising proceeds with construction of 4,250 homes, the housing supply in the southwestern San Diego area will increase significantly over the next 5 to 7 years, directly impacting property values in neighboring areas and rental investment opportunities.
Additionally, first-generation elderly Vietnamese refugees seeking affordable housing in San Diego — home to an estimated 35,000 Vietnamese people according to the 2020 Census — could benefit from the portion of affordable units in the project, although the specific percentage has not been disclosed in the current bill language.