Comic Con San Diego’s future has been placed in jeopardy by a misread of California Law on the part of three appellate court judges.
The City of San Diego, Comic Con International, and the hotels within what is to be a Mello-Roos Community Facilities District, elected to form said district for the purpose of financing $520 million in improvements, adding over 700,000 square feet of space.
The result, if implemented, would give San Diego the largest convention center in the Western United States. It would not only allow Comic Con to remain in San Diego, but provide more employment opportunities, end the long, at times unsafe, and overnight lines to get into Hall H.
While such activities have become part of Comic Con culture and lore, the fact is, they reveal that Hall H, which holds just over 6,000 people, is too small for the demand for the Comic Con-related events held within it.
Thus creating one big reason for the expansion plan.
Normally, this project would be a no-brainer: the hotels have, under California’s Mello-Roos Community Facilities District law, elected to essentially tax themselves. This has been done many times in California. But a read of the decision put down in the California Fourth Appellate District hold that the hotels must put the vote to tax themselves before the entire City of San Diego.
The decision does not once mention the intent of Mello-Roos law, which was to give property owners a system to tax themselves for needed public facilities improvements – in this case, a convention center expansion. Moreover, the people of San Diego voted to allow the special district to be set up!
The appellate court’s decision ignores the intent of Mello-Roos law, as well as the will of the voters, and basically winds us up with a stupid conclusion that leads one to ask “why have Mello-Roos in place.”
You can’t have a known and used state law in place, and yet declare its use unconstitutional. That does not make an ounce of sense to anyone who can think.
The decision contains references to cases that not only have nothing to do with Mello-Roos law, but pervert the entire argument away from the fact that all the hotel property owners want to do is tax themselves – period.
How these judges – Associate Justice Cynthia Aaron, Administrative Presiding Justice Judith McConnell, and Associate Justice Terry B.O’Rourke – came to the idea that the cases referred to were relevant to the basic issue of the use of Mello-Roos law defies logic.
What they’re saying, in effect, when all of the legal case garbage is sorted through, is that the hotel owners can’t pay to make improvements to San Diego public facilities. That Mel Shapiro and a small group called “San Diegans for Open Government” (which can’t even be bothered to make a website so we can see who’s involved in the group) can be allowed to block the chance for more jobs for San Diegans is an outrage. They do not speak for anyone other than themselves. San Diegans did not give these creatons official power or say over these matters.
Something should be done to stop this garbage.
California Governor Jerry Brown should review these judicial appointments, and replace the judges where possible, as soon as possible. Judge Judith McConnell was appointed by Gray Davis, and is now two years from her term being up. Associate Justice Cynthia Aaron’s term’s up in 2019. Associate Justice Terry B. O’Rourke was appointed by Pete Wilson in 1998, and should have been out of there a while ago in 2010, as the terms are for 12 years.
Stay tuned.
Zennie Abraham | Zennie Abraham or “Zennie62” is the founder of Zennie62Media which consists of zennie62blog.com and a multimedia blog news aggregator and video network, and 78-blog network, with social media and content development services and consulting. Zennie is a pioneer video blogger, YouTube Partner, social media practitioner, game developer, and pundit. Note: news aggregator content does not reflect the personal views of Mr. Abraham.