STOP THE VELA! aka: Turquoise Tower
We need to put pressure on city officials to deny the building permits
THIS HIGH RISE IS AN AIRBNB HOTEL AND $$$$ APARTMENTS it doesn't belong in a family neighborhood near 3 schools
12 Reasons to oppose the tower
Infrastructure problems: Fire evacuation bottlenecks, stormwater failures, and grid overload.
The 23-story footprint completely violates the voter-approved 30-foot coastal height limit.
Traffic Increase on Turquoise St currently 400% over capacity.
Bogus transit claim. PB is a suburb. We use vehicles. It's not a Transit Priority Area, and it won't be one in 50 years.
Shouldn't qualify for density bonus waivers to exceed local zoning height. It's not affordable housing. The Vela Tower will be 65% Airbnb hotel, 35% luxury apartments, 10 "subsidized" low-income apartments, 5 very low income, 5 for moderate income of $180,000.
Child Safety Issues. 139 Airbnb hotel apartments for 200+ transient visitors, 1/3 mile to Pacific Beach Elementary School and Seaside Preschool, and 3/4 mile to Bird Rock Elementary School.
First Responder response times will increase, catastrophic in a medical event.
Locals will get taxed to improve the infrastructure, not the developer.
VFW Post 5985 could lose its charter and close if veterans find it too difficult to attend meetings and provide a quorum.
Agate Street residents will be forever in the shade of this 240'h x 80'w tower.
This is not downtown San Diego. A high rise doesn't belong on a narrow, 2-lane road, in a "residential" coastal area.
Once one tower gets permitted, more will get built in the coastal area, permanently ruining the casual beach community vibe.
BE AN ARMCHAIR ACTIVIST! YOU CAN HELP STOP THE VELA!
copy & paste
I oppose the Vela Project, 970 Turquoise St., Pacific Beach 92109.
A high rise of 700 people and 300 cars on a 2-lane road already 400% over capacity will cause traffic blockages. This additional traffic is more than a nuisance. It can result in deaths. First responders will be delayed trying to reach a person having a medical emergency.
The 23-story project must not be approved because it creates a serious public health and safety issue.
EMAIL CITY OFFICIALS. mayortoddgloria@sandiego.gov, CITY COUNCIL joelacava@sandiego.gov, DSD MGR elowe@sandiego.gov, DSD Staff mmaldonado@sandiego.gov,
Officials have to record and keep emails. The more recorded opposition, the better.
DONATE: Stop the Turquoise Tower Legal Fund. Go Fund Me (not tax deductible) money will pay legal fees.
If the city says, no permit, the developer will sue the city. The city attorney will take over.
The Pacific Beach Planning Group/NFABC's private land use lawyer will provide legal arguments to the city attorney.
If NFABC lacks the funds, the developer wins.
Team Turquoise Tower is the sponsor of the go fund me. Team Turquoise Tower is against the tower. We are not on the board of NFABC on purpose, which allows us to be creative and outspoken. If you've been following this project, you know we/TTT mean what we say.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/stop-the-turquoise-tower-legal-fund
Go Fund Me: $11,160 - 8/13/2026 SIGN THE PETITION: You will receive email updates on the project. https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-development-of-the-turquoise-tower-vela-project-in-pacific-beach
pacific beach elementary school and seaside preschool (fence on left) are 0.3 miles from the tower location.
team turqoise tower REPORT
In 2022 Max zeff, 31 years old, paid ten million dollars for four properties on Turquoise Street within a "carve out" EXCLUDED FROM the 30'h coastal zone.
IT'S a sandag future transit priority area (tpa). THIS allows the developer to take advantage of NEW state housing laws which allow high rises near CURRENT OR FUTURE tpa's.
SANDAG = San Diego Association of Governments. The official public planning agency and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the region, connecting the county and its 18 cities to manage local transportation, funding, and environmental infrastructure.
Max hired allen matkins, the largest land-use law firm in san diego. they assigned five lawyers to this project.
jeffrey a. chine, lead lawyer, earns $1,200/hr. he is also "legal counsel" to the building industry association (bia), i.e. the trade unions.
the vela project aka: turquoise tower, will cost $185,000,000. a million in legal fees to win IS CHICKEN FEED. this project will make them millions and millions.
the zeff's contribute to governor gavin newsom, state senator scott weiner, mayor todd gloria, the building industry association, and others.
the bia donates to politicians who support density bonus laws. building high rises keep their union workers in high paying jobs for years.
when i called the big land use law firms in san diego, i was told me they represent developers; they couldn't help a local activist group, that would be a conflict of interest.
the pacific beach planning group subgroup IS neighbors for a better california (nfabc). this group has retained joshua chatten-brown.
team turquoise tower is providing community outreach and fundraising to SUPPORT nfabc.
alley behind THE FUTURE TOWER, PEOPLE ACCESS THEIR GARAGE AND PARKING SPACES VIA THE ALLEY, KIDS pLAY IN THE ALLEY. hundreds of people WILL LOSE ALL SUNLIGHT in their home.
GROUNd level UPSCALE RETAIL
5 floors above ground parking, 300 cars
11 floors/139 airbnb hotel suites with kitchens
7 FLOORS/65 luxury apartments, top level of tower with ocean views, able to be rented as airbnbs
5 VERY LOW INCOME, 5 MODERATE INCOME ($180,000) APARTMENTS
400-700 people, 300 vehicles, ubers, deliveries, cleaning, maintenance, & staff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0RaMElbMDg
https://www.neighborsforabettercalifornia.org/turquoise-tower
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUnfSLaERa2/
https://www.reddit.com/r/SanDiegan/comments/1qt3fbe/san_diego_developer_at_impasse_over_turquoise/
https://www.facebook.com/reel/783798974738873
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0RaMElbMDg
https://buildsd.org/projects/project-vela
https://lajolla.ca/news/local-impact/proposed-23-story-pb-tower-a-la-jolla-problem-locals-say/
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUjISInErRT/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1o5R0U05Qc
https://x.com/sdut/status/2017982447527350749
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUnEipNjCJx/
https://x.com/RepScottPeters/status/1864751497004875822
https://www.sandiegoville.com/2024/11/protesters-rally-against-proposed.html
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1651670722481013
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUXBtKdju4P/
https://www.858.news/turquoise-tower-fight-may-head-to-court/
https://obrag.org/2025/07/hundreds-protest-22-story-tower-proposed-for-pacific-beach/
VFW 5985 Turquoise St., Pacific Beach The post opened before WWII.
The commander is worried that the construction and increased traffic will stop veterans from coming to meetings, the post will lose its voting quorum and will have to shut down.
The VELA TOWER, AKA: TURQUOISE TOWER, will fill in the street on the left and will be 3x higher than the trees
My original artwork for Neighbors for a Better California logo showing a letter N/NEIGHBORS house. 2025
Kalonymus carmel Partners multi family builders san diego luxury apartments density bonus laws senator weiner assemblymember david alvarez mayor todd gloria turquoise tower the vela tower pacific beach california NEIGHBORS FOR A BETTER CALIFORNIA
bribery and corruption COMES TO PACIFIC BEACH
the black hats:
cARMEL PARTNERS (DAD/Ron) KALONYMUS (SON/max)
the developer's spokesperson is former city of san diego employee, Matt Awbrey, mayor faulconer's chief of staff
the white hats:
pacific beach planning group/ neighbors for a better CA interact with the city and state against the BLACK HATS
Team turquoise tower interact with the community against the BLACK HATS
the plot
KALONYMUS Bought $10M LAND in pacific beach 2022
SUMMER 2026 THE PROPERTIES ARE VACANT NO RENT IS BEING COLLECTED TAXES are BEING PAID
the BLACK HATS corruption story - LOS ANGELES
2017–2018: Carmel Partners, through a lobbyist and executives, coordinated political donations and assistance connected to former City Councilman Jose Huizar to secure approvals for their 520 Mateo tower project in the Arts District of Los Angeles to reduce the number of affordable apartments.
June 2020: The U.S. Department of Justice and FBI publicly ensnared Carmel Partners in the sprawling corruption probe following the arrest of Jose Huizar and the indictment of figures linked to former LA deputy mayor Raymond Chan.
December 2020 / January 2021: Carmel Partners (rebranded as CP Employer, Inc.) entered into a non-prosecution agreement and agreed to a $1.2 million penalty to resolve the federal criminal probe
Carmel Partners sought to reduce the number of affordable units at The Alloy to maximize project profitability, a maneuver that became central to a federal City Hall corruption scandal.
The developer used a "pay-to-play" scheme to bypass local zoning rules and secure approvals for the Arts District's tallest building with minimal low-income housing requirements.
The Bribery and Corruption Scheme
The Quid Pro Quo: According to federal prosecutors, former Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar accepted bribes and political contributions—including $125,000 and financial support for his wife’s City Council campaign—from Carmel Partners.
The Policy Push: In exchange for the financial backing, Huizar used his political influence during the entitlement process to actively reduce the required amount of affordable housing and slash the fees Carmel Partners was obligated to pay into the city’s affordable housing fund.
The Outcome: A real estate executive celebrated the council's approval in an email, calling the permission to build a massive tower with "minimal" affordable housing a "truly amazing" accomplishment.