Del Mar's plan to build 61 affordable housing units on fairgrounds land is dead unless the City Council apologizes to a board member it asked prosecutors to investigate over alleged conflicts of interest.
The Del Mar Fairgrounds Board of Directors ended its exclusive negotiating agreement with the city in August and now says a formal apology to board member Mark Arabo is a precondition for any renewed talks, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The city was counting on the fairgrounds to host 61 of the 113 affordable units it must accommodate by 2029 under the state's Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). The backup plan in the city's housing element calls for upzoning north and south bluff properties where officials and residents have long opposed multi-unit development.
The dispute traces to July, when the city received an email signed by a "Debrah Barnes" suggesting Arabo had conflicts of interest related to the fairgrounds housing proposal. The letter did not allege any specific wrongdoing. No one has been able to verify that Barnes exists. The phone number listed in the letter goes to voicemail and is linked to a Snapchat account under a different name, the Union-Tribune reported in an earlier investigation.
On Aug. 3, the Del Mar City Council voted 3-0 in a 10-minute special meeting to send criminal referrals to San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan and U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. Councilmembers Tracy Martinez, John Spelich and Terry Gaasterland voted in favor. Councilmember Dan Quirk was absent. The council did not discuss Arabo's three-page rebuttal before voting.
In an Oct. 1 letter, Stephan's Public Integrity Unit declined to pursue charges. The unit called the city's handling of the referral "very irregular" and said investigators could not verify Barnes' identity or legitimacy as a complainant. The DA's office also found that California Attorney General Rob Bonta's communications with Del Mar about the 259-unit Seaside Ridge proposal were consistent with his overall enforcement of housing law.
"No one could verify the person exists, including the prosecutors," Arabo said at the board's Oct. 13 meeting. "Why wouldn't the city check?"
Fair board member Donna DeBerry said an apology must come before any renewed housing talks. Other board members called for answers from city officials about whether they would handle similar allegations differently in the future.
As we reported Oct. 14, the board also approved a new legal-fee reimbursement policy at the same meeting.
Martinez and Spelich, who both voted to send the referrals, have appeared at fair board meetings urging the board to resume negotiations. At a September board meeting, Martinez asked the board to "formally reinstate discussions" and warned that without action, "the opportunity to build 61 units of critically needed affordable housing west of the five will be lost," according to a board meeting transcript.
The fair board voted 5-3 on Aug. 18 to terminate the exclusive negotiating agreement, which had been set to run through April 2027. Board member Ted Miyahara, who made the termination motion, said the board could explore housing options that do not require Del Mar to annex San Diego land. Arabo recused himself from that vote.
Del Mar City Manager Ashley Jones said in an email to Voice of San Diego that the city did not investigate the Barnes letter or the person who sent it before referring the matter to prosecutors. The city has declined to comment on the DA's letter.
A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Gordon declined to say whether his office has made a decision on the federal referral. The fair board has asked city officials to appear at its November meeting to deliver the apology.
