Del Mar Planning Commissioner Mark Rittenbaum is calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to remove all six members of the board that terminated the city's affordable housing agreement at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Rittenbaum delivered his remarks during public comment at the 22nd District Agricultural Association (22nd DAA) board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15. He later published them as an opinion piece in The Coast News on Thursday, Sept. 17.

"I call on Gov. Newsom to replace all six board members immediately, appoint board members who support the governor's goals and policies, and start holding this board accountable," Rittenbaum wrote.

Rittenbaum noted he was speaking as a private citizen, not on behalf of the Planning Commission.

The demand escalates a dispute that began Aug. 18, when the 22nd DAA board voted 5-3 to terminate an Exclusive Negotiating Rights Agreement (ENRA) the board and the city signed in 2024 to explore building 61 affordable housing units on fairgrounds property. As we reported Sept. 15, the vote surprised city leaders.

Board member Ted Miyahara made the motion to terminate, citing what he called a "huge lack of certainty" about whether San Diego would annex the proposed site. Board members Phil Blair, Frederick Schenk and Lisa Barkett voted against termination. Mark Arabo voluntarily recused himself.

Rittenbaum's call to replace "all six" members targets the five who voted to terminate plus Arabo, who recused himself but whom Rittenbaum accused of failing to support the governor's housing policies.

The project would have occupied less than one acre of the fairgrounds' roughly 340 acres. Del Mar had received a $1.7 million state housing grant for the effort, and about $800,000 of that went toward a feasibility study, KPBS reported.

Rittenbaum argued the board acted in bad faith and wasted public funds. He noted that over half of Del Mar's housing requirements stem from fairgrounds employees who themselves qualify for affordable housing.

All 22nd DAA board members are appointed directly by the governor without state Senate confirmation, according to Voice of San Diego. That structure is central to Rittenbaum's argument: the board, he said, refuses to carry out the governor's own housing priorities.

Del Mar Mayor Tracy Martinez and Deputy Mayor John Spelich also attended the Tuesday, Sept. 15 meeting and urged the board to reconsider, The Coast News reported. The housing issue was raised during open comment and was not on the agenda, so the board could not discuss it or take action.

Martinez had previously sent a letter to the board on Aug. 21 asking it to reverse course. No response from Gov. Newsom's office or the 22nd DAA board to Rittenbaum's demand has been reported.

The state's housing department gave Del Mar until November 2026 to secure a lease agreement with the fairgrounds for the project.