Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Wednesday, September 2, 2026Official site

The Board of Supervisors adopted ordinances for a Socially Equitable Cannabis Program despite extensive public opposition and upheld the approval of the York Drive Senior Living project, which includes senior housing and sewer improvements that were the subject of an appeal by affected property owners.

About this meeting

Government Body
Board of Supervisors
Meeting Type
Board Of Supervisors
Location
San Diego County, CA
Meeting Date
September 2, 2026

Published excerpts

Only published remarks appear here. The full transcript is not published.

48 sections (from 50 segments)

5:27•Terra Lawson-Remer

Good morning. I now call the September 2nd San Diego County Board of Supervisors Land Use Legislative Meeting to order. Ryan, please call the roll.

5:44 – 6:46•Terra Lawson-Remer

Here. Before we begin, I'll take a moment to remind everyone of our House rules. Public engagement is the cornerstone of transparent and accountable government, and these Boards of Supervisors meetings are one of the primary venues where people can make their voices heard. Under our Board's rules, speakers may not use a loud, shouting, threatening, profane, slanderous, or abusive language to any member of the Board, staff, or general public, as this disrupts the conduct of the meeting. Second of all, remarks and questions must be germane and on topic during the duration of your speaking time a

7:01 – 8:36•Terra Lawson-Remer

Thank you very much. We now move to non-agenda public comment. This is an opportunity for the public to address matters within our subject matter jurisdiction at the Board of Supervisors, but not on the meeting agenda today. This is a reminder. Comments on an agenda must be regarding matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of this Board of Supervisors. I will stop you if your topics or your comments are about something that we don't have jurisdiction over. For example, if someone was commenting on, you know, say the war in Iran, that is not something in our jurisdiction. So I will stop

10:22•Terra Lawson-Remer

Sorry, I just want to get clarity. What part of town are we talking about?

10:32•Terra Lawson-Remer

But this is the city of San Diego? It sounds like...

10:41•Terra Lawson-Remer

I'll just let my colleague, if this is helpful to you, if you want him to go ahead and proceed or however you'd like to deal with it. Go ahead and proceed. My staff has been in contact. Okay, please go ahead.

26:59 – 27:12•Terra Lawson-Remer

Okay, thank you very much. We now move on to the consent agenda. All the items are routine and will be voted upon with one motion. Do any of my colleagues have any items they wish to pull or any comments they'd like to make? Vice Chair?

27:14•Monica Montgomery Steppe

No need to pull any item from me. I will move the consent agenda. Thank you.

27:17 – 27:35•Terra Lawson-Remer

Okay, we have a motion on the floor for the consent agenda from Vice Chair Montgomery-Stepp. Chair Pro Tem, would you agree? No comments. No comments, and a second from Chair Pro Tem. Supervisor Anderson? I have nothing yet. Okay, and Supervisor Desmond? Nothing, thank you. Okay, we'll now go to public comment.

46:01•Terra Lawson-Remer

Please clarify which items on the consent agenda you are speaking to and make sure your comments are germane.

1:01:39•Terra Lawson-Remer

Okay, thank you very much. Supervisor Anderson, excuse me, Supervisor Desmond, you had your hand up first.

1:01:45 – 1:02:05•Jim Desmond

Thank you, Madam Chair. I was wondering if I could ask if we could bifurcate the vote. There's only two items on the consent calendar, and one I think we'll all agree with, and the other one's a little more controversial. So I'd ask the maker and the guest either... the chair, it's your priority for the motion makers. If we could bifurcate one and two.

1:02:06•Terra Lawson-Remer

Is that okay with the maker of the motion?

1:02:08•Monica Montgomery Steppe

I'm fine with that. Whatever's easiest for the board.

1:02:11 – 1:02:33•Terra Lawson-Remer

Is that okay? Great. Okay. That's fine. We'll be able to vote on each separately. Yep. That was your question as well. Well, fantastic. Any other comments? Okay, thank you very much. Go ahead, Ryan, please call the vote. And please call each item separately.

1:02:39 – 1:03:18•Joel Anderson

You know, one of the things that we may want to consider as a board moving forward, when the vote's not unanimous, it doesn't belong in consent. And I neglected to pull it from consent. I had intended on pulling it. So when Supervisor Desmond asked for it to be bifurcated, I appreciate that, and that's why I pulled my name off. But it would save a lot of time. If it's not unanimous, it shouldn't be consent. Only thing on consent should be unanimous that we all agree on. So thank you. That would save me from having to poll it each time because I'm going to poll. Everyone that I voted against in

1:03:19•Terra Lawson-Remer

I think that feedback can be, the CEO sets the consent agenda, so I'm sure Davia can convey that to the CAO.

1:03:33 – 1:04:40•Monica Montgomery Steppe

Supervisor Montgomery-Stepp. Just a quick point of clarification. I don't disagree, but for second readings of all, I think the way that we do it now, is that any second reading of an ordinance goes on consent. We have the authority and ability to, to pull, but I don't know if that would, be best practice moving forward. It's certainly open to it. If that happens, that's okay. But we, this is not, this was not treated any differently than any other ordinance has ever come before this board. All second readings go to consent. And then if we end up pulling them, which I think all of us have done

1:04:41 – 1:04:57•Terra Lawson-Remer

Um, thank you. And that is, that is accurate. Uh, just to, to clear, to echo the vice chair's point of order, um, all second readings go to consent, um, as a matter of, um, practice with the CAO's office. Supervisor Anderson.

1:04:58 – 1:05:22•Joel Anderson

I wasn't contending that we did anything differently this time. What I'm saying is moving forward, I'm always going to pull it. I'm never not going to pull it. We can go through the river of me pulling it, or we can just go ahead and pull it in advance, knowing that if I voted against it, I'm pulling it. So it's your choice, but I just want to give that opportunity to save time. Thank you.

1:05:25•Terra Lawson-Remer

Okay, thank you very much. We have a motion and a second. Please call the vote separately.

1:06:09 – 1:06:23•Terra Lawson-Remer

Okay, thank you all very much. We're moving on now to our next item. This is an item three, notice public hearing appeal of the York Drive senior living major use permit and mitigating negative declaration. Team has the presentation.

1:13:30 – 1:13:56•Jim Desmond

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. For this agenda item, the appeal of the York-Drives Senior Major Use Permit, and for the mitigated negative declaration, I need to address, I received a contribution triggering the Levine Act from Harry Crowell, who is a party owner to the project. Within the last 12 months, all the funds have been returned, thereby allowing myself to participate in today's hearing.

1:13:58•Terra Lawson-Remer

Okay. Thank you very much. We can go to public comment.

1:37:42•Terra Lawson-Remer

Okay. Thank you so much. Supervisor Desmond.

1:37:46 – 1:38:57•Jim Desmond

Thank you, Madam Chair. And thanks, staff, for the presentation and for the people who all participated and came down here to talk about this. I got questions for staff and then I think for Mr. Hawk as well from the Buena Creek Sprinters, or Buena Creek, let's see, Buena Sanitation. district. The project is a good project. It's deed-restricted, senior living, on-site amenities, near the county's only public transit stop, rail stop, the Buena Creek Sprinter Station. I feel bad for the appellant and the neighbors who are going to be impacted by potential sewer improvements. I mean, you know, whe

1:39:20•Jim Desmond

Okay, so it just happens that this project going forward is, I guess, triggering those improvements.

1:39:41 – 1:40:51•Jim Desmond

Okay, so it's not really that the project's that bad, it's just the improvements that are being required that were part of a master plan that's been in place for decades, essentially. You could describe it that way, yes. Mr. Hawk from Buena Creek, or I'm sorry, I keep saying Creek, Buena Sanitation District? Yes, sir. So you've heard from the people, and hopefully you've already, I don't know, they've come to your meetings and you've been talking with them as well, and they're saying, you know, what we unfortunately... You know, we hear as well a lot. It's like, what's it going to be? Where is

1:42:40•Jim Desmond

So in addition to the pipe being underground, you're going to have a gravel path on top? Correct. How wide is that?

1:43:06•Jim Desmond

Is it yet to be determined that 8 feet or 10 feet?

1:43:17 – 1:43:30•Jim Desmond

Is that something that you could work on? Can you get an ATV down there and a narrower path? I'm just trying to get the least amount of intrusion on the property owners.

1:43:46•Jim Desmond

Um, now there's, there's, there's, there's manhole covers there already. So that are already there. Do you have access to those or have you required that or what's.

1:44:23•Jim Desmond

Okay, and this, the, the, The easement's been in place before the houses were there. Is that true?

1:45:05 – 1:45:23•Jim Desmond

So I'd like to, I guess, offer the homeowners reassurances that you're going to work with them as much as you possibly can. Absolutely. Yeah. Are you going to go beyond that easement at all? I mean, if you need a backhoe or what, I mean, during this process, are you going to have to go beyond that easement with getting equipment in there?

1:45:55•Jim Desmond

But you can't go on their property beyond the easement.

1:46:04•Jim Desmond

Right. Okay. All right. Well, all right. So I sympathize.

1:46:14 – 1:46:47•Jim Desmond

But I really feel sorry. I want you to be able to work with the people. And I know you can't give all the assurances that they want to hear today. And unfortunately, the easement's been there for a while. So I'd like to hear from you that you're going to work with them as much as you possibly can, keep them informed as much as you possibly can during the process, so that they and you yourself could come out there and meet and talk with them during the, you know, as things are going to progress. And, you know, legally, you've got to do what you've got to do. Absolutely.

1:47:25 – 1:48:08•Jim Desmond

Okay. Uh, so, so I can call you. Um, anyway, I sympathize with the neighbors and, and, uh, having this, this is intrusive. It's on their property, it's on their land, it's where their kids and families. I'll congregate, and I sympathize, but that easement's been there. So I don't see a legitimate legal reason to support the appeal. So I'll make a motion to support staff's recommendation and move to deny the appeal and request that the Buena Sanitation District engage with the people affected and keep them notified throughout the process. So there's a motion to... Deny the appeal.

1:48:09 – 1:48:23•Terra Lawson-Remer

Okay, we have a motion to deny the appeal. Anyone else have any comments? I'll second. Okay, we have a second by Supervisor Anderson. A motion and a second. Please vote. Yeah. Correct.

1:48:28•Terra Lawson-Remer

Okay, great. Thank you so much. Do we have any additional non-agenda public comments?

1:53:10•Terra Lawson-Remer

Okay, thank you all very much. That concludes our meeting today. So we are now adjourned. Committee? You'd like an adjournment in memory?

1:53:21•Jim Desmond

No, no, no, just community report. Or was that yesterday?

1:53:25•Terra Lawson-Remer

We usually do it on yesterdays, but if there's any committee reports, we did not do it.

1:53:31•Jim Desmond

Okay, if I could do a quick... Absolutely. Okay.

1:53:35•Terra Lawson-Remer

You're invited and welcome and we would all love to hear it. Thank you.

1:53:39 – 1:55:38•Jim Desmond

Yeah, sure. Okay, no, that's fine. From the Water Authority, again, the last meeting we executed a long-term agreement to sell the city of Burbank excess water. Believe it or not, we got excess water in San Diego County primarily because you have to order it like 10 years out, and we actually ordered more than our citizens are actually using because of the cutbacks and everything else and landscaping. So we're doing a great job. But unfortunately, we've got this excess water that we are responsible for that we still have to pay for. So the city of Burbank is going to be taking some of that off

1:55:39 – 1:55:52•Terra Lawson-Remer

I would be comfortable with Davia, who I think is the lead on the contract with the consultant, passing that on to the consultant as part of the scope of work, but that would be up to my colleague, who is the seconder of the motion. I think that's a great idea.

1:56:15 – 1:56:37•Terra Lawson-Remer

Dove, is that enough for you to ensure that there's direction paths to consultants to look holistically at options that include how to reuse sludge to make electricity or do other environmental things that don't just waste it. Is that a good summary of your? I think that's a great idea. Thank you. That'd be amazing. Okay. Thank you all very much. Okay. We are adjourned.

These excerpts are remarks by officials whose identity a person confirmed, from a transcript generated automatically from the official public meeting video and presented unedited. Accuracy may vary; view the original recording for reference.