My name is Mark Rittenbaum, and I’m here to address the fairgrounds board’s decision on Del Mar affordable housing.
Before I start my remarks today and you start the clock, I want to acknowledge that, while I serve as a volunteer member of Del Mar’s Planning Commission, my remarks reflect my views as a private citizen. In no way do I speak on behalf of or as a member of the commission.
By way of background, before moving to Del Mar, I held various senior executive positions at a publicly traded company and, like many of you, have sat on a number of boards.
At a 22nd District Agricultural Association board meeting in August, a majority of the board voted to kill the agreement with Del Mar to build 61 affordable housing units on the fairgrounds property. Shame on the five board members who killed this opportunity and, in the process, demonstrated a complete lack of social or moral responsibility.
Simply breathtaking.
As part of your decision to kill this opportunity, some of you claim affordable housing isn’t your problem or doesn’t put the fairgrounds first — even though your own employees qualify for and desperately need it, even though over half of Del Mar’s requirements are created by your employees, even though Gov. Gavin Newsom, who appointed you, set a policy to use public lands.
Even as state and local officials have implored you to move forward. Even as the state has declared affordable housing a crisis. How telling that you describe it as a problem rather than a responsibility.
Let’s look at the facts:
The fairgrounds sit on roughly 340 acres, much of which is unused or underused.
The City of Del Mar’s request is for less than one acre — not even one-third of 1% of the fairgrounds property. That’s right: This whole drama is about less than one acre. Yet you have examined, reexamined, manipulated, stalled and played rope-a-dope for years.
You moved the goalposts and disingenuously decided the housing must be built outside Del Mar’s city boundaries. Then you say it’s all just too complicated and won’t even let the process play out. Somehow, you couldn’t find one single acre within Del Mar. You created the complications and roadblocks.
In short, you have acted in bad faith and, in the process, used public funds to otherwise benefit the fairgrounds.
This is NIMBY at its worst.
The five of you, along with Director Mark Arabo, proudly point out that you are governor-appointed, but you will not implement the governor’s policies.
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.
Mark Rittenbaum
Del Mar
Editor’s Note: These remarks were first delivered on Sept. 15 during the public comment portion of a 22nd District Agricultural Association board meeting in Del Mar.
