Updating Land Uses in Barrio Logan

The Barrio Logan Community Plan Update was adopted by City Council in 2013 and was repealed by referendum in 2014 due to concerns about where ship building industries could operate. A recent Agreement between stakeholder groups, including the Barrio Logan Community Planning Group, proposes changes to land uses to complete the 2013 Barrio Logan Community Plan and associated zoning. The 2013 Community Plan Update included policies consistent with the General Plan and the City of Villages strategy.

This webpage is designed to outline the recommendations proposed in the MOU, so community members and other interested parties can provide feedback on the recommended changes and move the 2013 Barrio Logan Community Plan to adoption.

Barrio Logan is one of the oldest and most culturally-rich urban neighborhoods in San Diego. The community is positioned between Downtown San Diego to the north, Interstate 5 to the east, the Unified Port of San Diego and United States Naval Base San Diego along San Diego Bay to the west, and National City to the south. Barrio Logan comprises approximately 1,000 acres. The Port of San Diego and Naval Station San Diego comprise 562 acres or 52 percent of the land area contained within the community planning area.

The City does not have land use authority over the Port of San Diego or the United States Navy properties. Barrio Logan is in the Local Coastal Zone and subject to the California Coastal Act which is implemented by the Barrio Logan Local Coastal Program.

Barrio Logan's mix of industrial, commercial, residential, and institutional uses developed in a manner consistent with the adopted 1978 Community Plan land use policies and zoning. The 1978 Community Plan and zoning ordinance re-established and validated the existing mix of uses, while allowing additional new residential and industrial uses to locate side-by-side. The Barrio Logan Community Plan Update was adopted by City Council in 2013 and was repealed by referendum in 2014. 

In many areas of Barrio Logan, existing zoning still permits industrial and residential uses in close proximity to each other.

To address the incompatible land uses that are described above, the City of San Diego worked with the community and stakeholders to update the Barrio Logan Community Plan, which was adopted by the San Diego City Council in 2013. Specifically, the 2013 Community Plan Update intended to:

• Address existing collocation issues by establishing a buffer to separate incompatible uses;
• Increase the number of allowable housing units;
• Provide sufficient public facilities; and
• Encourage new retail and community serving commercial uses throughout the community.

Concerns among various stakeholders about the land uses changes led the Community Plan and associated ordinances to be rescinded by a referendary petition and a Citywide vote in 2014. The Community Plan currently in effect for the Barrio Logan community is the 1978 Barrio Logan Community Plan.

In 2019, the Barrio Logan Community Planning Group worked with representatives from the Environmental Health Coalition, and the shipbuilding and ship repair industry to address land use issues that would result in the 2013 plan being resolved. All parties agreed at the outset of the process that completing the Barrio Logan Community Plan Update (BLCPU) is in the best interest of the community.

It was agreed that the current approved  1978 Barrio Logan Community Plan  does not adequately address the current state of the community. The parties also agreed that the mixing of industrial and residential uses in the Barrio Logan community has proven to be unhealthy, and the plan update seeks to remedy this situation in the future.

The result of this effort was the preparation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which addressed proposed changes to the  2013 Barrio Logan Community Plan  and associated zoning. The May 2020 MOU was reviewed and discussed by the BLPG at meetings in July and August of 2020 as the basis for moving forward in the Community Plan Update Process.

The MOU recommends specific land uses within a focused area of Barrio Logan, comprising approximately 7 percent of the total Barrio Logan community plan area, primarily located between Evans Avenue and 32nd Street. The MOU identifies four specific areas with clearly defined allowed and prohibited uses that are intended to address existing collocation issues by establishing a buffer to separate incompatible uses.

The goal of the MOU land use recommendations is to create a healthier community by prohibiting uses that use harmful pollutants (in all focus areas) while also preserving industrial and maritime employment opportunities (in the Maritime Commercial Zone).

The proposed focus areas include:

• Maritime Commercial Zone (blue)
• Community Commercial Zone (green)
• Neighborhood Commercial Zone (yellow)
• Boston Avenue Residential Area Zone (orange)

You can review each proposed focus area and the proposed allowed and prohibited uses in the following maps.

The first map shows all four zones combined and provides a list of all uses that will be prohibited in these zones.

This concludes the summary of the MOU. The next step is for you to take the following  survey  and indicate if you support the zoning updates proposed by the Barrio Logan Community Planning Group, the Environmental Health Coalition, and the Ship Building and Ship Repair Industry.