The Chula Vista City Council will consider a special tax district tied to an Eastlake Self Storage project next month, a proposal that came under scrutiny at a July 14 meeting after residents voiced opposition to a vehicle access road running through their neighborhood that is tied to the facility, arguing it would increase traffic and compromise safety in their neighborhood.
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The item before the council on July 14 was a proposal to annex the 9.35-acre storage project into a Community Facilities District, which funds long-term monitoring and maintenance of the Otay Ranch Open Space Preserve. The council was also asked to create a new improvement area to fund maintenance of nearby wetland mitigation land, according to a staff report.
Deputy Director of Development Services Rebecca Bridgeford told the council during the July 14 meeting that the item was strictly a financing matter, not a reconsideration of the project itself.
“Tonight’s action does not reconsider the project approval,” she said. “It completes a financing requirement established through those prior entitlements.”
The 1,200-unit storage facility, approved by the council in 2020, includes two access points under its entitlement: one off Eastlake Parkway and a second connecting to St. Germain Road, a cul-de-sac where many families with children live, according to city staff.
City Attorney Marco Verdugo clarified that the project’s entitlements, including the access points, were not up for reconsideration at the hearing as those determinations were made in 2020. He said the council could pursue a staff referral to study alternatives to the road.
The council voted 4-0 — with Councilmember Jose Preciado absent — to continue the public hearing to a later hearing. Council members also directed staff to confirm whether the St. Germain access is restricted to emergency use and to prepare an updated traffic study before the item returns.
Eight residents spoke during public comment, largely opposing the St. Germain access point and criticizing the city over what they described as insufficient notice.
“I feel like the city of Chula Vista has been completely negligent in making the people, the citizens, the community aware of something that directly impacts them, their house, their safety, their children,” resident Amanda Alba said.
Resident William Hauck raised safety concerns tied to increased traffic on the street.
“I understand that infrastructure needs to be updated and we need housing, health care facilities, schools, not another storage facility, guys,” he said, also citing crime incidents reported at storage facilities elsewhere in the region.
Councilmember Carolina Chavez, who represents District 1 where the project is located, publicly invited the developer to meet with residents.
“When you decide to develop, when you decide to invest in a community, it’s because you want to belong to this community,” Chavez said, later asking staff to explore pausing the St. Germain access pending further review.
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The council will hear the item at its regularly scheduled Aug. 11 meeting.
