Navy Optimistic Dispute Over Bayfront Land Can Be Solved

A top Navy building official said Friday he is optimistic that a dispute with the state of California over the Navy’s plans to rebuild its downtown base and supply center into a major complex of high-rise offices and hotels can be settled without jeopardizing the project.

“We’re both looking for a way to resolve” the situation, said Bill Robinson, executive director of the Broadway Complex development. Robinson is a civilian employed by the Navy.

The state attorney general’s office has told the Navy that the 16-acre site at the edge of San Diego Bay was given to the Navy for military purposes only.

The Navy’s proposal to turn over part of the property to private developers violates the military-only restriction, the state contends. The Navy wants to rebuild its decrepit offices at minimal cost by letting developers build hotels and high-rise office space in return for supplying the Navy’s new buildings.

Robinson said that, although Navy lawyers don’t agree with the state’s contention, emphasis is being placed on negotiating a settlement.

“They want to get as much as they can,” said Robinson, referring to the state’s stance that it be compensated for use of its property, bounded by Broadway, Market Street, Pacific Coast Highway and Harbor Drive. He added that it is highly unlikely that the Navy will provide money to the state.

In an effort to document what the state would receive from the project, the Navy is compiling a list of benefits to the state, such as state income taxes from the expanded work force at the site, property taxes the private developers would pay and open space and waterfront access contained in the complex.

“This is an ongoing process . . . (that) I think we’ll eventually resolve,” Robinson said. He is convinced that the state wants to see the Broadway Complex developed and is trying to protect its interests.