2026
- Airport
This San Diego airport is the nation’s worst lead polluter. Its planes fly past 30 schools
Montgomery-Gibbs puts more lead into the air than any other airport for private and training planes in the country, according to federal data inewsource obtained. Most planes there burn leaded fuel. Unleaded fuel went on sale in 2024, but only 168 gallons have sold, compared with almost 1.5 million gallons of leaded fuel. Lead is especially harmful to children, and training flights pass over or within 2 miles of more than 30 schools. The City's master plan shows lead above the level at which federal rules usually require air monitoring, but local officials say they have not tested the air there for lead.
Project status: Montgomery Field airport master plan →
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- Airport
New video and witness accounts emerge as federal investigators probe deadly Montgomery Field crash
The FAA's preliminary report says the Cessna's left wing dipped as it came in to land, the plane appeared to stall, and it spun into the ground. The NTSB, which is leading the investigation, says the pilots were aborting the landing at the time. Its investigations usually take a year or more.
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- Airport
Cessna crashes at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, killing 2
It crashed and burned on the runway on September 7. Crews put out the fire and contained a fuel spill, and the airport was closed while they worked.
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- Public safety
Three-alarm fire destroys abandoned Serra Mesa office building
More than 100 firefighters fought the fire for five hours at the vacant office building at 9160 Gramercy Drive, across the street from Taft Middle School. No one was hurt, and the cause is under investigation.
Project status: Guild Mortgage building site: KB Home's 199 homes on Gramercy Dr →
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- Parks & canyons
Long-awaited trail improvements connect Serra Mesa and Mission Valley
Rebuilt trails through Ruffin Canyon, three new footbridges and a trailhead at Escala now link the neighborhood to Mission Valley on foot.
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- Housing
Former Serra Mesa Library will become 59 affordable housing units
Construction started on the Sandrock Road site, which has been empty since the library closed in 2006. Half the apartments are for veterans who have experienced homelessness, and rents stay capped for 55 years.
Project status: Old Serra Mesa library site: 59 affordable apartments (3440 Sandrock Rd) →
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- Public safety
City of San Diego will implement state-mandated Zone Zero fire clearance
Homes in very high fire hazard severity zones must remove anything that can burn, including plants, firewood and trash bins, from the first five feet around the house. Existing homes have until February 2027.
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- Schools
San Diego school board selects developers for workforce housing
San Diego Unified picked developers for roughly 1,500 apartments for its own employees across five district properties. One of them is a 108-unit project at the Instructional Media Center on Cardinal Lane, in Birdland.
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2025
- Housing
City to Transform Old Serra Mesa Library into Affordable Housing for Veterans, Families
The City Council approved a 65-year lease with Community HousingWorks to build 59 affordable apartments on the vacant library site at 3440 Sandrock Road. Thirty of them are set aside for veterans.
Project status: Old Serra Mesa library site: 59 affordable apartments (3440 Sandrock Rd) →
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