Aguirre: Waring Lobbying for 166

Published: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 11:03 AM PDT

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City Attorney Mike Aguirre asked Mayor Jerry Sanders today to rein in his top land-use aide, who Aguirre claims is lobbying City Council members to allow Sunroad Enterprises to lower its Kearny Mesa office building to 166 feet. At that stature, the building would exceed a federal height limit by two yards.

Aguirre said council members told him that Jim Waring, the land use and development chief for Sanders, met with council offices on the issue as recently as last week.

In a letter to the mayor, city attorney warned Sanders that Waring's "interference" in the matter could jeopardize the city's attempts to settle its dispute with Sunroad. The company's180-foot building near Montgomery Field, currently under construction, has been deemed hazardous by the Federal Aviation Administration.

"Any setback will most certainly have the effect of prolonging litigation, increasing the associated costs, and reopening an issue of public safety that was on the path to resolution," Aguirre wrote.

An assistant for Waring said he was out of the country and unavailable for comment.

Sanders ordered in June that the building be lowered to 160 foot to comply with the FAA's rule, and Sunroad agreed. The developer was seen disassembling parts of the building this morning.

But Sanders had pursued negotiations with Sunroad and FAA to allow the building to stand outside of the city attorney's lawsuit before he signed on to Aguirre's hard-line stance.

(Update: The original version of this post used the word "oath" rather than "path" in quoting the city attorney's letter.)

-- EVAN McLAUGHLIN