City planner gives stadium parking, office presentation

Parking is the single biggest challenge confronting a new stadium for the San Diego Chargers in Oceanside, a senior city planner told an Oceanside Boulevard task force Tuesday in the city's first presentation on the stadium issue.

That problem, one in a two-city fight for the Chargers, could be addressed with a combination of public transportation and the construction of a high-end, mixed-use office project on the 70-acre Center City Golf Course site near Interstate 5 and Oceanside Boulevard, according to senior planner Peter Katz. Chula Vista is also vying to become the new home for team.

He stressed, after more than one task force member voiced concern about the presentation, that "there's no proposal here," that the Oceanside Boulevard Vision Task Force is not "a Chargers task force."

The presentation came just days after the city confirmed that the NFL team had hired a consulting company to look at the feasibility of building a mixed-use "office village" project at the site to accompany a stadium.

Katz, who is heading the recently formed Oceanside Boulevard Vision Task Force, spent a majority of the presentation (which loosely discussed how any stadium proposal would have to enhance Oceanside, not detract from it) addressing the parking concern.

The 15-member Oceanside Boulevard Vision Task Force, all appointed by City Council members and funding by the city, is charged with developing a vision for the boulevard's future, possibly leading to a city ordinance, similar to a master plan, for the area. The city does not currently have a citywide master plan.

"We're not selling anything, but we're talking about what could work ... if the Chargers (stadium) became a realistic plan," Katz said.

"There's a window, a possibility of this fitting into our town."

But in order for that to happen, nearby Interstate 5 would need extensive expansion; Sprinter, Coaster and Metrolink would all need to accommodate a football schedule, and the parking predicament at or near the stadium would have to be addressed, Katz said. In earlier discussions, Chargers counsel Mark Fabiani had also cited parking as a major hurdle.

"Surface lots (comparable to those at Qualcomm Stadium) are probably off the table," Katz said. "We just don't have the real estate."

But a nearby office project wrapped around parking garages -- filled with workers during the work week, but relatively empty during game days -- could be the ticket the team and the city need, he said.

"We're just talking about 'if' this were to happen," Katz said.

Last week in a meeting with Oceanside officials, Fabiani said demand for office space in Oceanside is the big question right now. Answering that question to the satisfaction of developers who specialize in such projects -- and who would put up the money to build them -- is key.

Patrick Gibbons, president of GCI Advisors, an Irvine-based real estate consulting firm, said Friday he has been hired by the team to evaluate "whether an office village is a viable economic use for the site, and if it isn't, what other options exist."

Oceanside joined National City and Chula Vista in January as suitors for the Chargers' new stadium. National City dropped its bid to woo the Chargers last week.

Gibbons said his first job will be to understand Oceanside's vision for a professional football stadium.

Creating a village of offices around the stadium could solve many of the parking-related challenges to locating a stadium in Oceanside, Fabiani said. A complex of four- to six-story office buildings surrounding the stadium would provide parking for office workers during the week and football fans on Sundays, Fabiani said.

Gibbons' job will be to judge the demand for upscale office space.

Answering that question is the next step in a process that began in January when city officials and the Chargers began talks.

Oceanside has retained two consultants, Denver-based attorney Paul Jacobs and economist Dan Barrett, at a maximum cost of $50,000 each to negotiate for the city with the Chargers as needed. The consultants have worked together on past stadium deals, including some Qualcomm issues, City Attorney John Mullen said.

"We've got them on hold right now," Mullen said.