By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Flooding in Encanto, via mayoral candidate Genevieve Jones-Wright

February 22, 2024 (San Diego) – Former City Attorney Mike Aguirre and civil rights leader Shane Harris with People’s Association of Justice Advocates (PAJA) held a press conference Feb. 12 to announce a lawsuit against the city of San Diego on behalf of homeowners who suffered “preventable” damages from the January 22 flooding.

Harris cited a 2018 audit of the city’s storm water system as well as an unsuccessful 2022 effort to pass a ballot measure to fund infrastructure as evidence that city officials knew of flood risks from its storm drains, but failed to resolve them. The report specifically mentioned Chollas Creek  issues that caused flooding across southeastern San Diego. 

“This was an act of man, not an act of God,” Harris said, adding that city officials could have prevented January’s flood damages had it prioritized needed upgrades after the audit more than four years earlier.

Over 1,000 residents in Southeast San Diego have been displaced and hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed, according to PAJA, including Southcrest, Mountain View, Shelltown and Encanto neighborhoods.