Injunction lifted on Del Mar Heights rebuild, construction may resume

On March 6, San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal ruled to dissolve the injunction that halted construction on the Del Mar Heights School rebuild project, finding that all issues regarding the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) challenges have been “fully and finally” resolved.

With the injunction terminated, construction can resume immediately, according to the Del Mar Union School District. Construction has been stopped since May 2022, two months after the old school was knocked down.

Save the Field’s lawsuit challenged the city of San Diego’s approval of the rebuild project, arguing that it did not comply with CEQA by splitting its environmental review between two documents. Save the Field had argued that a full EIR (Environmental Impact Report) was needed to evaluate the impacts of wildfire, traffic, evacuation and recreation.

Judge Bacal’s action followed the Supreme Court decision in January to decide not to hear a challenge by Save the Field on a separate lawsuit, which upheld an Appellate Court decision in favor of the district.

“This is an excellent day for the students of the Del Mar Heights School,” said Superintendent Holly McClurg, in a news release. “We are excited to restart construction so our Del Mar Heights students can come back home to a new, state of the art campus.”

When construction began last spring, Balfour Beatty Construction had committed to an expedited 14-month build.