CalSTA flags leased spaces under San Diego freeways for potential safety risk

SAN DIEGO — A review of a state program that rents space around California’s freeways launched after a pallet fire shut down a major Los Angeles freeway last month identified several sites in San Diego County with potential risks that could threaten major arteries.

The preliminary assessment — the results of which were detailed in a Nov. 22 memo from State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) Secretary Toks Omishakin to Gov. Gavin Newsom — names 38 areas that are leased through the state’s Airspace and Telecommunications Licensing Program that were concerning to officials for possible safety risks and “warrant further inspection.”

The nearly half of the sites identified in report are located in Los Angeles County. Meanwhile, five are located in San Diego County — all located near Interstate 5 and Interstate 8.

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The vulnerable spaces were identified based on the “results of recent inspections and characteristics of the site, including nature of known uses and proximity to critical infrastructure,” according to the memo.

The report was part of a comprehensive review and assessment of 601 “airspaces,” which are parcels of land near bridges or viaducts leased out by the state for non-transportation purposes, ordered by Newsom in response to the fire last month that crippled Interstate 10.

While the fire is believed to have been set by an individual, state investigators repeatedly flagged safety problems at the airspace under the freeway that was leased out to construction company, Apex Development, Inc., months prior to the incident.

The Nov. 22 memo was described as a “first step” towards rectifying additional vulnerabilities that may be present to critical thoroughfares in California.

In San Diego, the sites named in the memo with possible risks were on parcels of land that are either directly beneath or partially under I-5 or I-8. Three of the identified sites in San Diego were around the interchange between the two arteries.

The sites include: mini-warehouses at 3865 Rosecrans St., 4835 Pacific Hwy. and 4800 Pacific Hwy.; an EZ 8 Motel at 4747 Pacific Highway; and a storage facility at 1770 Thor St.

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In the memo, however, Omishakin said that only a limited number of the sites named present “a specific fire or safety risk, as opposed to a potential risk.” The site rented by Apex where the fire started was described as an “outlier.”

According to Caltrans, the five sites in San Diego, which were inspected by the agency on Nov. 21, were identified primarily because of this potential associated with their use and proximity to important highway structures.

The transit agency added that the State Fire Marshal is in the process of inspecting the locations, and reports on findings are expected sometime next week.

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