Lawsuit continues to thwart San Diego’s sale of Tailgate Park to Padres development team

More than 3.5 years after approval, the city of San Diego’s sale of the Tailgate Park parking lot just east of Petco Park to a development team led by the San Diego Padres is still pending as a government watchdog continues its courtroom battle to kill the deal.

Last week, Project for Open Government formally notified San Diego’s Superior Court that it is appealing the trial court’s late-June decision in favor of the city and the development team.

The nonprofit’s decision to appeal also keeps on ice the associated redevelopment plan for the Tailgate Park property, which is memorialized in a disposition and development agreement tied to the transaction. The project, called East Village Quarter, calls for 1,800 residential units in a collection of mid- and high-rise residential buildings, 50,000 square feet of retail and office space, a public park and 1,200 public parking spaces.

When reached for comment via email, Cory Briggs, the attorney representing Project for Open Government, said the nonprofit will make its statements in court filings. Briggs has previously framed the transaction as a giveaway of public property to billionaires at the expense of San Diegans in need of affordable housing.

The development team, through a spokesperson, declined to comment for this story.

Tailgate Park covers roughly four city blocks bounded by 12th and Imperial avenues and K and 14th streets, and includes 1,060 surface parking spaces. The site is lease...