Sanders halts Blackwater plans

Training facility's permits under fire
By Tanya Mannes
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

May 21, 2008

OTAY MESA – Amid growing controversy, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said this week that he won't allow Blackwater Worldwide to open its Navy training facility in Otay Mesa until the plan goes through the city's public review process.

The company has leased a 61,600-square-foot warehouse in a business park three blocks from the U.S.-Mexico border near Brown Field. It is installing a shooting range, a simulated Navy ship and classrooms, and hopes to begin operating in June.
On Monday, Sanders told his development services director, Kelly Broughton, that Blackwater's permits, which had been issued by city staff, will require more scrutiny than the staff-level review.

Broughton then sent a letter to Blackwater vice president Brian Bonfiglio stating that “no certificate of occupancy will be issuedâ€