Port presents Skycharger electric truck‑hub EIR; National City council presses for stronger community benefits and safety safeguards

Port of San Diego staff presented the draft environmental impact report for the Tidelands Avenue Electric Truck Hub — a Skycharger LLC project at 19th and Tylance Avenue — and said the project would provide on‑site renewable energy, battery storage and charging for heavy‑duty trucks.

"This project would be charging up to 70 trucks simultaneously," Peter Iger, principal planner at the Port of San Diego, told the council during a June 16 briefing. He described a "trucking‑as‑a‑service" program intended to lower the upfront cost of electric trucks for independent drivers and said the draft EIR identified no significant environmental impacts that required mitigation.

Supporters at the meeting said the hub could reduce diesel pollution, create union jobs and provide training. "Because the project will be built under a CBA, it will create opportunities for National City residents interested in apprenticeships and careers in the trades," Corey Schumacher, policy director for IBEW Local 569, told the council.

Residents and some council members raised safety and siting concerns. The mayor warned that concentrating lithium‑ion batteries and many heavy trucks in a single facility could create risks to nearby neighborhoods, saying emergency response planning and equipment questions remain central to public confidence. "If something happens on one of them, whether it's on your property or a block away, that is a real concern for our residents," the mayor said.

Port staff and Skycharger representatives said they have prepared a hazard‑mitigation plan and an emergency response plan that have been shared with harbor police, the Department of Homeland Security staff for the port and National City Fire for review. Joe Nelson, the port's chief strategy officer, and Skycharger's president Andy Koretsky said the port and project team had undertaken multiple rounds of community outreach and that the port will consider EIR certification and the coastal development permit in mid‑July.

Council members asked for more detail on the community benefits package and emphasized that any annual community benefits agreement should prioritize National City residents. One council member said she would make a motion to recommend the council express formal support to the port and to request that port staff and Skycharger bring detailed community benefits language back to the city for review.

The port clarified that the coastal development permit and certification of the EIR would be issued by the Port of San Diego; National City will have jurisdiction over any building permits for construction within the city. Port staff also noted that lease negotiations and the community benefits agreement were a separate, ongoing track that could follow the EIR and permit decisions.

Next steps: Port staff said the Board of Port Commissioners is scheduled to consider EIR certification and the coastal development permit in mid‑July; a separate lease and community benefits negotiation could follow in August. Several council members asked staff to place a community‑benefits‑focused staff report on the June 30 agenda so the council could consider drafting a support letter or formal recommendations to the port prior to the Port Commission vote.

Sources: Presentation and Q&A with Port of San Diego planners Peter Iger and Joe Nelson; public comments from labor and community groups; council questions and direction during the June 16 meeting.