On February 20, 1961, a shopping mall opened on land in a San Diego valley that had previously been used for dairy farming and was known to flood.
Many people in the city had paid little attention to the area before. The site lay between two freeways, and the San Diego River would overflow there during periods of high water.
In early 1958, May Centers, a Los Angeles developer, proposed rezoning 90 acres of the land. The San Diego City Council approved the change unanimously in June of that year…