The project planners would like to thank everyone that attended Community Workshop No. 3 on November 7 for the unveiling of the draft Concept Alternatives for revitalizing De Anza.  They had an amazing turnout of over 600 attendees from the community that provided great feedback. The City of San Diego Project Team was excited to share the draft concept alternatives and greatly appreciate all the input and feedback they received.

The project planners want to allow the public to submit comments  for those who could not attend the November 7th meeting or who would like to further view and comment on the draft Concept Alternatives to provide their input in an online format. Please visit the Get Involved page to view the three Concept Alternatives, provide your feedback, and if desired, create your own design. This activity will run through December 8 so leave your feedback soon!

Or if you prefer to mail your comments for receipt no later than November 30, mail them to:

Craig Hooker
Park Designer
City of San Diego
Planning Department
1010 2nd Ave Suite 1200 MS 413
San Diego CA 92101

All workshop materials have also been posted on the News & Events page for your reference.

The Friends of Rose Creek recommends including the following feedback to the project planners and encourage you to focus on the components of each plan that you like and why,  as well as the components that you do not like and why,  rather than choosing between the three plans as presented. We feel very strongly that the City needs to revise its alternatives significantly to allow Rose Creek to meander into the project area and meet the needs of wildlife, the community, and visitors.

  • One of the guiding principles of this project is to “Embrace responsibility and stewardship over the environment” and “Increase resiliency to climate change and sea level rise.” Another guiding principle is to advance the Mission Bay Park’s Master Plan concept of a “park within a park.” We feel this area of Mission Bay should be the ecological district with an emphasis on native habitats and connecting park users with the wonders of wetlands, dunes, salt marshes, and other native habitats.
  • Rose Creek should be allowed to meander through the project planning area to mimic more closely the ways creeks operate in nature with low-level landforms that would allow high flow to have overflow areas to cross as shown in the image below.
  • Blue areas in the image below indicate how Rose Creek could curve into the planning area.

    Blue areas indicate how Rose Creek could curve into the planning area.

    Blue areas indicate how Rose Creek could curve into the planning area.

  • Sea level rise projections included in the City’s presentation indicate that many parts of the planning area will be underwater in the future. We should plan for that now by restoring habitat in those areas that are more adaptive to changing conditions.
  • We strongly support the “Water Quality Strategy Illustration” on Slide 29 of the presentation. However, we do not feel the proposed width is adequate. All roads and parking lots should be at least 50 yards away from the water’s edge.
  • We oppose the island concepts proposed in alternatives 1 and 3. Due to prevailing tides already eroding the De Anza Point, we do not see how wetlands could be proposed around the islands or on De Anza Point without eroding. The wetlands should be in more protected areas such as the Rose Creek Inlet and the inner side of De Anza Cove. However, using islands without wetlands and without roads is a good strategy to improving the water quality in De Anza Cove.
  • We support the expanded natural habitat on the De Anza point in alternative 2 “The Ridge Nature Trail”; however we opposed putting motor vehicles around the perimeter.
  • Please reconnect Rose Creek to Kendall-Frost Marsh across the property currently occupied by Campland on the Bay. The marsh needs the nutrients and sedimentation to survive sea level rise.
  • We appreciate the thematic connections to the Kumeyaay history in this area and hope future designs provide interpretative information.
  • We appreciate the emphasis on swimming and non-motorized water sports in the De Anza Cove area and strongly encourage the entire De Anza Cove to be off-limits to motorized boats and jet skis.
  • In general, we feel not enough space is dedicated to passive recreational experiences that take place in and around nature such as walking, kayaking, bird watching, exploring dunes habitat where such uses do not disrupt or create negative impacts on the natural environment.
  • Wetlands provide cleaner water, opportunities to play in nature, protection from climate change, and homes for endangered species of plants and animals.
  • We encourage the City to use recommendations from the existing Mission Bay Master Plan, which calls for action at De Anza that improves water quality, expands/safeguards wetlands habitat, and provides access.
  • We strongly support the boardwalk concepts with viewing overlooks that allow visitors to observe native habitats without negatively affecting them.
  • The City says they want to “balance” recreation, environment, and commerce in Mission Bay. City planners should not seek to do this just at De Anza but instead look at how this project can help re-balance the entire park by focusing on those aspects lacking in other parts of the park such as natural habit.
  • Any plans should be sustainable in terms of sea level rise, create zero net greenhouse gas emissions, and prevent erosion from powerboat usage along the De Anza Point.
  • The City should use input from the ReWild Mission Bay Project, including the technical reports and input from three public meetings that included a wide range of public comment to inform their plans for De Anza.
  • Any plans should be sustainable in terms of sea level rise and greenhouse gas emissions.
    The City should use input from ReWild Mission Bay, including the technical reports and input from three public meetings (with >100 comments/attendees at each meeting), to inform their plans for De Anza.

This is one of the last chances to restore wetlands and natural habitat in Mission Bay Park. Thousands of acres of natural habitat have already been removed. Our best opportunity to restore more natural habitat is by situating restoration efforts adjacent to the last remnants of natural wetlands – a strategy that has proved to be critical to the success of wetlands restoration. Postage-stamp sized habitats do not survive.

Categories: Uncategorized

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.