Struggle Shapes Up for Use of Mission Bay Land : Planning: Environmentalists are pitted against developers as city moves to revise master plan for the popular recreation area.

Tucked away in the northeast corner of Mission Bay Park sits the last remnant of native salt water marshland, in what has evolved into San Diego’s immensely popular aquatic playground.

It’s here, amid a 46-acre parcel known as the Kendall Frost-Reserve that the endangered California least tern joins the Belding’s savanna sparrow in a wetland habitat, where thick beds of eelgrass thrive.

Positioned just east of the reserve are the De Anza properties, 158 acres where more than 500 mobile homes are permanently anchored and nearly 1,000 park enthusiasts find room to park their campers and take in a view of the bay.

For decades a simple wire fence running along the reserve’s northern edge has divided the two worlds, one made by nature, the other by man.

But all that could change as the city embarks this year on an ambitious effort to update Mission Bay’s master plan, which will dictate how the park’s 4,100 acres of land and water are used in the future.

Tired of watching the bay’s marshlands dwindle, environmentalists are now calling for the restoration and expansion of wetlands into the De Anza Cove area, once the city’s lease agreements with De Anza expire shortly after the turn of the century.

“Ninety-one percent of the state’s wetlands are gone,” said Joy Zedler, director of the Pacific Estuarine Research Laboratory at San Diego State University. “I would like to see as much land as possible used for restoration. There’s no place else we can do it.”

But De Anza officials have envisioned a different use of the land.

They would like to see most of the camp lands maintained, and last summer, the company submitted a modified plan to develop the mobile home park into an 800-room hotel resort, complete with a 45-acre public park.

Though the company withdrew its proposal in January, De Anza president Mike Gelfand said his decision on whether to press forward with the hotel concept will depend on the outcome of the park’s master plan update.

City officials chose to revisit Mission Bay’s blueprint for the future in order to guide the park’s evolution into the 21st Century. San Diego County’s population is expected to nearly double by the year 2010, and its tourism industry continues to expand.

Spurred by those projections, a 25-member volunteer board--Mission Bay Planners--was established to oversee completion of the park’s planning process.

A team of consultants was also hired and charged with the task of developing a plan, which balances the interests of park users, commercial developers and environmentalists.

The plan will need the approval of the Mission Bay Planners, the city’s Park and Recreation Board and, ultimately, the San Diego City Council, whose members are scheduled to receive a draft report in August.

But some are predicting a rough road.

“There’ll be a number of controversies in various parts of the bay, and I think there are some very big issues at stake,” said City Councilman Ron Roberts, whose district includes Mission Bay. “But, I want to see that we have a park that serves the city into the next century.”

So far the park’s planning committee and consultant team have held several meetings, including a productive all-day public workshop last month. The next step will take place April 7, when park consultants are expected to present a preliminary land- and water-use plan to the public.

What follows are brief descriptions of some of the key issues under consideration, many of which are intertwined with environmental concerns.

LAND USE:

Nearly 70 acres designated for commercial development are still up for grabs. Thus far, park planners, guided by the public, have focused mainly on new uses for previously developed areas such as the De Anza lands.

But whether to press forward and develop new commercial uses on the limited number of untapped acres is a point of contention among growth proponents, park users and environmentalists.

Sea World, for example, submitted a request for 30 additional acres for parking, which so far has been met by few open arms.

In addition, one third of the park remains undeveloped, which has opened South Shores and Fiesta Island to controversy as environmentalists call for the restoration of marshlands on the same isle where a golf course has been proposed.

The fate of the 465-acre island--much of it used to process sewage sludge--and the now closed South Shores is just one component of a broader proposal to concentrate high volume activities such as corporate picnics and future commercial developments along the park’s eastern region, in an effort to take advantage of highway access to Interstates 5 and 8.

That decision would allow Crown Point Shores to evolve into a large neighborhood park, which could serve surrounding communities.

Park planners are also considering simple steps to make the park more user-friendly by doing things such as adding bike racks and rest rooms or planting grass along the shoreline to give more people a chance to enjoy a view of the bay, whose waters attract a diverse crowd with different visions of how the park should evolve.

WATER USE:

From bird watchers to speed boaters, the park has developed into an aquatic playground for both the rich and poor who agree on one issue, and that’s to take advantage of Mission Bay’s best attraction: water.

More than 100,000 water enthusiasts flock to the bay during peak summer weekends.

Ensuring that the bay remains open to everyone--from jet skiers to canoeists--will be a major feat, but figuring out a way to improve and maintain the bay’s water quality will be an even bigger one.

Biologists are proposing a watershed management program for Rose Creek that would catch urban runoff before it hits the bay. Consultants also have pointed out that expansion of the marshland at the foot of Rose Creek and into De Anza property would improve the bay’s water quality by acting as an additional filter.

Another suggestion for Mission Bay is to create more pump-out facilities for boaters.

Updating the master plan will also include a look at new boat storage facilities on land.

Additional dry storage spaces have been proposed to pull boats off the waters, thus freeing the bay for other uses. There are now 1,878 wet storage slips and 509 dry storage spaces.

Adding more spaces for dry storage would also help alleviate traffic around the park, since fewer people would be hauling their boats to and from the bay.

TRANSPORTATION:

Building more storage room for boats is not the only way to maximize access to the bay without increasing traffic as well as noise and pollution.

Establishing a continuous bike lane and walkway throughout the park could minimize motor traffic while drawing in residents from local beach communities, planners say.

On a larger scale, planners are also considering how MTBD plans to construct at least two nearby light rail lines could lead to transporting people to the park from North County and Mission Valley.

A rail line running along the east side of I-5 and another through Mission Valley are in the final design stages, and are scheduled to begin construction by 1995.

In addition, establishing remote parking lots with shuttle services and expanding water-taxi services as well as trolley lines are also under consideration.

Many of the transportation issues will rest on decisions made in other areas of the park, such as whether to develop Fiesta Island for commercial use or where to build new hotels.

ECONOMICS:

The latter proposal raises economic issues over existing and future commercial developments in the park.

The nation’s recession, combined with a competitive regional hotel market, has caused Mission Bay’s existing six hotels to experience a decline in occupancy. That trend, in turn, has spurred each of the hotels to submit proposals to upgrade or expand their facilities to make them more competitive.

But, despite the existing sluggish hotel market, proposals have been made to build at least two new hotels on previously developed land in the De Anza area and Marina Village.

A marketing campaign to showcase the park’s resorts and a more centralized park management system are also being viewed as ways to enhance the park’s revenue-producing potential.

Still undetermined is how the nearly 70 acres designated for commercial use might be used to add more rent dollars to city coffers. Last year, revenues generated from park leases totaled more than $12.5 million, of which Sea World contributed $4 million.

Those revenues more than pay for the park’s maintenance, said councilman Roberts, who believes it’s a trend.

“Mission Bay generates more revenue than it takes to administer and maintain as a park,” Roberts said. “I don’t think the taxpayer will have an additional tax burden if we do this (the planning) right.” But commercial development and expansion of natural preserves will likely depend on the ability of developers and environmentalists to strike some tough compromises that will have to appeal to the public, planners said.

It’s an approach officials from the De Anza company took when they included in their hotel proposal a 45-acre public park, which they would develop and maintain.

“We have to figure out how to cohabit with not only our fellow human beings but also with our fellow plants and animals,” company president Gelfand said. “We have to figure out ways to operate commercial businesses in a way that is wildlife-friendly.”

It’s a move that left even some biologists at least partly open to the company’s proposal.

“They’re making an effort to be environmentally sensitive, but there is this conflict that we have to look at whether we can afford the (hotel) use (by De Anza),” said Jim Peugh, of the National Audubon Society. “I think there are going to have to be some changes in looking at the bay as a tourist resort. Turning Mission Bay into Disneyland is not going to do the job.”

Mission Bay Regional Park

A. WILDLIFE REFUGE: Suggestion made to expand marshland east into the De Anza Cove area.

B. ROSE CREEK: Suggestion made to establish a water management program upstream to catch urban runoff.

C. CROWN POINT SHORES: Suggestion made to shift future development away from the shores, thus allowing it to develop into a regional neighborhood park.

D. FIESTA ISLAND AND SOUTH SHORES: Environmentalists would like to see Fiesta Island restored into marshland. A golf course has also been proposed. Everything from more dry boat storage to an amphitheater has been proposed for South Shores.

E. DE ANZA MOBILE HOME PARK: A plan to convert the mobile home park into an 800-room hotel resort complete with a 45-acre public park was submitted by the De Anza company last summer, but was withdrawn in January. The site is still being considered as the location of a hotel.

F. SEA WORLD: The aquatic amusement park’s request for 30 more acres for parking has not been well-received, even though company officials offered to light and maintain the land for public use nine months of the year. One suggestion is to use the land for soccer fields.

Sources: City of San Diego report on Mission Bay Park, December, 1991, and public meetings.