A Year of Celebrations and Challenges

It is my honor to serve as your new Chair for the 2008 Board of Port Commissioners. Earlier this month, the new Board officers took the oath of office in front of community leaders, past Board members, friends and families. I am proud to be serving on the Board with Vice Chair Stephen P. Cushman and Secretary Robert "Dukie" Valderrama and my other fellow commissioners.

In my swearing in speech that day, I shared my goals and visions for the Port of San Diego for the upcoming year. As I said in my remarks, it will be a year of celebrations and challenges. The Port has many high-profile projects that will be reaching significant milestones in the upcoming year. We have worked extremely hard with our member city governments on the details of these projects and there are still many challenges to overcome. I know that with your support, we will make these things happen.

The Hilton San Diego Convention Center Hotel, the Broadway Pier Cruise Terminal Building, the Old Police Headquarters and Park Project and the National City Marine Terminal will all be making great headway this year. Construction and design plans for the North Embarcadero and the Lane Field Development will also come to fruition.

I look forward to working with our member city leaders, our tenants, our residents and visitors and all of you on continuing the great work that the Port of San Diego has done for the state tidelands since 1963.

left to right: Vice-chair Stephen P. Cushman, Chair Michael Bixler and Secretary Robert "Dukie" Valderrama at the Board of Port Commissioners Swearing in Ceremony.

Also in this issue…

Environmental Sustainability Policy Approved by Board of Port Commissioners

Board Authorizes Coastal Development Permit for Lane Field Development

Broadway Pier Cruise Terminal Design Approved

Imperial Beach Pier to Undergo Inspection

17th Annual Port of San Diego Big Bay Balloon Parade Wows Crowd

Environmental Sustainability Policy Approved by Board of Port Commissioners

A policy that will minimize the Port's impact on the environment while growing its business was approved by the Board of Port Commissioners at the Dec. 11 Board meeting. The new policy, called the Environmental Sustainability Policy, will be the framework by which the Port will make decisions that incorporate a balance of environmental, social and economic concerns.

The policy represents the critical first step in the implementation of a comprehensive environmental sustainability program at the Port. The purpose of the program will be to identify the Port's impact on the environment and develop initiatives to reduce those impacts. The program is being developed and implementation is expected to begin in 2008 under the guidance of a steering committee.

The Port has some sustainability initiatives already in place. In 2002, an in-house recycling program began when receptacles were placed throughout the Port offices to recycle glass, plastic, aluminum cans, cardboard, newspaper, white paper and mixed paper. During the first year of the program, the Port diverted 28,085 pounds of waste from the Miramar landfill. Since the program's start, that number has tripled. A recent improvement to the effort is the addition of battery recycling. Employees are encouraged to bring used batteries from home for recycling and special bins are located at Port offices for employees to dispose of the batteries.

The Port also provides incentives for Port employees to use trolley, train and bus transportation and is evaluating environmentally friendly hand soap and cleaning products in its restrooms, as well as using cleaning products that aren't harmful to the environment. Other initiatives include the use of non-toxic and environmentally safe methods for pest control in Port parks.

In addition to these initiatives, the Port will explore other ways to encourage sustainability. One way the Port could accomplish this is by working with businesses and other agencies to create a Bay-wide sustainability program.

Board Authorizes Coastal Development Permit for Lane Field Development

The development of Lane Field, an area directly across from the waterfront on the North Embarcadero, reached another milestone on Jan. 8 as the Board of Port Commissioners unanimously approved authorization of a coastal development permit for the project. The project entails the construction of a 275-room hotel with 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, ballrooms and meeting rooms on the north side of Lane Field. On the south side, another hotel with 525 guest rooms and 50,000 square feet of retail, restaurants, ballrooms and meeting space will be built. The developers intend on making the project Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certified. The certification is a national recognition and means that the hotels will be designed to use less energy, less water and produce fewer pollutants. If the developer succeeds with establishing LEED certification, the project will be the second in the state to meet the strict LEED requirements.

The Board concluded that the project is consistent with the Port's certified Master Plan, qualifying it for the coastal development permit.

The project will create about 2,000 permanent hotel jobs and 500 temporary construction jobs. In addition, the City of San Diego will benefit from Transit Occupancy Tax revenues, expected to be $5.4 million during the opening year of the project in 2011, increasing to $7.5 million by 2015.

Public amenities related to the project include an extended C Street, resulting in improved access to the site and public view terraces and plazas.

A rendering of the proposed design for Lane Field.

Broadway Pier Cruise Terminal Design Approved

After several public design charrettes and other community outreach meetings, the Board of Port Commissioners has approved the design for the proposed cruise ship terminal building on Broadway Pier. The building is being designed by the architectural firm Bermello Ajamil and has been updated to include elements that the public asked for - more public access and improved design aesthetics. The approximately 45,000 square foot building features a modern design with a unique "sawtooth" roofline. In the design, the building's sides have glass panels and areas that could incorporate public art.

Carnival Corporation loaned the Port $12 million to help pay for the cost of the terminal building, which the Port must build to keep pace with the booming cruise business. The estimated cost of the design is about $23.6 million. The Port has asked the City of San Diego and the Centre City Development Corporation to assist with the additional costs.

The Port's cruise business has increased steadily over the years. An average of 200 cruise vessels arrive at the Port each year, bringing about $2 million in economic impact with each call.

A rendering of the approved design for the Broadway Pier cruise ship terminal building.

Imperial Beach Pier to Undergo Inspection

On January 21, the Port began a project to evaluate the condition of the Imperial Beach Pier above and underneath the pier. The pier will remain open during the project, but sections may be closed while work is underway. Inspections above water will be occurring first. Blaylock Engineering Group will perform the inspections. The company will use equipment called a "snooper" to go underneath the pier for a thorough look. Areas in the water may be closed while this equipment is being used. The project should be completed by Feb. 15.

The Imperial Beach Pier was originally constructed in the 1960s. It was renovated and extended in 1987 but over time, wind and pounding surf have caused deterioration.

The goal of the inspection is to prolong the pier's lifespan, increase its safety and maintain public access. The inspections will also provide information on repairs that may be necessary.

17th Annual Port of San Diego Big Bay Balloon Parade Wows Crowd

It was a chilly but beautiful morning on Dec. 27 as the 17th annual Port of San Diego Big Bay Balloon Parade took over Harbor Drive from Laurel Street to Broadway Pier. About 100,000 viewers crowded the waterfront to see what makes this parade so special and to see if it really is "America's largest balloon parade."

According to the organizers, Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, the parade is indeed the largest in the country with 25 giant balloons. This year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City had 12 balloons.

Aside from the great balloons, making the Big Bay Balloon Parade so entertaining are the high school and college bands. This year's parade featured an impressive line up of 21 bands, whose heart-thumping music got everyone in the crowd pumped.

I had the thrill and enjoyment of participating in the parade with my fellow commissioners and it gave me great pride to see the many fans from Texas and Arizona who came out to support their Holiday Bowl teams. The parade is geared to get everyone excited about the big game that takes place the evening of the parade day.

The Port of San Diego is the title sponsor of the parade and I believe it is money well spent. The parade is telecast both locally and nationally, showcasing our beautiful harbor and bringing the Port enormous visibility. In addition, the thousands of visitors from out of state who come to see the Holiday Bowl game and watch the parade fill up not only the waterfront hotels, but hotels throughout the region.

Commissioner Sylvia Rios waves to the crowd from her convertible in the 2007 Port of San Diego Big Bay Balloon Parade.