North Embarcadero Visionary Plan to be Heard at California Coastal Commission Meeting

Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Contact: Marguerite Elicone (619) 686-6222

The California Coastal Commission will consider an appeal to the Port of San Diego's coastal development permit for the first phase of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan at a meeting tomorrow.

The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. at the Oceanside City Council Chambers, 300 North Coast Highway, Oceanside, CA.

Covering about a mile and a half of waterfront on Harbor Drive from Laurel Street to the G Street Mole, the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan is a collaboration between the Port of San Diego, Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) and the City of San Diego. The plan will enliven the embarcadero of San Diego Bay with widened sidewalks, landscaping, public art and gathering spaces.

"A yes vote at tomorrow's Coastal Commission meeting will ensure even more public access," said Robert "Dukie" Valderrama, Chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners. "The project will transform a concrete and asphalt corridor into a 105-foot-wide esplanade with gardens and paths."

The first phase of the project includes an area on Harbor Drive from the Navy Pier to the B Street Pier and a portion of West Broadway from the railroad tracks, just past Pacific Highway to the intersection of Harbor Drive. The Board of Port Commissioners approved an appealable coastal development permit for this phase in July 2009. Funding had already been approved and a groundbreaking was anticipated for late last year.

An appeal challenging the project was filed with the California Coastal Commission in August. According to the appeal, the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan is inconsistent with the Port's Master Plan. The appellants state that although the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan does involve substantial public access improvements, the nature and usefulness of the proposed improvements are different than the original improvements in the certified Port Master Plan.

The Port of San Diego argues that the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan was not submitted to or certified by the California Coastal Commission as part of the Port's Master Plan (PDF). Instead, an amendment to the Port's Master Plan was submitted and approved by the Commission on March 14, 2001. The amendment included many of the elements and development identified in the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan. These included the redevelopment of Lane Field, the narrowing of Harbor Drive, the construction of a new 105-foot wide pedestrian esplanade on the water, the replacement of three existing industrial piers with one new public pier at Grape Street, modernization of the B Street Cruise Ship terminal and other improvements. In addition to approving the amendment, the Coastal Commission determined that the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan is consistent with the Coastal Act policies regarding public access and recreation/visitor-serving uses.

Port Commissioners, Port President & CEO Charles Wurster and CCDC President Fred Maas will be speaking at the meeting on behalf of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan. City of San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders is planning on voicing his support at a news conference the morning of the Commission hearing.

If the Commission denies the coastal development permit for the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan's first phase, the Port of San Diego would have to redo the Port Master Plan. This would take a minimum of 18-24 months and the Port could lose its funding opportunity with CCDC, which is helping to finance the project's first phase.

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