As an environmental champion of San Diego Bay and its surrounding tidelands, the Port of San Diego has embarked on a unique project to recycle a type of waste that is often left behind as litter – cigarette butts.

The Port is working with TerraCycle, an innovative recycling company that has become a global leader in recycling items such as used cigarette butts, coffee capsules and ocean plastic. This project will not only reduce the amount of discarded cigarette butts on Port tidelands, but it will help repurpose the waste into useful products.

The Port recently installed 31 cigarette butt receptacles purchased from TerraCycle around San Diego Bay, in Port parks and in other Port areas with heavy pedestrian traffic. The receptacles provide a convenient option for smokers to dispose of their used cigarettes.

The Port of San Diego has been honored with first place in Community Relations/Participation in the California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) Excellence in Public Information and Communications (EPIC) Awards. The award was presented to the Port for its public outreach efforts on the Port Master Plan Update (PMPU) at CAPIO’s annual awards dinner, held April 11, 2018 in Santa Rosa, California.

The EPIC Award for Community Relations/Participation recognizes programs that promote deliberations among diverse community interests in order to guide a community decision on future direction. These efforts can also include comprehensive programs such as community visioning and public relations programs involving residents in community decision making on specific issues and projects.

The Port of San Diego was recently honored with an Environmental Analysis Document Merit Award from the California Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) for the San Diego Bay and Imperial Beach Oceanfront Fireworks Display Events Project Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The award was presented to the Port’s Development Services Department at the AEP State Conference Awards Ceremony held March 26, 2018 in Rancho Mirage, California.

The San Diego Bay and Imperial Beach Oceanfront Fireworks Display Events Project consisted of establishing a section within the San Diego Unified Port District Code to govern existing and proposed new fireworks display events that occur within San Diego Bay and the Imperial Beach oceanfront that require a discretionary action by the Port or that are operated by Port tenants. It also incorporates four proposed new fireworks display events that would be located adjacent to the waterfronts of National City and Chula Vista. The ordinance establishes a defined set of requirements and procedures for existing and future fireworks display events that occur in and around San Diego Bay and the Imperial Beach Oceanfront to protect the health, safety, and welfare of people, property, and the environment.

The Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners has approved a new RV park for the Chula Vista Bayfront. At its meeting on April 10, 2018, the Board granted concept approval for the Costa Vista RV Resort project proposed by Sun Communities, Inc. (Sun Communities) and authorized issuance of a Coastal Development Permit, pending satisfaction of certain conditions.

“Sun Communities has demonstrated a willingness to be great partners by not only designing a project that is sure to become a premier, waterfront RV camping experience in Chula Vista, but by also including offsite improvements in the project to enhance the overall experience for all who live, work and play along the Chula Vista waterfront,” said Chairman Rafael Castellanos, Board of Port Commissioners.

“The Chula Vista Bayfront project takes a monumental step forward with the commencement of our first development project, the Costa Vista RV Resort,” said Port of San Diego Commissioner Ann Moore, the Board’s Chula Vista representative. “Together with the City of Chula Vista, the Port is creating a waterfront that people can access and enjoy, with over 40 percent of the land set aside for parks and open space. We are proud to partner with Sun Communities on the RV resort, which will help create a more active and vibrant waterfront in the South Bay.”