Local Coastal Commission Meeting Won't Address Chula Vista Bayfront Plan

The California Coastal Commission will meet in Chula Vista on Wednesday, July 11; however, the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan will not be addressed until their August meeting, which will be held in Santa Cruz. Because many people can't travel to Santa Cruz, supporters of opposing bayfront plans are galvanizing their troops for action this Wednesday.

Several bayfront plans have passed the environmental impact review, but the only one that is before the coastal commission in August is the Sweetwater plan, which was tailored for Gaylord Entertainment’s hotel and convention center. Although Gaylord withdrew from the project, the city continues to back the Sweetwater plan because — for one reason — putting an alternative before the coastal commission would push back the timeline for the development.

Configuration of the 46-acre "signature park" is the central bone of contention. In the city-backed design, a segment of the park abuts an environmentally sensitive area, which would require light and sound restrictions.

Crossroads II, a community land-use organization, has collected signatures to demonstrate to the commission that there is resident-supported alternative called the Harbor plan; this was the first plan approved by residents and stakeholders and contains a larger elliptical park that would allow for outdoor concerts, large public events, or noisy birthday parties.

In addition to advocating for the Harbor plan, members of Crossroads II intend to protest the fact that the coastal commission will be considering the bayfront issue in Santa Cruz rather than Chula Vista.

Pacifica Companies is the only private landowner within the bayfront master-planned area and plans to build 1,500 townhomes and condos. In anticipation of Wednesday’s meeting, Allison Rolfe, Pacifica’s “director of Planning and Entitlements,” circulated an “Action Alert” email among community groups. A copy was provided to the Reader.

The email summons supporters of the city-backed Sweetwater plan to the Wednesday meeting and urges them to:

“Please wear blue if you can (any shade will do). We will give you a button or a badge when you arrive and ask you to fill out a speaker slip. You will not be required to speak. We will be bundling the speaker slips and turning them in as a batch to indicate how many supporters we have. We will be done by 9:00 a.m.

"We will have an organized presentation made up of 5 designated speakers who will speak for a total of less than 10 minutes. The second speaker, Laura Hunter, will ask all the supporters (you!) to stand up and/or wave to the Commissioners so they can see that you’re there in support.”