San Diego Bird Alliance cries fowl on funds used for Mission Bay

A flock of sandpipers fly around the Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve File photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego Call it marsh madness An impasse between the California Coastal Commission and the San Diego Bird Alliance in prioritizing how Mission Bay Park Improvement Funds are to be spent could threaten northeastern Mission Bay s planned transformation into expanded marshland and recreational space The Mission Bay Park Improvement Fund is dedicated to improving and maintaining the Mission Bay Park Improvement Zone with a focus on restoring wetlands and wildlife habitat These funds are also used for deferred maintenance projects within the park following the Mission Bay Park Master Plan Funding is directly linked to a City of San Diego Charter section allocating a portion of lease revenues from Mission Bay to the fund The misallocation of the Mission Bay Park Improvement Fund in the last years misses the mark by a mile on funding wetland expansion shoreline improvements and nature preserves as the voters prioritized when they approved the fund revealed Andrew Meyer director of conservation for the San Diego Bird Alliance formerly Audubon Society We ve been advocating with City Council members and at the Mission Bay Park Committee maintaining that this funding should go toward supporting wetland expansion this year Meyer pointed out Mission Bay Park Committee has proposed spending improvement fund money on the lowest-priority projects not higher priorities like wetlands restoration for three consecutive meetings this year They are not fixing this glaring mistake even though committee members are raising objections to the projects City staff is giving them disclosed Meyer He added that the Coastal Commission s response to the City in considering the De Anza Natural Plan will remain unfiled until the commission gets more information they ve identified from the City The De Anza Natural Plan proposes amendments to the Mission Bay Park Master Plan to enhance and revitalize De Anza Cove in the northeast corner of Mission Bay Park De Anza Natural Plan incorporates nature-based solutions to create a more resilient space with a focus on safeguarding the viability of marsh areas and providing new opportunities for eco-tourism and environmental mentoring The De Anza Natural Plan amendment seeks to balance a variety of uses including enhancements to the existing current recreation and parkland facilities The amendment recognizes the benefits of wetlands which reduce the impacts of sea-level rise and improve water quality In response the Coastal Commission has submitted a letter to the City of San Diego That letter includes two separate amendment requests proposing changes to the city s certified Local Coastal Campaign Land Use Plan a blueprint for land-use planning and policies within the city s coastal area The first LCP request proposes to amend the expansion framework for the De Anza Cove area of Mission Bay Park reads the Coastal Commission s letter The second request proposes to amend the Land Growth Code with approximately changes to comply with state law streamline processes change the manner in which certain evolution requirements are calculated and make corrections and clarifications Going forward the Coastal Commission insisted in its letter to the City that it must compile an interested parties list composed of the names and contact information given by all members of the residents who submitted comments to or spoke at a local hearing for this matter Although the City s amendment package was thorough and well organized the submittals are not complete or deemed filed until outstanding items have been received Please resubmit unedited versions of the comments for the record