The San Diego Planning Commission will hear about the updated proposal for De Anza Cove in Mission Bay on Thursday. The amended plan comes after years of debate over what to do with the land formerly occupied by a mobile home park.
Environmental activists want to see much of the Northeastern Mission Bay land converted into marshland, which incubates wildlife and helps combat climate change. Marshland sequesters CO2, removing it from the atmosphere, and acts as a natural sponge to absorb rising seas.
Tyler Vandosell owns Mission Bay Fly Fishing Company. He wants to see wildlife in and around the water flourish, both to keep his business afloat, and to give back to the land that has given a great deal to him. He supports the group Rewild in its efforts to embrace marshlands in Mission Bay.
"After I'm gone and and no longer on this earth, maybe I did something worthwhile to help this special place," said Vandosell, while fly fishing in the Bay.
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However, the plan to revamp the area has stalled and been revised over the years, in part because of concerns from local recreational sports advocates. Julia Sullivan is president of Coastal Bay Girls Softball, one of several groups worried about losing their home base should the marshland encroach on their playing fields.
"There is some kind of solution so that we can all be here still, still be able to provide for this community," said Sullivan.
In the amended plan from the city, 10% more acreage goes towards recreational spaces. The city said it is committed to more climate-friendly wetlands.
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"We believe that De Anza Natural reflects an appropriate balance of uses within De Anza Cove to ensure a vibrant and resilient future for the park," the city said in a statement to NBC 7.
