Hundreds showed up to Point Loma’s Portuguese Hall Wednesday evening to make their voices heard on the Port of San Diego’s Master Plan Update.
“They need to think long term,” said Linda Blanchard, who’s kept a boat in La Playa for 10 years. “They’re supposed to be the master plan, but I’m not seeing it.”
Since 2013, the Port of San Diego has worked on a Master Plan Update for the 34 miles of the San Diego Bay it manages.
This year, a 300-plus page draft community discussion plan was released, and San Diegans up and down the coast have been reacting to the document all summer.
At a Port-organized community forum, the latest outcry on display was the area of Point Loma surrounding Shelter Island.
“It’s like taking you back in time 50 years to a small town, and that’s what it is. It’s a small town atmosphere right here,” said Blanchard, standing along the secluded La Playa trail.
The plan recommends major redevelopment in certain spots here, including mobility hubs, some narrowed streets, and eliminating certain private piers and docks along the La Playa Trail.
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“I think it would be not just a shame, it would be a tragedy to allow this to happen,” said Blanchard of the plan.
But Port spokesperson Brianne Page emphasized this is just an early draft of the forward-looking 30-year plan.
“Yes, there is some more development in there, but it’s about increasing access for the public to the coast. That’s what the Port is all about, increasing and providing coastal access,” explained Page.
The plan also said it would specifically protect La Playa Trail.
But that has not stopped a movement growing in the coastal neighbourhood.
A website and Facebook page sprung up this summer, the latter boasting over a thousand members, all dedicated to “saving” the Point Loma neighborhood.
“It’s serene, it’s beautiful. There’s not a lot of people, [and] a lot of people don’t know about it,” said Blanchard.
And with many of the piers and beaches still at least somewhat accessible to the public, the message is not as much “public stay out” as it is, “Port, listen up.”
Wednesday’s was just one of many community workshops held across the county on the Master Plan.
You can read the Port of San Diego’s Master Plan Update here.
