PRESS RELEASE: Major Clean-Up of De Anza Cove to Move Forward for San Diego’s Mission Bay Park
In a Victory for the Public and the Environment, Coastal Development Permit (CDP) Approved to Allow Removal of Environmental Hazards and Improved Affordable Coastal Access in N.E. Mission Bay
Contact: Jacob Gelfand
Jacob@terrav.com
SAN DIEGO, July 13, 2022 – On Wednesday, July 13, the California Coastal Commission voted to approve a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) that will allow Northeast MB, LLC, which operates the Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego’s Mission Bay Park, to proceed with the long-awaited clean-up of the Park’s De Anza Cove peninsula. This crucial clean-up project will improve coastal access by adding 147 temporary campsites at Mission Bay RV Resort; result in repaired coastal bike and pedestrian paths; and provide for the removal of dilapidated homes and debris that have long blighted and posed environmental risks along the coastline, bringing the region one step closer to ensuring a cleaner, more accessible coastline for all.
“This is a huge victory and steps forward for the City, public, and environment,” said Jacob Gelfand, Chief Operating Officer for permit applicant Northeast MB, LLC. “We intend to work around the clock to make De Anza Cove cleaner and more accessible for San Diego families, visitors, and wildlife, and provide enhanced camping access to help address the shortage of affordable overnight accommodations along San Diego’s coastline.”
Leading up to Wednesday’s hearing, more than 2,000 people reached out to the California Coastal Commission in support of the Coastal Development Permit for the clean-up effort, including residents, community leaders, City officials, campers and recreationists, and visitors of Northeast Mission Bay from around the state and country. I applaud Coastal Commission for advancing a project that helps improve the environment and provides local citizens and visitors with enhanced affordable, overnight coastal access,” said Brigette Browning, President of Unite Here Local 30, which represents more than 6,000 workers throughout San Diego in the hotel and hospitality sector. “Northeast MB, LLC’s promise to promptly clean up the dilapidated homes, repair coastal paths, and provide expanded, interim camping which will benefit all, including hundreds of thousands of people who seek out affordable camping opportunities in this corner of Mission Bay Park each year. I am in full support of this initiative and am excited to see their vision realized.”
Long-time campers of northeast Mission Bay and their families also joined the chorus of those praising the Coastal Commission’s determination.
“Local families have enjoyed affordable coastal access at De Anza for generations,” said Terri Campbell, Co-Chair of Friends of Campland, a local coalition formed by Campland supporters. “We are thankful to the Coastal Commission for recognizing the importance of enhancing camping opportunities along the coastline, especially for the thousands of San Diego families who rely on De Anza Cove for affordable access to Mission Bay’s coastline each year.”
Statewide, San Diego County has among the lowest inventory of affordable coastal accommodations and access is particularly scarce in the City of San Diego. In 2019, City access was further put at risk when the former operators of the Mission Bay RV Resort at De Anza notified the City with only a few months’ notice that they would be terminating their lease agreement by June 30 of that year. In response, the City worked with Northeast MB, LLC, whose affiliate operates the nearby Campland on the Bay campground, to not only keep these campsites available to the public and expand affordable camping in the short-term but to also clean up hazardous homes and debris long abandoned at De Anza since 2017 – as reflected in Northeast MB, LLC’s lease approved by the San Diego City Council on June 24, 2022.
Today, the existing Mission Bay RV Resort and Campland on the Bay campgrounds located in northeast Mission Bay, provide more than 850 campsites with pricing starting at $60/per night, making them the largest source of affordable overnight accommodations for the City of San Diego in Mission Bay Park. To further help provide coastal access to all, Campland on the Bay, in cooperation with the California Coastal Commission, is pleased to have also recently introduced a free camping program for underserved California youth and families to experience camping on Mission Bay. This unprecedented free camping program also includes free camping equipment and watercraft rentals.
Campland is actively looking for additional organizations that attend to underserved or diverse youth and families, people with disabilities, or low-income individuals or families. To learn more about Campland’s Free Camping Program or to determine eligibility, please call (858) 581-4265 or visit Campland.com/free-camping-program.
“As a conscientious steward of the leased tidelands, we are committed to facilitating coastal access in a variety of forms,” said Gelfand. “We look forward to creating more accessible and equitable opportunities for people to enjoy waterfront recreation on Mission Bay regardless of age, background, ethnicity, race, income level, or ADA needs, and to the clean-up of De Anza to improve access for all.”
Following today’s Coastal Commission decision, Northeast Mission MB, LLC will complete the De Anza improvements authorized by the Coastal Development Permit, including removal of the dilapidated homes. It will also repurpose existing infrastructure to add 147 temporary campsites to the existing 260 campsites at the Mission Bay RV Resort, expanding affordable access and generating increased revenues for the City as it finalizes longer-term plans for Northeast Mission Bay.
For more information on Campland on the Bay and Mission Bay RV Resort, please visit www.campland.com and www.missionbayrvresort.com to discover why they are the most popular campgrounds in San Diego. To learn more about Friends of Campland, an advocacy group composed of volunteers, campers, and community members dedicated to preserving waterfront RV camping on Mission Bay, visit www.FriendsofCampland.org.
To download the press release, click here.
