The City of Chula Vista is working to resolve the last hurdle before approving a master plan for 500 acres of waterfront. The city hopes the bayfront project will change its image.
Chula Vista is resurrecting hopes that were dashed two years ago when Gaylord Entertainment pulled out of a contract to build a resort on their bayfront.
Deputy Mayor Rudy Ramirez will hold a preview tonight of the Bayfront Master Plan, which has been in the works for the past eight years. He says it is broader than the Gaylord proposal, and will take years to develop.
He says it will contain some 200 acres of open space, active and passive parks, and 1,500 condominiums, hotel rooms and convention areas.
"This is going to change the face of the entire bay," Ramirez said. "And especially here in Chula Vista.”
Some community groups still have questions about the plan.
Peter Watry of Crossroads 11 says the master plan places a hotel in the central location and splits a 40-acre park in two.
"The public space has to be connected so people understand and can see that it's all one long park," Watry said. "It’s not a park in the north for the common people and a park in the south for the rich people. It’s all one long park.”
The Pacifica Holding Company, a developer, has already agreed to a land swap so hundreds of condominiums are built close to the harbor and away from sensitive coastal habitat.
The Chula Vista City Council will vote on the master plan next week. The Port Commission will consider it May 18.
