The California Coastal Commission asked the Unified Port of San Diego, city and Coastal Commission staff to come back in April with revised plans to move forward with the first phase of North Embarcadero improvements surrounding the Harbor Drive and Broadway intersection. The estimated $28 million project connecting the bay front to downtown could bring approximately 400 jobs to the area. The port’s proposed North Embarcadero Visionary Plan includes moving Harbor Drive 40 feet to the east, building an esplanade from B Street Pjier to the former Navy Pier along Harbor Drive, public art displays, tree groves and open spaces, among other developments, according to port plans. Coastal Commission staff recommended denying a coastal development permit because of changes to original plans, which call for a large oval park at the foot of West Broadway at Harbor Drive. Staff also cited an overall lack of parking in the proposed plans, according to Coastal Commission staff reports. California Coastal Commissioners sent the project back to planners during a February Coastal Commission public appeal hearing. “[Port] staff is going to be meeting with Coastal Commission staff to try to work out something agreeable … that would be a benefit to the area and add a nice feature and enhancement,” said Unified Port of San Diego spokesman John Gilmore. What that final plan would look like is still unclear. As the project inches forward, funding falls to the city and the port. The Unified Port of San Diego and the City of San Diego’s Redevelopment Agency through the Center City Development Corporation (CCDC) plan to split the cost for the project, according to port officials. The first phase of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan is part of an overall Port Master Plan aimed at developing the bay front along Harbor Drive and port tidelands with public spaces and furniture, marine terminal uses, tens of thousands of square feet of park space and other amenities resulting from a years-long public design and planning process. The big plan also calls for projects like the Broadway Cruise Ship Terminal, a Navy complex, redevelopments of Lane Field just north of Broadway and the addition of the new 3.5 acre Ruocco Park, all near the intersection of Harbor Drive and West Broadway. Michael McDade, former chair of an initial planning group comprised of local government agencies called the North Embarcadero Alliance, said this current phase would boost the state and national economy. “[the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan Phase one] is in San Diego but it’s not for San Diegans. This is a major public entity for the United States and for California in particular. Millions of people will visit this park,” McDade said to commissioners at the meeting. He added that if stalled, the project could “go away.” But plans keep changing, said Point Loma resident Katheryn Rhodes. Rhodes appealed to the Coastal Commission about the project. Some California Coastal Commissioners also took issue with the project because of what some called piece-meal planning. Amendments to the plan are made implicitly through approval of other projects such as the Cruise Ship Terminal approved last year. The terminal could preclude the oval park at the foot of Broadway to make room for traffic. “It looks like the Coastal Commission is holding [Unified Port of San Diego’s] feet to the fire and not letting them do this whole piece-meal thing,” Rhodes said. Rhodes also pointed to a “presumed active” fault system beneath Port Tidelands. If ever confirmed, the fault system could preclude certain types of development, she said. However, port and city authorities show no signs of testing for fault activity. The California Coastal Commission is set to decide on the project when commissioners convene April 14 through 16 at the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, 800 South Victoria Ave., in Ventura. Details of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan Phase one can be found at the Unified Port of San Diego’s Web site www.portofsandiego.org.