Coastal Commission approves De Anza Cove cleanup and more campsites

The California Coastal Commission voted on July 13 to allow Northeast MB, LLC, operators of the Mission Bay RV Resort in Mission Bay Park, to conduct a cleanup of the De Anza Cove peninsula.

The Coastal Commission approved a coastal development permit for the clean-up project, which seeks to improve coastal access in a number of ways, along with adding 147 temporary campsites at Mission Bay RV Resort.

“The Coastal Commission hearing outcome is an important step forward for the City, public, and environment,” said Jacob Gelfand, chief operating officer for permit applicant Northeast MB, LLC. “We will continue to work around the clock to make De Anza Cove cleaner and safer for San Diego families, visitors, and wildlife. We will provide enhanced camping access to help address the shortage of affordable overnight accommodations along San Diego’s coastline.”

Gelfand said the benefits of the De Anza Cove clean-up are to include repairing the coastal bikeway and pedestrian path, asbestos abatement, and removal of long-abandoned homes. It will also include the activation of interim campsites to meet the tremendous public demand for low-cost coastal accommodations and recreation.

Reacting to the Coastal Commission decision, Andrew Meyer, director of conservation at San Diego Audubon Society said: “The Coastal Commission put together a permit that was much improved over the first application from Campland, and we are pleased that they took many of the ReWild Coalition’s comments over the last two years and increased the water-quality protections and habitat benefits to the bay. We want Campland to get those mobile homes out of there safely and quickly, and expect that Campland will get to work using their approved rent credits to cover the costs.”
Added Meyer, “The Coastal Commissioners and staff emphasized that this is a short-term project, with the ReWild project and the City’s own De Anza Natural plans for this area showing the positive direction we’re moving for water-quality improvement to the bay, resilience to sea-level rise, and real access improvements to camp, boat and enjoy the northeast corner of the bay.”

ReWild Mission Bay is a project of San Diego Audubon and its ReWild Coalition partners to enhance and restore the natural wetlands in the northeast corner of Mission Bay for cleaner water, greater climate resiliency, carbon sequestration, and improved access to public space.

Jet skiers, a dog walker, and bicycle riders pass by the mobile homes at Point De Anza on the De Anza Cove peninsula. PHOTO BY THOMAS MELVILLE

The San Diego City Council voted 6-3 in June of 2019 to allow Campland on the Bay at 2211 Pacific Beach Drive to do asbestos clean-up and existing mobile home removal within 24 months at the long-abandoned De Anza mobile home park. Under an agreement with San Diego Audubon Society, Campland will now place new campsites only in the northeastern corner of their De Anza Cove leasehold boundary. The new campsites will be as far away from the public bayfront — and future wetland restoration — as possible.
Campland’s plans call for adding 150 more RV campsites to the existing 260 while re-opening the scenic coastal bike and pedestrian path around the De Anza peninsula as part of its five-year lease extension with the city.

San Diego County has among the lowest inventory of affordable coastal accommodations in the state, and access is particularly scarce in the City of San Diego. In 2019, City access was further jeopardized 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 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 also clean up hazardous homes and debris abandoned at De Anza since 2017.

Today, the existing Mission Bay RV Resort and Campland on the Bay campgrounds in northeast Mission Bay provide more than 850 campsites with pricing starting at $60 per night. That makes them the largest source of affordable overnight accommodations for the City in Mission Bay Park.