The next community workshop on the De Anza Revitalization Plan, a reimagining of what Mission Bay Park’s approximately 4,000 acres of beaches, parklands, SeaWorld and more could become, will take place 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 27 at Mission Bay High School, 2475 Grand Ave.
One of the many stakeholders in the three-year, city-led process of planning regional park improvements is the Pacific Beach Tennis Club (PBTC). The club is lobbying to ensure its place in the new order of things will be assured.
“We want to make sure people appreciate the benefits of having the tennis club, which develops junior tennis and athletics and has been open to the public since the 1960s,” said David Fogel, president of PBTC, located adjacent to the Mission Bay Golf Course.
PBTC has eight well-lighted courts, a ball machine that can be rented out, a small clubhouse that offers racquet string services, a pro shop and a dressing room.
“We want to make sure that the people making the recommendations see the value of what we have here,” added Fogel.
PBTC began in 1961, when a group headed by Dr. James Grant raised funds to construct six courts on land the city of San Diego provided. Subsequently, a small clubhouse and two additional courts were added as well as the present lighting system. The nonprofit club’s funds are used to pay supervision, maintenance, tennis activities and capital improvement expenditures.
Of PBTC’s fate, city park designer Craig Hooker said, “Currently, all options are on the table in terms of existing and proposed uses within the De Anza plan area. We encourage tennis enthusiasts and club members to continue their participation in the plan process.”
The plan is part of an ongoing amendment to the Mission Bay Park master plan, which guides usage of the popular regional park. Mission Bay is one of San Diego’s premiere tourist and recreational destinations.
The 120-acre project area embraces more than just Mission Bay Golf Course. It includes the De Anza Special Study Area (mobile home and RV park), De Anza Cove Park and the surrounding uses, including Mission Bay Boat & Ski Club and Bob McEvoy Athletic Field as well as Mission Bay Tennis Club.
In anticipation of the closure of the De Anza Mobile Home Park, the city has initiated the planning process for the special study that will result in a development plan. This revitalization plan is needed to implement the Mission Bay Park Master Plan and to lay out a design and use program for the reuse and redevelopment of the site.
Fogel wants to ensure that whatever “reimagining” is done at De Anza doesn’t omit PBTC.
“It’s important for our kids and grownups, from age 1 to 92, to have a nice place to go,” he said. “We realize the De Anza area is valuable real estate for the city. We want to make sure we (PBTC) have a place in that future.”
The first ad hoc subcommittee meeting on the De Anza Revitalization Plan was held Dec. 9. Paul Robinson, chair of the 11-member ad hoc committee, said then that the task is to work with the city and consultants on developing a vision and guiding principles for a De Anza revitalization plan to amend the existing Mission Bay Park Master Plan.
The effort to redevelop the regional park was delayed by a decadelong court battle between the city and residents of the 500-unit De Anza Cove Resort mobile home park, a 75-acre park on prime real estate jutting into the water in Mission Bay Park west of I-5. Ultimately, the city reached a $3.6 million settlement agreement on one of three lawsuits involving current and former mobile home park residents allowing them to relocate.
For more information, visit deanzarevitalizationplan.com/. Community workshop
What: Workshop on the De Anza Revitalization Plan.
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 27. Where: Mission Bay High School, 2475 Grand Ave.