Date: November 2, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: City Manager Maria V. Kachadoorian
Subject: Harborside Park Historical Overview and Update
Park Development History
Dedicated in April 2006, Harborside Park was the first park to be built in western Chula Vista in over 25 years. The park is located at 670 Oxford Street , consists of 5.21 acres, and is bordered by Harborside Elementary to the north, two industrial complexes to the east and south, and San Diego County Health and Human Services’ South Region Live Well Center to the west.
The City purchased the site in 2002 from a private owner for $2.3 million, funded by the General Fund, in recognition of much needed parkland in western Chula Vista and to improve a site that had become a gathering area for unsheltered individuals and drug activity. The location did raise concerns by City staff due to the location’s surroundings and lack of visibility.
Upon purchase, City staff began to design a neighborhood park. After extensive public outreach, many of the community’s preferred park elements and other input was incorporated into the Park’s Master Plan.
Construction of the Park began in June 2005 and was completed in April 2006. The cost of construction, approximately $2.2 million, was funded by the Western Chula Vista Infrastructure Financing Program1. The Program was intended to improve and increase the amount of parkland, install new sidewalks and street improvements, and rehabilitate drainage facilities west of I-805.
The opening of this community amenity was a welcomed change for residents and visitors.
Park Neighboring Uses
Directly north of the Park site is Harborside Elementary School which serves almost 600 students in grades Kindergarten to sixth. The student population is about 93 percent Hispanic and 74 percent of students are eligible for the free lunch program.
To the east and south of the Park, are industrial complexes. Among the businesses operating are Costco, Walmart, and other commercial stores.
West of the Park is the San Diego County Health and Human Services’ South Region Live Well Center . The Center opened in 2001 as the South Bay Family Resource Center . The Center serves as the South Region
1 The Western Chula Vista Infrastructure Financing Program was established in 2004 for the purposes of financing improvements to streets, drainage, and parks in western Chula Vista. It was made up of two financing elements. The first element was a $9 million Residential Construction Tax funded loan. The second element was a loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Section 108 Loan) in the amount of $11.9 million that would be repaid through the City’s annual Community Development Block Grant entitlement.
2 | P a g e
Administration offices m anaging social services and public health programs including oversight of Child Welfare Services, Family Resource Centers, Community Health Promotion, and Homeless Services and Public Health Centers. Also, several services are provided to the community from this location including:
• Family Resource Center: Provides self-sufficiency services and eligibility determinations for State and County funded programs like CalWORKs, CalFresh, Cash Assistance for Immigrants (CAPI), Refugee Cash Assistance, Medi-Cal and General Relief.
• Public Health Center: Provides preventative health services like immunizations, Tuberculosis testing and treatment, HIV screening and more.
Park Challenges
Due to the proximity to County social services, public transportation, shopping and eateries, and mild weather near the San Diego Bay, the park has long been popular with the community, including unsheltered individuals. The City’s Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) team regularly contacted unsheltered individuals to offer services and assistance, however they cannot force anyone to accept the help. Most unsheltered individuals at the Park were service resistant and due to legal limitations, the City cannot prohibit or prevent anyone from being at or having access to a public park. This continues to be a challenge throughout the City in our efforts to address the impacts of homelessness.
Many of the unsheltered individuals that frequented Harborside Park were drug users and consumed during the park’s operational hours. The HOT team routinely found used needles, drug paraphernalia, human feces and weapons on the park grounds , playground tot lot areas and restrooms. In addition to this, light poles were damaged to gain access to electricity and irrigation systems destroyed. City staff went to great lengths to keep the park clean and , on average, would remove about 8,000-12,000 lbs of trash and 50 -60 shopping carts every week.
Overall, the Park had become a hub for illicit behavior and every day, outreach workers attempted to address the various safety, health, and environmental concerns.
Recent History of Calls for Service
Since Harborside Park opened in 2006, the Police Department reported a steady increase in disorder calls.
Harborside Park has consistently had the highest number of calls for service (CFS) for police compared to all other parks in the City.
Between January 2017 and July 2022:
• The park had significantly higher numbers of citizen -initiated CFS compared to three other parks (Rohr Park, Heritage Park, Kumeyaay Park) with high volumes of CFS. • The park had significantly higher numbers of crime reports, arrests, and citations compared to the three other parks with high CFS volumes.
• Officers spent approximately two times more hours at Harborside Park addressing citizen -initiated CFS than they did at the three other high CFS parks.
3 | P a g e
Additionally, the data below show the number of arrests, citations and crime at Harborside Park compared to three other parks (Rohr Park, Heritage Park, Kumeyaay Park) with high volumes of CFS.
101
129
106
34 26 30
4 3 2 2 3 2
7 1 2 12 2 3 4 4
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Arrests
2017 - 2022
Harborside
Heritage
Kumeyaay Park
Rohr
4 | P a g e
42 16
4 6 2 24
3 2 2
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Citations
2017 - 2022
Harborside
Heritage
Kumeyaay Park
Rohr
115
145
119
47 41 42
9 7
14 12 11
6 16
2 4 1 7 4
13 10 9
2 23 23
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Crimes
2017 - 2022
Harborside
Heritage
Kumeyaay Park
Rohr
5 | P a g e
The City’s Code Enforcement Unit also had seen an increase in complaints from private business and property owners near the park of trash, debris and encampments with more than 25 complaints from 2020 to 2022 compared to almost no complaints for these issues from 2017 to 2020.
Recent Mitigating Efforts
Over the years, City staff made several attempts to program the park in an effort to address various concerning issues. Several family friendly events were programmed including Movies in the Park, Rec N’ Roll events, and sport league games. The latest attempt was in 2019, when the City of Chula Vista’s Police Department, Public Works Department, Housing Division, and Parks and Recreation Division partnered with San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, Costco, Walmart, Harborside Elementary, South Bay Community Services, and other organizations to form a Harborside Park Safety and Revitalization Collaborative. One of the key initiatives of the Collaborative was to increase park activity that would lead to more positive usage and discourage unwelcome behavior. Olympicos Soccer Club scheduled soccer games for the 2019 season and the first weekend they held games, parents took their children to the restroom and found two individuals injecting themselves with drugs. The soccer club refused to return to the park.
Additionally, unsheltered individuals engag ing in illegal activity in the restrooms, such as drug use and prostitution, had become increasingly confrontational with Park Rangers and other City staff who attempted to put an end to the activity. For these reasons, in October 2019, the City made the decision to close the restroom at Harborside Park indefinitely.
101
129
106
34 26 30
42 16 4 6 2 2
115
145
119
47 41 42
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Arrests, Citations & Crimes at Harborside Park
2017 - 2022
Arrests Citations Crimes
6 | P a g e
As the park conditions continued to deteriorate, City staff made efforts to m itigate the concerns. Below is a timeline of other major incidents and measures undertaken at the park:
Temporary Closure
In late Spring 2022 , the City and school district began conversations about increased safety concerns at Harborside Park due to increased illegal activities that escalated during the COVID -19 pandemic. The City participated in two forums in June and July to address parent and community concerns.
After evaluation and d ue to a variety of safety, health, and environmental concerns related to the illicit behavior and criminal activities , in August 2022, the City temporarily closed Harborside Park in order to explore options on how to address the safety issues and evaluate long-term solutions with the community.
The temporary closure plan was implemented on August 31, 2022 for an initial 90-day period, with options to extend at the City Manager’s discretion. The closure included a Connect Event to link unsheltere d individuals impacted by the closure and willing to accept services, with resources to move them towards the goal of permanent housing. The City also implemented safety measures, including the installation of temporary fencing around the perimeter of the park and hiring of security guards.
Community Outreach
During the closure, City staff in our Housing & Homeless Services Department undertook a robust community outreach effort to develop short and long-term solutions informed by residents.
Outreach efforts included:
1. Community Surveys
2. Community Engagement Events on September 21, October 25, and November 14, 2022
3. Pop Up Events
November 2020
Stabbing Incident at
Park
October 2021
Gazebo removed
March 2022
Small Tot Lot
removed
April 2022
Large Tot Lot
removed
May 2022
Deceased body at
Park against school
fence
August 2022
Shooting Incident at
Park
7 | P a g e
Throughout this effort, City staff kept City Council and the community informed through re gular updates.
The links below contain presentations given at each update:
• October 11, 2022
• December 6, 2022
• March 7, 2023
The first Community Survey conducted in October 2022 collected 184 responses and included questions regarding preferred long-term uses. Overall, the community has provided an overwhelming response that they would like to see a recreational facility placed at Harborside Park to maintain outdoor amenities but also provide indoor gathering spaces for community and recreational programming. The top features they would like to see on the future site include classrooms, a water feature, exercise opportunities and a playground, as summarized in Exhibit 2.
The second Community Survey conducted in May 2023 received over 300 responses and included questions regarding preferences for phased park improvements. About 60 percent of respondents indicated that they were “somewhat likely” or “very likely” to use the park if it was opened with the proposed Phase 1 improvements on weekdays between 3 to 7 p.m. and 73 percent indicating that they were “somewhat likely” or “very likely” to use the park on weekends between 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
On May 16, 2023, City staff presented the results of the second Community Survey along with a proposal for the first phase of the Harborside Park reopening and related park improvements. The City Council directed staff to:
Evaluate and provide recommendations to City Council on:
• A joint use agreement with the Chula Vista Elementary Schoo l District to provide additional use and oversight of Harborside Park and maintain community access; and • Options to declare the Harborside Park space surplus land and to require future developments to address community needs, such as including a recreational facility on the site.
As City staff works on the City Council’s directive to explore other options, the park remains closed.
8 | P a g e
Status of Council Directive
Final action on the future of Harborside Park remains to be taken.
The City approached the Chula Vista Elementary School District to inquire about the possibility of exploring a joint-use agreement per City Council’s directive. On July 25, 2023 , the City Council was informed of the District’s response and their inability to fulfill the City’s request due to educational needs a nd prior commitments for use of their recreational fields.
Research and analysis on the second portion of City Council’s directive is ongoing. To date, City staff in Development Services has conducted a site analysis and is currently developing a site plan for placement of a recreational facility, park space, and affordable housing within the 5.2-acre site.
City staff also has worked with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on the concept of declaring the park sit e “surplus land” and conditioning future developments to include a public amenity such as a recreational facility. The City received concurrence from HCD on this concept should the City Council decide to pursue it.
City staff will be returning to City Council with an update and presentation in early December regarding the City’s research and analysis as it relates to the Surplus Land Act . At that time, City staff will be requesting further direction as we continue explore best long-term uses of the park space.