Port commissioners outline parks, redevelopment and emissions gains in annual update to San Diego City Council

Port of San Diego commissioners gave an annual update to the San Diego City Council on March 2, outlining park projects, redevelopment plans and the results of a maritime clean‑air strategy adopted in 2021.

The commissioners — Vice Chair Michael Zukat and Commissioners Sid Veracara and Danielle Moore — told council the port has three major parks projects in planning or early construction: Freedom Park at the Vernon Navy Pier (about 10 acres, with core work underway and completion targeted for Veterans Day 2028); preliminary designs for improvements at Cesar Chavez Park (including a splash pad, expanded lawn and shade structures, funded through the port’s Balanced Capital Program); and a 10‑acre East Harbor Island park adjacent to a proposed 6.5‑acre entertainment and restaurant district, which includes a Topgolf proposal now under environmental review.

The port also described Seaport San Diego, a proposed mixed‑use redevelopment covering roughly 39 acres of land and 63 acres of water (including Seaport Village and Tuna Harbor areas) that is in environmental review, and a planned proposal for 1220 Pacific Highway, a 3.4‑acre site reclaimed from a former Navy leasehold.

Commissioner Zukat highlighted the port’s maritime clean‑air strategy and said the port secured roughly a quarter‑billion dollars in the past five years to fund electrification projects, including electric cranes and a solar microgrid at the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal. The port reported a roughly 30 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides and a 46 percent reduction in diesel particulate matter from port activities over five years, figures staff attributed to those investments and to grant‑funded equipment upgrades.

Commissioner Veracara described three projects now under environmental review, including Seaport San Diego, the 1220 Pacific Highway site and East Harbor Island; he said staff expect circulation of an EIR for the Topgolf‑adjacent project this fall and that, once the port’s board certifies an EIR, it will require review by the California Coastal Commission before construction can start.

Commissioner Moore described Harbor Drive 2, a freight and truck‑movement project designed to reduce idling and improve safety, and discussed the port’s Blue Economy Incubator. The board recently approved funding to support a new incubator company, LuxBlue (Nioka Design Corp), providing up to $350,000 over 18 months for testing and product development, with anticipated future payments to the port tied to commercial sales.

Commissioners also said the cruise industry has rebounded: this season the port recorded 107 cruise ship calls with about 389,000 passengers, and staff estimated the cruise sector will generate an estimated $157 million in economic impact to San Diego County this fiscal year.

Council members thanked the commissioners and asked detailed questions about mitigation banking at Pond 20, the timeline for environmental review, and partnerships with regional agencies. Commissioners and port staff said Pond 20 is proceeding through an interagency review team (Army Corps, EPA, US Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, California Regional Water Quality Control Board and California Coastal Commission); the port reported about 1,000 technical comments from that review and expected to resubmit responses later this spring.

Public commenters praised the port update, suggested alternatives to fireworks (for example drone shows), and urged faster progress on the veterans park and other projects. The presentation was informational and no council action was required.

The Port of San Diego commissioners offered to return for further updates and fielded additional council questions about partnerships and funding.