The second of Mayor Bailey’s Town Hall series took place Tuesday evening on the patio at McP’s Irish Pub. The first one was held virtually on May 6th with about 100 participants over Zoom. Tuesday’s in person event was capped at 50 people on the outdoor patio. The third and final Town Hall was May 12th at Feast and Fairway, limited to 75 people. Both in-person events had all seats reserved within an hour of the Town Halls’ announcement.
Mayor Bailey explained that the events would be compacted into one hour, with 45 minutes spent addressing key community topics and the remaining 15 open to questions from the floor. Topics discussed during the May 11th Town Hall included the 4th of July, RHNA, TJ sewage, Caltrans relinquishment of state routes, and more.
COVID-19 and Independence Day
Kicking off the meeting on a high note, Mayor Bailey shared that Coronado has the lowest COVID-19 case per capita in San Diego County. “Kuddos to our community, Sharp Hospital, and all of the volunteers.” Mayor Bailey thanked the community regarding the handling of the pandemic. He shared that the city is, “working on preparations for a normal 4th of July – fireworks, parade, swim” (to be held on July 3). He also stated that he is “optimistic for some version of Concert in the Park.”
More 4th of July information can be found here.
Regional Housing Plan
The bulk of the Town Hall was spent on the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) and the 1,000 housing units that SANDAG determined Coronado needs. Mayor Bailey explained that every eight years there is a review and then an allocation of housing units needed for cities throughout San Diego. During the previous cycle, Coronado was allocated 50 additional units, for which zoning changes weren’t required. This time, 1,000 more housing units have been assigned to Coronado (roughly about 6.5 Shores towers). Mayor Bailey shared that there is unanimous support on the city council to oppose the this number. “We are going to go to the mat on this,” Mayor Bailey promises.
Mayor Bailey referred to a recent Zoom meeting and Q&A as a resource for those who would like to learn more about the city’s approach to the RHNA which can be viewed here, courtesy of the Coronado Shores Community Alliance Group.
Tijuana Sewage
Another hot topic was the Tijuana sewage issue. Major Bailey shared that in the past 80 years, on average, 120 days a year have sewage flowing from Tijuana into the Pacific Ocean (the recent past years have seen a number much larger than that). The goal is to have that number down to 20 days within the next two years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been tasked by law to be the point person on this issue.
To learn more about this issue, watch Congressman Scott Peters and Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina’s April 24, 2021 presentation here, thanks to the Coronado Democratic Club.
Relinquishment of Orange Avenue
The city has long been pursuing taking over control of portions of Orange Avenue (State Route 75) and Third and Fourth Streets (State Route 282) from Caltrans so that Coronado can manage and maintain them more as local streets than highways. This would give the city control to fix the streets, add beautification projects, address options like outdoor dining, and implement safety changes.
While this went to the Senate floor in December, it has not been addressed in the Senate since. The Navy took issue with this bill as they would like to have a say in changes. The City Council will ask for public opinion on changes to be made when and if this bill passes.
Relinquishment from Caltrans and possible changes to Orange Avenue were discussed as recently as the April 10, 2021 City Council meeting, a summary of which can be found here.
Ocean Boulevard Sidewalk
In Coronado, every seven, 14, and 21 years, sidewalk improvements are made. This year, the Ocean Boulevard sidewalk is due for its normal maintenance. After considering multiple options, the sidewalk replacement will be the same in 95% of the sidewalk. The 5% that will see a 1.5 to two foot widening will be on the ocean side, south of Sunset park. This will bring the sidewalk width up to the ADA compliancy. Rock will not be moved to accomplish this.
Tennis, Swim, and Coronado Recreation Center
Mayor Bailey kept his comments about Coronado Recreation short. Regarding recent changes to tennis, he stated, “we did a poor job rolling out the changes. We are going to go back and make sure the community is involved.”
For more information about a recent community meeting on reservations and use fees, click here.
As for community swim and other recreation classes, once the COVID-19 tier system restrictions are removed, the Community Center will increase its offerings.
City Budget
On his last agenda item, Mayor Bailey touched on Coronado’s budget, “we ran a surplus during the pandemic,” and the city is projecting Transient Occupancy Tax to be up 20% and sales tax to double.
Audience Questions / Miscellaneous Takeaways
- Hotel del Coronado Master Plan renovations are on schedule to be completed Mid 2022 – Q3 2022.
- The Coronado City Council is not involved with the Coronado School District or Coronado School Board.
