SAN DIEGO — There’s a dog fight over a San Diego dog park. Fiesta Island is on the Coastal Commission’s agenda to bring in new development including more fencing and parking to the area. Folks who use the park with their pets say they aren’t on board with the idea and want your help.
Steve Colley and his wife Cathy brought their dogs to the park to play Thursday morning.
“I think the development that would come out here would wipe away our 60-year tradition," Steve said. "Leave it alone.”
The Colleys have been visiting the Fiesta Island Dog Park for 20 years and said the proposed development would just mess it up.
“I think it’s a bad idea to take away one of the few sanctuaries we have in this county where people can just interact freely with their dogs," said Cathy.
There are two ideas on the Coastal Commission’s agenda that are up for a vote. Option A would bring a new road, fences, parking and other developments for people to use, but the group Fiesta Island Dog Owners (also known as FIDO) say Option B – which leaves more natural spaces – is the better way to go.
Ashley Grins has been a supporter of FIDO for years.
"This is really the only place in San Diego where you can have your dogs off leash to roam around without really having to worry about them or anything else around here," she said.
Some dog owners said they understand where the commission is coming from with the proposed development. However, Daniel De La Rosa said the commission should rethink who Fiesta Island truly serves.
“I’m not a fan of it but if they did it, it would be cool that more people could come experience it, but you gotta think, how do the dogs feel about it?" he said. "I really love my dog so the more space the better.”
The Coastal Commission sent News 8 the following statement about the issue:
"The Coastal Commission has not changed its recommendation, which has always been Option A. In fact, our staff submitted a letter to the city prior to their vote in June 2019 letting them know Commission staff preferred Option A. The reason for this is that there is an underutilized half mile stretch of beach that would be more accessible to a broader range of the public including boaters and swimmers under Option A. In other words, Option A would still maintain a significant area for off-leash dogs while enhancing coastal access for other uses like boating and swimming.
The amended concept plan as proposed by the City, also known as Option B, would maintain the 100-acre southwestern segment of Fiesta Island, which currently consists of a fenced 94-acre off-leash dog park and a fenced 6-acre least tern nesting site. As mentioned above, Commission staff, however, identified that the southern half-mile of beach area is prime coastal recreation space and is underutilized by the public due to the large distance between it and the nearest parking. As a result, staff is recommending that the new concept plan, Option A, reinsert a 6-acre shoreline public recreation park, swim area, and unmotorized watercraft dock that the City originally analyzed prior to removing it from its current proposal. The remaining 87 acres would continue as fenced off-leash dog park."
If you would like to submit your public comment on the Fiesta Island Dog Park development proposals, you have until Friday, June 4 at 5 p.m. You can submit your thoughts on the Coastal Commission’s website (instructions are posted on the FIDO web site) or sign FIDO’s Change.org petition on their Facebook page.