Lost in the fog of media hoopla about a proposal to build a surf pool at Alameda Point is that its proposed location is within a larger public park awaiting a master plan. Normally the city initiates a formal consultant-led community process to develop a master plan design from scratch. In this case, the process is backwards and misleading.
At issue is the popular tranquil open space that extends from the Encinal Boat Ramp through the former campground all the way to the ferry maintenance facility. Its unofficial placeholder name is Enterprise Park.
The city has started an ad hoc master planning process for the park with a surf pool already in it, before the community has decided that the area is the best location for this commercial enterprise. The city also mistakenly includes the possibility for a soccer field, and it sidelines its own master infrastructure street plan.
If past practices were followed, such as for Jean Sweeney Open Space Park, Estuary Park, and De-Pave Park, park features are decided by the community, not by city staff. If the community decided that they want a surf pool, then the city would put out a call for surf pool proposals and select the best deal. In this case, city staff is seeking to circumvent the normal process, perhaps because the surf pool developer is offering to pay for designing a park master plan, as long as their 5.5-acre pool facility is baked in.
Misleading pop-up event
On May 17, seemingly to gather input on the surf pool idea, the city and the developer’s company Neptune Beach Surf Club held a pop-up promotional event at the proposed site. But when people arrived they were invited to rate ideas for the rest of the park, giving the impression the pool was a done deal for the master plan that the developer is proposing to pay for. Visitors could place either a green sticky (thumbs up) or a red sticky (thumbs down) on any of the 23 potential park features. Absent from the list of potential features was a surf pool. Initiating this impromptu park planning process, with the surf pool included as a given, served only to enlist the public unwittingly in support of a done deal.
In other words, the surf pool promotional event was actually the beginning of a master planning process, and the community was led to believe that the master plan starts with a surf pool because the pool was not listed as an optional park feature.
The so-called “Enterprise Park Visioning” exercise at the pop-up event listed “soccer field” as a choice. The surf pool developer even stated on its FAQ display that the existing soccer field, called Hornet Field, would not be effected by their surf pool. This is only half true.
Since Enterprise Park is located on state tidelands, soccer fields would not be permitted in the master plan that they, or anyone else, propose to fund.
As stated in a 2017 city council report for a license agreement with the soccer club, “This facility is located within Enterprise Park, which is under State Land Commission (Tidelands) and as a result, is limited by specific regulations of allowable uses. An athletic field or playground is considered a non-compliant use and is therefore a temporary use. The City may only enter into a maximum of a five year license agreement for these use types.” A master plan would be considered the permanent blueprint for the park, upon which permits and construction drawings and bids are based.
The rationale for no athletic fields on state tidelands is that the use of the sports fields is restricted to those belonging to a group or team. Tidelands, also known as Public Trust Land, are for the benefit of all.
The current proposal to lease land instead of selling a different lot to the developer skirts the Alameda Point master infrastructure plan, which calls for upgrading the entrance road from Central Avenue to the boat ramp to a complete street. Only token improvements are proposed, not a widening with bike lanes and sidewalks, selling the community short.
If you’re not on board for this proposal, tell the city council or come to the Recreation and Park Commission meeting at City Hall on Thursday, July 10 at 7 PM and voice your opinion on this agenda item.
Alameda Point Environmental Report 