The struggle is on for the future of the last undeveloped area on San Diego Bay. And for those who care about Chula Vista, the future of the bay's fragile ecosystem and the effects of development on regional communities, the stakes are very high.

At greatest risk is the 125-acre site known as the Chula Vista Mid-Bayfront, which forms the northwest corner of Chula Vista. The site is adjacent to the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge and Chula Vista Nature Center, making it an irreplaceable asset for the protection of wildlife habitat and a key to ecotourism development in the region.

Now, a proposal for high-density residential development threatens to devastate the ecosystem surrounding the site, and obliterate the last available open space accessible to western Chula Vista.

Environmental Heath Coalition commissioned a scientific survey by Douglas S. Coe, director of the San Diego State University Social Science Research Laboratory regarding Chula Vista residents' views on development of the property and released the results on April 17. The results of the survey are clear: the overwhelming majority of Chula Vista residents oppose high-density housing development on the Mid-Bayfront.

Eighty-eight percent of those surveyed said they favored open space development including parks, playgrounds, and trails. At the same time, 74 percent of those surveyed opposed residential condominium development on the site. Chula Vistans also are willing to pay to protect the site. Sixty percent of survey respondents said they would support a bond measure that would use public funds to purchase some of the site for wildlife habitat and park use.

The Mid-Bayfront survey results support what EHC and community leaders have been saying all along. Chula Vista residents have spoken clearly and forcefully -- they want public open spaces and a voice in this decision.

There is much more at stake here than the loss of habitat and open space. The highly inappropriate Mid-Bayfront development proposal is a symptom of the lack of regional, smart-growth planning among municipalities in San Diego County and the exclusion of community input from the planning process. From the northernmost reaches of Oceanside to the southern San Diego/ Tijuana border, San Diego County communities are plagued with the byproducts of poor planning:

Mixed-use zoning that allows industries and homes to be constructed side-by-side;

Traffic congestion and air pollution -- a recent study reported in the Union-Tribune found that hospitalization rates for asthma are 23 percent higher in South Bay than the rest of the County;

Overcrowded schools -- for example, in 2002 Chula Vista High School's enrollment was 72 percent above the designed capacity;

A lack of affordable housing that has reached crisis proportions.

Right now, the South Bay region has a unique opportunity to re- plan the southern bay front in a thoughtful and considered manner that could alleviate many of these problems and ensure they do not worsen. Three major planning efforts are currently under way, with virtually no coordination between them.

Taken together, a coordinated plan could provide the community with good jobs, tax revenue, infrastructure and quality-of-life enhancements.

Planning the port properties and the Mid-Bayfront property together also would allow for many other appropriate development options, not currently being considered, that would serve the interests and needs of the local and regional community. EHC supports smart growth planning that benefits the community and these properties could become a national model.

In the 12 years that EHC has been involved in development proposals for the Mid-Bayfront, we have sought to bring the public into the process in a meaningful way.

It's hard to imagine a decision with greater impact on the quality of life in Chula Vista and the region than the decision about the development of this site. While it may be just another vacant lot to the developer, it is a property that holds much more promise to current and future Chula Vista residents.

The decision made about the future of the Mid-Bayfront is the litmus test for the future of our communities. Will we continue with business as usual, allowing for a developer-driven project approval process with no other motive than profit? Or will we begin the much touted, but rarely practiced process of thoughtful and careful regional planning among municipalities in San Diego County that respects and implements the voice of communities? How decision- makers answer these questions will affect the quality of life in our region for generations to come.

Hunter is Director of EHC's Clean Bay Campaign.

Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Company. Used by Permission