Mission Bay Visitor Center to be converted into coffee/juice bar

The California Coastal Commission approved an application to convert a space at San Diego’s Mission Bay, once used as a visitor and information center, into a coffee and juice bar. Commissioners approved the application on June 13, as part of the consent calendar for that day’s agenda. The applicant had to bring the proposed coffee and juice bar to the Coastal Commission as part of a change in intensity of property use. “The area to be converted to a coffee/juice bar is a small portion of the former Information Center for Mission Bay Park that was most recently used for a vending machine area, storage space, and bathroom, but has been closed to the public since 2010,” Coastal Commission staff stated in a report to commissioners. “A majority of the proposed work will consist of interior renovations to the existing space. No expansion of the existing building is proposed.” The building once housing the visitor and information center was built in 1969 and was a resource for the visiting public. “The center also sold tickets, assisted with hotel reservations, rented out equipment for water activities in the bay, and ran a small snack bar,” Coastal Commission staff stated. “In the last two decades, the public’s...