Port of San Diego to pursue proposals for lower cost recreational amenities

SAN DIEGO — Protecting and encouraging an inventory of lower cost recreational and visitor facilities on the San Diego waterfront will be the focus of a planned Request for Proposals, the port district’s board determined at its December meeting. The Port of San Diego’s Board of Port Commissioners directed the district’s staff to draft a Request for Proposals (RFP), Dec. 5; the RFP would test the marketability of lower cost overnight visitor accommodations at a portion of Harbor Island designated for redevelopment. Accessible recreational and visitor amenities could include public fishing piers or floating docks, dock and dine piers, low-cost or free moorings/boat slips and water taxis, according to port district staff. “The [port] district acknowledges that the importance of lower cost visitor and recreational facilities and recognizes that such facilities, depending on their nature, are consistent with the Port Act and the Public Trust Doctrine,” port district staff stated in a report to commissioners. Port district policy, according to a report reviewed by commissioners, specifically aims to “protect, encourage and, where feasible, provide for lower cost visitor and recreational facilities to enhance the public’s enjoyment of the San Diego Bay.” Lower cost recreational and visitor facilities are established through leasehold revenues, according to port...