Harborside Park will close for 90 days following a unanimous Chula Vista City Council decision on Tuesday night to protect public health and allow city officials to consider long-term options for the site.
The decision came after more than three hours of a special presentation, and public and board comments about the park’s deterioration. The city will spend $350,000 on temporary fencing and security during the 90-day period.
The city will also host a connect event at the end of the month for those residing in the park to potentially accept services.
For months, parents of Harborside Elementary School Students have expressed concern about the increased number of encampments, illicit activity, and illegal behavior behind the school, putting the safety and well-being of students at risk. A fence and tarp is the only divider between students and the park.
Chula Vista purchased Harborside Park in 2003 for $2.3 million, investing an additional $2.1 million for park improvements. According to Angelica Davis, Homeless Coordinator and Principal Management Analyst for the City of Chula Vista, the park is designed to provide an open green space for residents in the area to gather for recreation, rest, and leisure.
According to Phil Collum, Executive Capt. of the Chula Vista Police Department, Harborside Park had significantly higher numbers of crime reports, arrests, and citations between January 2019 and July 2022, than three other parks with high police, calls for service.
Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casilla Salas asked the city’s Park Ranger Program Manager, Sam Alzubaidi about the success rate of outreach efforts to those residing in the park, to which he responded “there is none”.
Monica Crespo, a mother and community member represented the parents and teachers of Harborside, stressing the impact the park will have on students without city intervention.
“This is an emergency situation. We know that the basic needs of children are love food, water but also safety. We cannot expect these children to go to school and learn if they don't have a safe environment,” Crespo said during the meeting.
Chula Vista Elementary School District Superintendent Dr. Eduardo Reyes said he visits Harborside elementary school often. Dr. Reyes said he witnessed an illegal drug transaction right across the fence during his most recent visit.
“It’s our responsibility to ensure that the physical and emotional safety of all of our students is our number one priority,” Reyes said. “We need to ensure that our children are not being exposed to drug use, fights, seeing people exposing themselves. They should be worried about learning and creating friends. We need to support their social-emotional potential and their physical activity. They need to play in our field without fear of getting hurt by something on the ground,” he continued.
