After the continued closure of Harborside Park for nearly one year, Chula Vista has reopened Lauderbach Park. NBC 7’s Joe Little shares more.
One day after neighbors begged the Chula Vista City Council to open their community’s park, the city reopened another park one mile down the road.
Lauderbach Park closed in March of 2022 so the city could use the $1 million state parks grant and roughly $820,000 in Measure P money to upgrade the park. It reopened Wednesday with a new multipurpose field, basketball court, playgrounds, and pathways.
“It is very satisfying,” smiled Chula City Manager Maria Kachadoorian. “It’s in an area where we have a lot of residents, a lot of apartment complexes, a lot of children.”
“It’s just exciting,” added Councilwoman Andrea Cárdenas. “[Parks] are so important to cultivating our community, our culture.”
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However, a mile down Oxford Road, a chain link fence still surrounds Harborside Park.
“The situation with Harborside: We want to make sure that they have something that they can be proud of,” explained Councilwoman Cárdenas. “A lot of the same factors that caused us to shut it down remain and so, we don’t want to just give a band-aid solution to the community.”
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The City of Chula Vista closed Harborside Park in August of 2022 after drug use and crime ran rampant through the homeless encampment that formed in the park. Chula Vista Mayor John McCann said the park was set to reopen in June, but the rest of the council outnumbered the mayor. They voted to order city staff to investigate selling the land for affordable housing and a smaller recreation area.
Harborside neighbors brought a “Save Harborside” sign to Lauderbach Park Wednesday for the ceremonial ribbon cutting.
“We understand their concerns. I certainly understand their concerns as the city manager,” said Kachadoorian.
Harborside Park is one mile away from Lauderbach Park. Two major roads also separate the parks. It’s too far and too dangerous for many kids to walk.
“It is not so close,” agreed Cárdenas.
While the city investigates the future of Harborside Park, the councilwoman envisioned a series of smaller pocket parks scattered throughout western Chula Vista.
“It’s easier for parents to say, ‘Okay, you’re going to be close to the apartment. It’s fine.’ You don’t have to walk a longer trek to get there,” said Cárdenas.
Kachadoorian said the City of Chula Vista will next work on upgrades for Eucalyptus Park, the city’s oldest park.
