Hundreds of angry Coronado residents spoke out Monday night against potential plans to build more hotels and retail spaces where the Coronado Ferry Landing currently sits.
The Port of San Diego hosted the meeting at the Coronado Community Center to discuss updating the existing master plan outlining building guidelines and rules for the waterfronts across five cities.
But neighbors are worried the island will lose its quaint and peaceful vibe, that generations of families have enjoyed to make way for more hotels, retail and office space.
"We are a small town community. We don't have a lot of people -- maybe 12,000 people or so. We all know each other," said Kelly Sarber.
Spokespeople with the Port of San Diego tried to explain the entity’s mission has always been to develop the waterfront for the benefit of Californians and visitors.
"What do we have too much of? We would say too many tourists, too many day-trippers and too much traffic and this will add to that," said a Coronado resident.
The current leaseholder Coronado Ferry Landing LLC. Hasn’t officially submitted project ideas to the port, the ultimate decision maker, but had reportedly distributed renderings to some people in the community. It’s unclear what those renderings entail.
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"We've lost control of our island in terms of quality of life issues like traffic, congestion,” said Sarber.
Mayor Richard Bailey told NBC 7 he hopes the crowd will not be forgotten when the time comes for the board to decide on development plans. None of the Port of San Diego’s board members attended Monday night’s meeting, one of several.
"We are hopeful that the port will take this concerns into account and if not eliminate the hotel option altogether at least reduce the hotel impact," said Bailey.
According to the Port of San Diego’s website, the port boasts 23,627 jobs and an $8.3 billion overall impact to the region.
To learn more about the Port of San Diego’s Port Master Plan update, visit here.
