FIDO's Position

A road will divide our existing fenced area in half with 2 parking lots, and the area will be fenced into 4 segments. You will no longer be able to walk or run the perimeter! You will be required to pass thru the segmented areas thru designated gates.

You will no longer be able to wade in Hidden Anchorage (the ski jump cove) and dogs will NOT be

allowed on the south end beach! Only a small area on the southeast corner of the island and the west beach will allow dogs in the water. However, the west beach will be outside the fenced area so to reach the east or south side of the current fenced area you must use designated gates.

The west half will have bocce ball courts and tot-lots along with leash-free usage. The major concern is the first time a conflict occurs between an off-leash dog and a child and/or bocce ball player, we could lose the entire western half of the fenced area!

Bridges must be tall enough for a dump truck to pass under

Additionally, tall unsightly overpasses are proposed on the west side near the existing fenced leash-free recreational area. These bridges must be tall enough for sand management dump trucks to pass under.

FIDO's position is that the area is already multi-purpose with runners, bicyclists, paddlers and horseback riders; these are compatible uses in leash-free areas. However, the proposed bocce ball courts and tot-lots are not compatible uses. Bocce ball courts and tot-lots can easily be served by the other 1900 plus acres of turf parkland in Mission Bay.

Actively used by runners

The occasional mountain bikers

Regularly used by families

Typical Saturday: Families & Individuals getting exercise

For over 30 years, Fiesta Island has provided the majority of public lands available for dog owners to exercise, train and enjoy their dogs in a leash-free environment. Of the 40,000 square acres of land managed by the San Diego Department of Park and Recreation, there are only 41 acres designated as off-leash outside of Fiesta Island. Considering that there are currently over 300,000 dogs within the city limits and almost 700,000 within the county, that is not much space. As the human population grows, so will the dog population (40% of all households have a dog and that number is continuing to increase). We would like to continue to share this area with other San Diego citizens without having our area reduced and limited by programs designated for specific activities that could be made available in other Mission Bay Park locations where dogs are not allowed. The current precise plan to develop Fiesta Island threatens our current ability to use and enjoy Fiesta Island. We do not feel that we should be displaced in order to establish paddle boat launching/storage facilities and a swimming area. The need for the expensive and intrusive road, parking lots, and most of the fencing in the southwest portion of the island would be eliminated by reasonably relocating the proposed paddle boat launching facilities and swimming area elsewhere, for the following reasons:

“Therefore, planned expansion of the commercial development and/or leaseholds within Mission Bay Park will not proceed until significant portions of the planned regional parklands and public access and circulation improvements identified in the Mission Bay Park Master Plan Update are completed within South Shores and Fiesta Island.”

To date, every other current user of Fiesta Island has been accommodated in such a way that they can continue to enjoy the island as they have for decades. When the OTL fields were going to be relocated near the entrance to the island and the OTL club complained, the fields were moved back to their current location. When the cyclists complained about the 2 way roads, the roads were changed back to one way. When the skiers complained about dogs in the water in Hidden Anchorage where they have their space, the dogs were not only forbidden to swim in the water, but are not even going to be allowed to wade in the water, thus giving the skiers exclusive use. When the sailboarders objected to the position of the floating dock in Enchanted Cove for watercraft and dog sports, it was removed. When the paddleboat clubs requested a storage shed, that shed was placed at the end of our fenced off-leash area, such that a road will cut our area into two areas, making it difficult and dangerous to pass from one side to the other and taking away the only large, contiguous area in San Diego available for off-leash use. As the largest user group of Fiesta Island, the dog owners have lost the most while other current users have been accommodated. We acknowledge that some changes need to be made. We support many of the proposed changes to Fiesta Island such as those concerning the Least Tern habitat, erosion mitigation, and water quality improvement, and wetland creation. However, we also ask that you recognize that many San Diego citizens enjoy the open, undeveloped feel of Fiesta Island and oppose the proliferation of marginally and seasonally utilized irrigated turf areas. Tens of thousands of dog owners and others currently use these same areas 365 days a year to exercise, socialize and play together.

We ask that you do not take this unique, necessary and loved space away from us. If you do so, the city will never again be able to replace it in any other location and it would be lost forever. In keeping with this request, our position is as follows: