National City Bayfront

National City Balanced Plan and Projects

The Port of San Diego has been working closely with the City of National City, as well as business and community stakeholders, to rebalance land uses for the National City Bayfront – referred to as the National City Balanced Plan, or Balanced Plan – based on public priorities.

On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, the Board of Port Commissioners approved the Balanced Plan Port Master Plan Amendment (PMPA) and certified the National City Bayfront Projects Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The proposed Balanced Plan, as well as four proposed projects and one programmatic component (located within the City of National City’s jurisdiction) are collectively referred to as the National City Bayfront Projects. See details below.

The PMPA now goes to the California Coastal Commission for consideration. Once the PMPA is certified by Coastal, the Port and City can implement the Balanced Plan.

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Pepper Park Improvements

Pepper Park is an approximately 5.2-acre park located on the National City Bayfront adjacent to Pier 32 Marina. Existing park amenities include a boat launch ramp, picnic tables, restrooms, fishing pier, floating boat dock, playground equipment, lawn areas, and the Aquatic Center.

On September 11, 2024 the Port held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on the Pepper Park Phase 1 Improvements Project. This marks the first step toward upgrading and expanding recreational amenities on the National City Bayfront that visitors and residents will cherish for years to come. Phase 1 improvements include upgrades and new amenities in the park’s current footprint, including a new splash pad – the first in any Port park along San Diego Bay (conceptual rendering below), a pirate-themed playground, a perched beach, an overlook/terrace, a hillside play area, as well as an additional picnic area, a new entry plaza, and new lighting, landscaping and hardscaping throughout the park. De Le Fuente Construction is the project contractor. 

In June 2024, the Board awarded an approximately $6.1 million contract to De La Fuente Construction and authorized an additional $1.2 million for construction administration and contingency, for a total construction cost of up to $7.35 million. The Port designated $4.35 million in funding received via the American Rescue Plan Act and the State of California’s Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund, plus another $2 million from the Port’s Balanced Capital Program, and $1.6 million in Other Capital Projects funding. Additionally, Austal USA, which is operating a new ship repair facility on the National City Bayfront, contributed $250,000.

The schematic design below depicts the redesigned Pepper Park, including a future planned expansion. The area within the yellow dotted line is the existing park footprint. The area within the orange dotted line is a future 2.5-acre expanded area. The area shaded in blue is where the first phase of improvements is underway. 

The redesigned park and first phase improvements identified are a result of multiple rounds of public outreach between 2016 and 2022 resulting in a holistic design of the improvements to the existing park and the park expansion, ensuring a cohesive park space after implementation of the park expansion. The Port, parks design team KTUA, and public relations consultant Nuffer, Smith, Tucker led the award-winning community outreach efforts.  

A future 2.5-acre park expansion is contingent upon the availability of additional funding, as well as certification of the National City Balanced Land Use Plan (Balanced Plan) Port Master Plan Amendment by the California Coastal Commission. Future improvements include a flex plaza, an expanded waterside promenade, a new parking lot with a minimum of 23 added parking spaces, new picnic areas, and more. 

Timeline & Funding

The current anticipated timeline for Pepper Park Phase 1 improvements and future expansion is as follows:

• October 2024 – Begin construction of initial priority park improvements within current park space
• Late 2025 – Complete initial priority park improvements within current park space
• 2025 to 2029 – Funding and a timeline for future improvements, including park expansion, are to be determined.

If you have any questions, email NCBayfront@portofsandiego.org. If you haven't already, be sure to sign up on our email list to receive updates on the National City Bayfront, including the Pepper Park redesign and improvements.

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Community Workshops & Surveys

As a Port of communities, the redesign of Pepper Park is a team effort – the community, stakeholders, and local leaders have and will continue to have a role. The Port and parks design consultant KTUA provided multiple opportunities for the public and stakeholders to provide input on the redesign of Pepper Park and its future 2.5-acre expansion. KTUA is a landscape architecture firm with extensive urban park and waterfront design expertise.

• May 24 - June 8, 2022: Design Survey #2
• May 5, 2022: Community Design Workshop #2 (in person)
• April 9, 2022: Pop-Up Workshop at Port Aquatic Center in Pepper Park
• April 7, 2022: Pop-Up Workshop at Olivewood Gardens
• April 2, 2022: Pop-Up Workshop at Las Palmas Little League
• March 30 – April 13, 2022: Design Survey
• March 23, 2022: Community Design Workshop #1 (virtual)
• May 6, 2021: Community Workshop (virtual)

May 5, 2022 Design Workshop Materials (In Person)

• Workshop Presentation
• Draft Preliminary Design Plan for Pepper Park
• Pepper Park May 2022 Workshop Summary & Open-ended Comments

March 23, 2022 Design Workshop Materials (Virtual)

Port staff and the KTUA design team took detailed notes and recorded the meeting, collected all the comments and questions in the chat box, and are reviewing all the valuable and thoughtful input. Recordings of the meeting as well as the Q&A (questions asked at the meeting and responses) are below. We are also working to post meeting transcripts.

Workshop Presentation

Workshop Q&A

English Main Session with Breakout 1

Spanish Main Session and Breakout

English Breakout 2

English Breakout 3

English Breakout 4

Workshop Summary & Open-ended Comments

May 6, 2021 Workshop Materials

This workshop was aimed at helping to establish a grand vision for Pepper Park. The design team and participants explored park features and recreation opportunities. The meeting was conducted via Zoom, and was available in Spanish and Tagalog in addition to English, and included an interactive activity to discuss exciting park ideas.

• Workshop Presentation
• Workshop Q&A
• Workshop Summary

Workshop Videos

• English Main Session with Breakout 1
• Spanish Main Session and Breakout
• Tagalog Main Session and Breakout
• English Breakout 2
• English Breakout 3 

Workshop Transcripts

• English Main Session with Breakout 1
• Spanish Main Session and Breakout
• Tagalog Main Session and Breakout
• English Breakout 2
• English Breakout 3

National City Bayfront Projects EIR

The Balanced Plan and the additional project components listed below have been analyzed in one comprehensive Environmental Impact Report, and are collectively referred to as the National City Bayfront Projects Environmental Impact Report (EIR):

• Pasha Road Closures Project: This project proposes the closure of Tidelands Avenue between Bay Marina Drive and West 32nd Street, and West 28th Street between Tidelands Avenue and Quay Avenue. When combined, these road closures total approximately six acres. The project would increase operating efficiencies through the elimination of certain internal fences, drive aisles, and the bifurcation of terminal operations created by these roads.

• Bayshore Bikeway: This project will include the permanent alignment of Segment 5 of the Bayshore Bikeway in National City. The alignment is proposed to be generally located between the former railroad right-of-way and Marina Way on the southern end (west of Paradise Marsh), and along McKinley Avenue on the northern end. The route is located mostly on City property, but also traverses a small area of Port property on the south end.

• GB Capital Project: This project proposes a recreational vehicle (RV) park, modular cabins, and the ultimate development of up to four hotels with up to 465 rooms. The project includes ancillary amenities such as, but not limited to, a clubhouse, pool, activity courts, laundry facilities, and dry boat storage; as well as in-water improvements such as, but not limited to, transient vessel moorings.

• Pasha Connector Rail Project: This project proposes a connector rail track to connect the existing rail and loop track located on the National City Marine Terminal (NCMT) to additional rail car storage spots at the existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) National City Yard east of the National Distribution Center. The connector rail track would connect the BNSF National City Yard directly to the existing rail loop and loading tracks on the NCMT and would allow for Pasha to have both rail and rail car storage capacity which would improve efficiencies by allowing Pasha to have easier access to empty rail cars at the BNSF National City Yard.

• City Program: This program proposes rezoning two vacant City-owned blocks to allow for the eventual development of hotel, restaurant, retail, and/or other combination of tourist-visitor-serving commercial uses. This program is located in the City and outside of Port jurisdiction.