Public Service Announcement
San Diego’s Mission Trails Regional Park is about to get a little bit bigger.
Late in June, the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to approve a donation of dozens of acres of undeveloped, privately-owned land within the park’s boundaries to bolster its conservation efforts in the area.
It marks one of the first gifts of land to the city to expand Mission Trails in support of goals outlined in a 2019 update to the city’s master development plan to complete the park, as well as other initiatives to preserve native flora and fauna.
Already considered one of the largest urban parks in the U.S., the donations of the undeveloped land will bring the park’s total acreage to over 7,300, according to the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation, the nonprofit steward of the park that is facilitating the donation.
The first donation, which was green-lit by the city on Tuesday and is valued at nearly $1 million, totals about 55 acres of open space in the area called “Oak Canyon,” just north of State Route 52 and west of Santee.
The second gift is anticipated to be about 60 acres in the same area, although the foundation noted the purchase has not been finalized. Grant funding obtained by the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation is being used to acquire both chunks of land.
“This is a joy,” Lane MacKenzie, president of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, told FOX 5/KUSI on Sunday. “The properties have been sitting vacant for years and can be included in the park as far as to outreach the remaining part of the park.”
The city has been piecing together Mission Trails Regional Park for decades, starting in the 1960s when eastern San Diego underwent a major housing development boom and the U.S. military began decommissioning land in the area it previously used for training.
Smaller parks were created by the County of San Diego to preserve Fortuna Mountain and Lake Murray in the succeeding years, with the city eventually buying the area that makes up Cowles Mountain — the park’s cornerstone — in 1974.
According to the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation, it was that purchase which eventually helped the park take shape, with the city dedicating more resources towards buying up private property and setting aside existing public land for conservation.
Now, the 7,220-acre park is considered a crown jewel of the city’s park space, boasting dozens of trails and recreational offerings that draw out millions of people each year. According to MacKenzie, the acquisition could also allow the city to add in a few more hiking trails to that list.
“I’m thrilled to see this donation come full circle,” San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo, whose district encompasses the park, said during Tuesday’s meeting.
“Our partnership with the foundation creates new pathways that are just beginning to bring in many more contributions and donations,” he continued. “Mission Trails Regional Park is not done yet, we have more space and more land to expand to.”
Mayor Todd Gloria will still need to sign off before the foundation can hand over the deed to the land to the city of San Diego. Upon acceptance, the property would be placed under the care of the Mission Trails Regional Park rangers.
News source: Fox5 San Diego
