Belmont Park Trees Cut Down as Part of Mission Beach Green Infrastructure Project

From Times of San Diego  Staff and Wire Reports / Oct. 22, 2025

As part of the South Mission Beach Green Infrastructure project, the city is removing 46 trees around parking lots along Mission Boulevard in Mission Beach.

To date, 25 of the trees have been removed in the area near Belmont Park.

These tree removals will allow the contractor to begin installing water quality basins, which are intended to remove pollutants from the stormwater runoff of the adjacent parking lots before it flows into the San Diego Bay.

Only trees within the footprint of the new water quality basins are impacted, which includes eight trees that are being relocated to other spots around Mission Beach, according to Tyler Becker, a San Diego senior public information officer.

Once the basins are installed, 43 new trees and other landscaping improvements, like shrubs and potted plants, will be added in the water quality basins, added Becker.

Construction for the project began in September and is expected to continue through May 2029. The scope extends beyond the areas where the trees were removed.

“Residents and businesses within a 300-foot radius of the project received a notice in August notifying them of the upcoming work with brief details,” Becker said. “Also, city staff and our contractor have presented updates to the local planning group and committee on this project several times, dating back to March 2020. During these presentations, all aspects of the project have been discussed, including this current work to install water quality basins.”

The existing storm drain infrastructure within South Mission Beach dates to the 1940s in some areas and is inadequately sized or lacking in main locations.

This has resulted in regular flooding throughout the developed areas and exposure of the storm drain outfalls within the beach areas of Mariners Basin. The anticipated work will include, but is not limited to, replacing or upgrading existing drainage systems to meet current drainage design requirements and reduce flooding, according to the city’s project overview.

For more information on the project, visit the city’s project information page.

Editordude:

According to the South Mission Beach plan:

Anticipated work September 2025 – May 2026:

South Mission Beach Storm Drain Replacement (System 1 and System 9):

Storm drain installation along San Fernando Place and Mission Boulevard, low-flow diversion structure replacement and new meter pedestal, outfall grading, and eel grass mitigation.

South Mission Beach Green Infrastructure: Installation of water quality basins.

To install the water quality basins and ensure the project’s success, the contractor will remove 46 existing trees and relocate eight trees. Once the installation is complete, 43 new trees will be planted, along with new landscaping and irrigation. (Our emphasis.)