A Landmark Event at the
Lagoon
By Jacqueline
Winterer,
President of the Friends of the San Dieguito River Valley, February 2008
On January 23
we watched intently as a large back-hoe
scooped away a narrow dam holding the waters of the 45-acre tidal basin dug out
by Marathon Construction crews hired by Southern California Edison(SCE),
thereby opening an extensive new area of the lagoon to the ebb and flow of
beneficial tidal waters. This landmark event heralded major progress in the San
Dieguito River Valley Joint Powers Authority/ SCE efforts to restore severely
degraded wetlands.
Historic Wetlands
At the
end of the 19th
century, the San Dieguito Lagoon was a thousand-acre wetland that included salt
and brackish marsh, tidal embayments, sloughs and mudflats that were
progressively developed for a variety of commercial and residential uses.
In the 1930’s some
of the lagoon wetlands on the North of the San Dieguito River were filled and
became a golf course, encouraged by the State of California Swamp Reclamation Act.
After 4 years, saltwater intrusions caused abandonment of the golf course.
In 1933, California
legalized on-track wagering on horse races. The State’s share of revenues was
intended to support fairground operations and contribute to training youth in
agricultural and animal husbandry. The golf course was purchased by the State
Division of Fairs and Expositions and on October 8, 1936, Bing Crosby founded
the Del Mar Turf Club and the first harness race took place.
South of the river,
the Navy established an emergency landing field in the late 1920’s. That
property was later developed as a municipal airport to serve the racing patrons
at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
The Airport during WW II.
In
1941, after Pearl Harbor, the US Navy re-acquired this airport to use as a
landing field. As the field could not accommodate traditional aircraft, the
U.S. Naval Auxiliary Air facility used it as a base for two lighter- than-air
dirigibles. The blimps refueled at Del Mar and then continued anti-submarine
patrols up and down the coast up to 100 miles offshore. The Grand Avenue Bridge
off San Dieguito Drive was built at that time to provide access to the blimp
airport.
During WW II the
Fairgrounds buildings became barracks, galleys and mess halls, officers recreational
facilities and classrooms.
In September 1945,
the naval facility was disestablished and the fairgrounds and racetrack were
returned to their earlier use. The Navy retained ownership of the airfield
until 1947 when 80 acres were
quitclaimed to San Diego County for one dollar.
1946 onward
The airfield
site
became a municipal airport until it was closed 1959 as the construction for
Interstate 5 bisected the runway. Various businesses occupied the old airport
buildings; a motel with 12 rooms, Tony’s Jacal, a worm-castings business, a
duck-shooting club.
In 1953, the western
part of the airfield was leased by Andrew Kay’s Non Linear Systems. The buildings were converted into a
manufacturing plant for digital voltmeters. This company produced the “Kaypro”
one of the first personal computers. After Kaypro moved to Solana Beach in 1968
the site was unused.
Saving the
Lagoon.
Attempts,
to save,
and restore the San Dieguito Lagoon, date back to the 1970’s when more and more
people chose to come and live in the coastal area. In Del Mar, environmentally-minded local residents saw
that, unless efforts were made to protect specific habitats this valley would
end up looking like San Diego River Valley with its big shopping centers and
immense parking lots. They formed a Lagoon Preservation Committee and with the
support of the Del Mar City Council, a Lagoon Enhancement Plan was created and
adopted in 1979 as part of the City’s General Plan. The plan was later endorsed
by the City of San Diego and was certified by the California Coastal
Commission,
In 1987, Bircher-Pacific,
a developer, bought the old airport area. It sought to amend the Lagoon
Enhancement Plan to permit development of two 300-room hotels, a shopping
center, an access interchange from I-5 and a 200 seat restaurant. Several
public hearings were held, hundreds of concerned people spoke against the plan
and were happy to see it eventually abandoned.
The San Dieguito
River Valley Joint Power Authority is the multi-city agency formed in 1989 by
the San Diego Association of Governments to create an open space greenway and
an extensive trail system within the San Dieguito River Valley. There was great
satisfaction in seeing the Bircher property become its first land purchase.
In
1991 the Coastal Commission required Southern California Edison to restore 150
acres of wetlands as mitigation for the impacts on the marine environment
caused by the San Onofre nuclear power plant and fortunately chose the San Dieguito
Lagoon for the project.
Thirty years have
elapsed since the Del Mar Lagoon Committee formulated its dreams of saving the
lagoon. The persistence and hard work of many organizations has produced the
exciting progress we see today in saving the San Dieguito wetlands.
