2023 will be an important year for Ponto.  

The Growth Management Citizens Committee, The Carlsbad City Council, and CA Coastal Commission all have key upcoming meetings to determine the fate of our coastal open pace.  

They need to hear your desire to #DevelopPontoRight and to #ProtectPonto with #PontoPark!   

CA residences and visitors alike can help by filling in the below and forwarding this webpage to others to also sign… 

People for Ponto Carlsbad citizens, visitors, and other north county citizens have provided the City and CA Coastal Commission with over 5,000 public comments/desires on the future of Ponto – a Ponto Park & useable Open Space.

The City on August 25th 5pm at Faraday will have a Citizens Committee meeting to rethink how it provides both Parks and Useable Open Space at Ponto and the rest of the City. Please attend that meeting to speak.

We have Great News in that now the 14.3 acre Kam Sang site at Ponto between Batiquitos Lagoon & Avenida Encinas is for sale and can be purchased for Ponto Park. Buying the 14.3 acre Kam Sang site saves tax-payers up to $33 million, actually adds 14.3 acres, is would be a world-class Park.

The Growth Management Citizens Committee, City and CA Coastal Commission need to again hear your desires for Ponto Park. So please let them know again by filling out and submitting this petition AND please attend the August 25th meeting to speak for Park and Open Space Fairness and Ponto Park.

CA residences and visitors alike can help by filling in the below and forwarding this webpage to others to also sign…

Protect Ponto Petition:

Dear Carlsbad Growth Management Committee, City Council, and California Coastal Commission:
Since 2017 the City received over 5,000 petitions, written and verbal testimony regarding the need for Ponto Park and the Park and Useable Open Space unfairness at Ponto and Coastal South Carlsbad. The City staff should provide the Growth Management Committee all that citizen input since 2017.
– The City’s 2017 & 2020 Sea Level Rise Report shows Ponto will lose over 32-acres of “High-
priority Coastal Land Use” due to coastal erosion and flooding. (14+ acres of Coastal Recreation
and 18+ acres of Campground will be lost) in Carlsbad’s General Plan.

– Carlsbad’s Growth Management Program and 2015 General Plan did not consider this critical 2017 & 2020 Sea Level Rise data and new actions and a new Plan are needed to address the 32+ acre loss AND increased population/visitor demand for “High-priority Coastal Land Uses”.

– Carlsbad’s Growth Management Program and General Plan also did not incorporate requirements for unlimited population growth that will need even more City and Coastal Recreation land – “High-priority Coastal Land Uses”.

– There is a current Growth Management Program 6.6-acre City park deficit in Coastal Southwest Carlsbad, and a 30-acre Unconstrained/Useable Coastal
open-space deficit in Zone 9 (Ponto area – west of I-5 and south of Poinsettia) that only gets
worse as we lose 32+ acres of Coastal Open Space lands from Sea Level Rise.
Accordingly, I am making my position known and requesting that

 I want the Growth Management Committee, City Council and CA Coastal Commission to:

  1. Address the true neighborhood Park needs for Ponto (minimal 6-7 acre Park to serve minimal neighborhood needs based on Ponto buildout and City’s current minimal Park Standard). Ponto Park should be an appropriately wide, viable, flat and fully useable multi-use grassed field – allow kids space to play informal sports. No thin strip of non-park land.
  2. Address loss of 32+ acres of Coastal Open Space Land from sea level rise by providing for Non-neighborhood City and State buildout-population and visitor demands for both Coastal Recreation land use and the loss of the Campground. Provide sufficient Coastal Recreation and Low-cost Visitor Accommodation land use to address the CA Coastal Act and City/State ‘unlimited buildout population/visitor demand’, and planned loss of current supply due to planned sea level rise
  3. Disclose and address 2017 CA Coastal Commission direction to City on Ponto Vision Plan and Planning Area F Existing LCP in the PCH Project.
  4. Fully address Sea Level Rise impacts consistent with CA Coastal Act & Commission relative to the State’s recent requirement for unlimited City and State population growth. Document, plot the Seal Level Rise inundation and coastal erosion/bluff hazard areas in Carlsbad’s General Plan including the Land Use Map, PCH Relocation Project maps, and in the PCH Project replace all 32+ acres of high-priority Coastal land use that will be lost to sea level rise and coastal erosion, and increase the supply of these high-priority Coastal land uses to address State required unlimited increases in City/State population and visitor demands.
  5. Fully disclose and consider the 2022-June General Comparative tax-payer Costs/Benefits Analysis of Ponto Park-PCH completion-proposed PCH Relocation, to assure tax-payers (City and/or State) are getting the best and most sustainable value for their tax-payer dollars. The City should use tax-payer money wisely.
  6. Incorporate the 5,000+ written/emailed petitions to the Council & CA Coastal Commission, and the Letters from Carlsbad visitor industry, Surfrider Foundation, and Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation.
  7. Within the Local Facilities Management Plan Zone 9 portion fully provide the 30-acers of documented missing Unconstrained Growth Management Open Space that developers were supposed to provide. Also fully disclose and incorporate the Ponto Open Space recommendations from North County Advocates per City’s lawsuit settlement.
  8. Fully preserve or mitigate sensitive habitat areas within and adjacent to the PCH Project area.
  9. Fully provide required storm water quality purification and dentition basins in the PCH Project before project waters and waters passing through the project area are discharged into the ocean and Batiquitos Lagoon.
  10. I am concerned about the PCH Modification Project more than doubling traffic congestion along Coast Highway for an extremely costly walkway, when the same walkway and other needed Coastal land uses can be provided for a fraction of the cost along existing Coast Highway. It is not appropriate to try to pass off a walkway as “linear park”.
  11. Lastly as requested since 2017, directly engage and specifically involve the San Pacifico Community Association and Ponto Community in that portion of the City’s PCH Project of planning and design of land use in that community.

We request the above 11 citizen issues be fully addressed by the Growth Management Committee, City Council, and CA Coastal Commission regarding Park-Useable
Open Space and Coastal Land Use issues and City Capital Improvement Projects at Ponto and Coastal South Carlsbad.

*Details you share above will be sent on to the appropriate city officials.