June 10, 2007
Beach Park Rebirth
Children have a way of discovering the next best thing.
So well before Saturday's grand opening of Fletcher Cove Park in Solana Beach, a couple of early explorers were enjoying the city's new beachfront recreation spot.
As workers took care of finishing touches, Juliette Gregory, 11, and Aidan Trusso, 3, were making themselves at home. “This is my favorite park,” Aidan said. “The swings are my favorite.” Juliette likes the park, too, but has a few quibbles about equipment.
“I'd like the swings to be bigger,” she said. “They are made for 5-year-olds. And I can't go under the slide. “But it's cool.”
And a long time in coming after decades of planning, the city is finally introducing the $2.3 million Fletcher Cove Park. “We don't have much of a beach on which to play,” said Mayor Lesa Heebner, referring to the sand erosion at Fletcher Cove. “I'm excited to have a place where people can sit outside and relax and feel like they are at the beach and not have the bluffs” collapsing.
Fletcher Cove Park was created from a 2-acre parking lot that once marked the entrance to Fletcher Cove. Today, part of the space still is used for parking, but the rest is devoted to a tot lot, a half-sized basketball court and an amphitheater, all connected by ocean-themed walls and benches.
The artificial turf on the scenic overlook next to the lifeguard building can pass for real grass. “The grass is cool. Early in the morning, it's nice, warm and dry,” former Mayor Doug Sheres said as he watched his son, Alec, fluff up the fake green.
The city removed the grass to comply with the California Coastal Commission's orders that there will be no permanent irrigation within 100 feet of the fragile bluffs.
That restricted the use of sod to the eastern edge close to Sierra Avenue. To prevent irrigation water from seeping into the water table and flowing west, the city installed a 1-foot thick layer of clay underground and a drainage system that diverts water into storm drains.
The colorful and scenic landscaping belies the environmentally friendly underbelly.
Fletcher Cove Park owes its beginning to Col. Ed Fletcher, the city's developer after whom the beach was named. In 1924, Fletcher's construction workers spent three months using water from Lake Hodges to blast away the bluffs that blocked ocean views from Highway 101. The sand was used to create Fletcher Cove beach.
In 1990, the city drafted a master plan for the cove, envisioning a park in the place of the parking lot. But there was no money.
Downtown merchants were concerned that a proposal to close Plaza Street leading to the cove and new roads nearby would affect their businesses, City Manager David Ott said.
The master plan underwent two transformations in the ensuing years. In 2006, it was revised again and approved as the blueprint for today's park.
The latest master plan eliminated the rebuilding or remodeling of the 60-year-old lifeguard building, which does not meet current safety codes. Ott said it will be upgraded eventually.
While the park project languished, the city in 1993 bought what is known as the Distillery lot across from Fletcher Cove to accommodate future parking.
In 2006, the architects decided on an ocean theme. The tot lot platform has a water pattern. The sitting walls and amphitheater seats are decorated with marine life. A sundial at the entrance pays tribute to the city's name, Solana, Spanish for “a sunny spot.”
“The council in the past few years really made the park a priority,” Deputy Mayor Joe Kellejian said. “We seized the moment and got it done.”
