Ann Moore, who’s served on the Port of San Diego’s board since 2011, was sworn in as the new chair in early January, taking over for Danielle Moore.
Ann Moore has served as chair in the past, in 2013 and in 2020, and will serve a one-year term in 2026. She practices as a lawyer and was the deputy city attorney for the city of San Diego for five years from 1990-1995 before she became the city attorney for Chula Vista for over 13 years.
The Port of San Diego covers about 34 miles of coastline and governs maritime operations including two cargo shipping terminals, real estate – like business leases at the Coronado Ferry Landing – and recreation land like parks and piers.
Recently, the ferry landing’s management, Port of Coronado Associates (PCA), and the port had a discussion about the renewal of their lease, which is set to expire at the end of June this year. The district said PCA failed to maintain the properties and proposed an unacceptable redevelopment plan, citing problems with “extensive deferred maintenance,” as the main reason for not renewing the lease.
However, at a meeting on Dec. 9, the board directed Port District staff to review a proposed one-year lease extension from PCA.
Q: Why did you want to become the new Port chair?
Ann Moore: It’s an honor to be selected by the board to serve as chair for a third time. It’s really fulfilling to put my law specialties in land use, real estate, redevelopment, environmental and municipal law to good use in a way that benefits the bay front, surrounding communities and everyone who works on and around the bay.
Q: What are your plans for the Port of San Diego’s operations this year?
Ann Moore: It’s customary at the Port for the chair to select a theme for the year and mine is “Delivering Coastal Access Today.” This year I would like to see the port emphasize public access to our bayfront by both improving existing parks as well as in the case of Chula Vista, opening a new park for our local communities to enjoy.
But when I talk about access, I’m also talking about access to economic opportunities through well-planned development in appropriate places along the bay.
Q: Is there anything specific that you would like to tackle in 2026?
Ann Moore: There are three areas of focus I’ve identified that help deliver coastal access: improving and expanding our parks, planning and developing projects and continuing to improve access to cleaner air.
For parks, starting with Coronado, we’re working on new playground and workout equipment as well as a new restroom facility in Tidelands Park. Moving to the other side of the bay, we will soon celebrate the completion of phase one of improvements in Pepper Park on the National City Bayfront, which includes the bay’s first-ever splash pad, a pirate-themed playground, a perched beach and more. Also coming soon are improvements to Harbor Park on the Chula Vista Bayfront – another splash pad, a nautical-themed playground and more.
Providing access also means providing economic opportunities, and we do that through well planned developments. The Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center is a great example of this. (The Gaylord is a hotel and convention space in Chula Vista that took over $1.3 billion to develop.) It created good jobs for South Bay residents and economic benefits like transient occupancy taxes for the City of Chula Vista and economic opportunities for small and local businesses.
And we can’t forget about the Coronado Ferry Landing. With Coronado Commissioner Frank Urtasun’s leadership, our efforts are aimed at improving the quality of public access at the Ferry Landing.
Finally, we will update our Maritime Clean Air Strategy which is dedicated to advancing projects and initiatives that will reduce air pollution – primarily by replacing old diesel equipment used to handle and move cargo with electric equipment. We are reducing emissions significantly, which will result in cleaner air for Coronado as well as all around the port. We also hope to lead the charge in the transition to electric heavy-duty trucks. We are in the environmental review phase on a proposed electric truck charging station near our National City Marine Terminal. Because we recognize that access also means that everyone should be able to live, work and learn in a safe and healthy environment, which of course includes access to clean air.
Q: In regards to Coronado, what projects are in the works that you want to monitor and focus on?
Ann Moore: “(We) will continue to advance the renovation project proposed by the Coronado Yacht Club. At the Coronado Ferry Landing, construction will continue on the new restaurant – which we now know will be called Maiden Coronado. It will be operated by Social Syndicate, which is known for its other area restaurants including Wonderland Ocean Pub in Ocean Beach and Monarch Ocean Pub in Del Mar.
Q: Is there anything that you feel needs improvement or changing with the Port that you want to implement?
Ann Moore: I’m most excited to bring our Port Master Plan Update effort past the finish line. We are working very hard with the California Coastal Commission with the goal of certification of this long-range planning document before the end of the year.
We also continue to work through potential solutions to address erosion at Grand Caribe Shoreline Park in the Coronado Cays, and we will continue the fight against the aggressive and invasive alga species known as Caulerpa prolifera that was discovered in the bay just off the Coronado Cays in the fall of 2023.
We recently received additional grant funding to continue diver surveys and to cover and treat any additional patches. The fortunate thing is, it was discovered early and we worked quickly to treat the initial finds.
Q: Recently, port commissioners voted to not renew the current management’s lease, leaving local businesses uncertain about their future. What are your thoughts on what’s happening with that?
Ann Moore: The Board of Port Commissioners is really focused on ensuring that deferred maintenance at the Ferry Landing and pier is addressed – especially anything that has public safety concerns, and facilitating a refresh of the center that preserves its unique charm without any expansion or increased development density – which is what the community and City told us they wanted. We’re committed to following through and ensuring the businesses that are in the center today have certainty for the future.
We are continuing negotiations with Port Coronado Associates for short-term solutions. No long-term decisions have been made – except that the center will remain open. The Port is committed to keeping the Ferry Landing vibrant and successful for residents, visitors, and business operators alike.
Q: What do you want to say to the current businesses at the Ferry Landing who are concerned with the lease situation?
Ann Moore: We heard you and we are working on giving you the certainty you need to continue operating.
