Frank Scott

How many Chula Vistans remember when the City had a navy?  When the San Diego-Coronado Bridge was finished in 1969, the ferries went out of business.  They were sold in different places along the Pacific Coast.  Some Chula Vistans and people from the surrounding areas thought it would be a good idea if Chula Vista bought a ferry, dock it on the bayfront and convert it to a community theater.  

There was good support for the idea.  Some of the supporters were David “Bud” Wilson, Susan Fuller and Norbert Stein.  They formed an organization to investigate the feasibility of the purchase and conversion.  City staff found that the ferry Silver Strand could be purchased for $100.  It was to be docked at the soon-to-be-finished marina.  A fundraising campaign was started and Chula Vista had its navy.  The conversion to a theater was extremely expensive.  During our discussions, a man who I believe was a former captain of the Silver Strand spoke under Public Comments.  He said that the ferry was not seaworthy because it was full of marine worms. Because of the ferry’s condition and renovation expense, the City Council decided against converting it.  However, we still owned a boat.

When we asked the City Attorney how to get rid of it, he suggested an auction to the highest bidder, who had to produce a certified check.  When the winner couldn’t or wouldn’t produce the check, we still owned the ferry.  We had to jump through hoops to sell it.  Someone finally came forward.  I heard that the ferry sunk while it was being towed to Washington State.

In another piece of history, there were doubts about putting H Street through to the east when development began on Otay Ranch.  When I was elected to the City Council, few people lived in the eastern part of Chula Vista.  Along with others, I thought we should put H Street through as a main east-west thoroughfare to Southwestern College and the undeveloped property.   Some people on the City Council and in the community didn’t want H Street developed at all because they thought it would induce growth and change the character of the City.  The discussions on the City Council were hot and heavy, particularly about how fast development would progress and about how much density new eastside development would bring.

People wanted growth and people didn’t want growth.  Strong opinions and strong feelings were on both sides. Two Councilmen espoused a “watershed” theory, stating that H Street should not be built because of drainage going north to Bonita Road and south to Telegraph Canyon Road.  Building streets with the drainage flow would therefore go north or south, with less traffic and density under their plan.  Eventually, on a split vote, the City Council voted to have developers build H Street.  Can you visualize Chula Vista without East H Street?

In the early 1970s, the American Basketball Association was formed.  The cost of entry to the ABA was half the cost of entry to the National Basketball Association (NBA).  Dr. Leonard Bloom bought a team for San Diego, the San Diego Conquistadors.  They started play at the San Diego Sports Arena.  After two years, Leonard Bloom and Peter Graham, proprietor of the Arena, had a serious spat.  Peter Graham locked out the Conquistadors, forcing them to play in San Diego State’s Peterson Gym and in Golden Hall.  Attendance was poor, for these were hardly the places to have a successful professional franchise.

Dr. Bloom needed a place to play basketball, and was wooed to Chula Vista by Mayor Tom Hamilton.  Dr. Bloom’s choice was at what is now Terra Nova, on the southeast corner of Interstate 805 and East H Street.  The Council was split about even talking about putting a stadium in town.  On a 3-2 vote, the Council looked into the feasibility of the project.  Dr. Bloom was the most energetic, optimistic man that I ever observed.

After the zoning hearings, traffic studies, and other City requirements, the Council had to make a decision about moving forward.  The hearing was a circus.  We had all the Conquistadors players – a lot of very tall men – and the Conquistadors cheerleaders in their skimpy outfits.  We had intense media coverage, including TV cameras, which at their time were rare for a Chula Vista City Council meeting.  They wanted me to put powder on my bald head, saying that my head shined and overexposed the picture.  I voted with the majority and was considered the swing vote.  

We were going to have Sport World right in Chula Vista.   Not!

Peter and Susan Watry formed a committee to start a referendum.  They collected the requisite signatures and put it on the ballot.  Chula Vista voters turned it down and our place in history was aborted.

Peter and Susan are close friends of mine.  I asked Peter two years ago (2008) if he had changed his mind on Sport World.  He said, “Absolutely not.”  I haven’t changed my mind either, but I wonder if the referendum had been defeated, would we have a sports arena in Chula Vista today?  We will never know.

Among the accomplishments during my 18 years on the City Council are these:

• The award-winning downtown library was built for the Bicentennial on the F Street School property, northwest corner of F Street and Fourth Avenue;
• Sunday Concerts in the Park were started;
• City parks were quadrupled, with developers providing them;
• Program to underground utilities was initiated;
• The South Bay Court was brought back to Chula Vista and the South Bay Court complex was begun with the County of San Diego;
• Two redevelopment districts were formed, on the bayfront and downtown;
• A parking structure was built to help Third Avenue redevelopment;
• Storm drains were constructed to stop frequent flooding downtown and in other areas of the City;
• Aggressive planting of trees in public areas and in new subdivisions;
• East H Street was extended to Southwestern College using developer funds;
• Fig Street was closed behind the Civic Center to provide more Civic Center parking;
• The Chula Vista Marina and RV Park were developed with the Port of San Diego;
• Otay Ranch was annexed and development was planned;
• I proposed term limits which were approved by voters;
• Loma Verde Park and swimming pool were constructed;
• The Youth, Charter Review and Human Relations Commissions were formed;
• New Council Chambers were constructed on the site of the old Post Office at the northwest corner of Fourth Avenue and F Street;
• A new police facility was built north of the Civic Center, at the southwest corner of Fourth Avenue and Davidson Street;
• The Utility User’s Tax was instituted;
• I proposed campaign limits which were instituted by the Council (I subsequently realized this wasn’t a good idea);
• An ordinance phasing out cardrooms was approved; and
• A stringent sign ordinance was approved that phased out non-conforming signs over time, although subsequent City Councils didn’t know we had one.