Sylvia Rios, chair of the San Diego Unified Port District’s seven-member board. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

The working waterfront “defines the Port of San Diego,” says Sylvia Rios, chair of the San Diego Unified Port District’s seven-member board. That said, industrial users are clearly not the only ones with an eye on the bayfront prize; there is plenty of interest in building more condos, hotels, restaurants, marinas and even sports facilities on or near the water. The Port District’s job, Rios says, is to balance these competing interests for the good of the region.

“We are forced to make it work because there are no other solutions,” says Rios who holds one of the city of San Diego’s three positions on the seven member board. “There’s no end to it. Everybody wants to be on the waterfront.”

As encroachment interest grows, the Port has gone to great effort to support maritime industry. Highlighted on the Port’s Web site is the agency’s No. 1 strategic goal for 2007-2010: “Promote the Port’s maritime industries to stimulate regional economic vitality.”

“The 10th Avenue terminal is not going to go away,” says Rios of the Port-owned Downtown cargo facility where such diverse cargo as bananas, concrete and parts for electric-generating windmills are brought into the San Diego region. Some see it as a perfect place for a park, hotels and football stadium.

While admitting she can’t predict the priorities of future boards, Rios, who also is president and chief executive of First Security Mortgage, says, “The existing board is totally, totally committed to the working waterfront.”

Not only is the maritime industry an economic engine for San Diego, providing high-paying jobs for thousands of workers, the working waterfront is a strategic asset that serves the military by handling cargo, ship-building, ship repair and other services, Rios says.

The Port has helped form a coalition of working waterfront supporters and advocated for the maritime industry with officials from bayfront cities. In recent years, the Port has even helped organize waterfront tours for the public and elected officials, hoping to create awareness of the industrial sector’s economic contributions.

The Port also is studying how best to modernize its facilities to make them as efficient as possible, and increase the potential flow of goods through them, Rios says.

Sharon Cloward, executive director of the San Diego Port Tenants Association, says her group “is extremely pleased with what (Rios) has done since she became the chair on Jan. 1. She’s been open to listen to the tenants’ side of the story. She has supported maritime… by preserving the working waterfront land for industrial uses.”

— Joe Tash