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One park.
One living system.
One unified voice.
The Mission Bay Park Conservancy was founded in 2026 to be a community catalyst — bringing optimism, back-to-basics care, and a relentless focus on delivering a clean, safe park that San Diegans deserve. We're building a team of civilians, locals, and partners who want a collaborative culture that beats the odds, step by step.
Why we exist
One park, treated as competing parts.
Mission Bay Park is San Diego's greatest public waterfront asset — 4,235 acres of land and water, owned by the people in perpetuity. For decades, it has been treated as a collection of competing parts rather than one integrated system. Deferred maintenance has accumulated. Lease revenues generated by Mission Bay have supported broader City priorities while core day-to-day care has been squeezed by structural fiscal pressure.
We are starting this organization to advocate for everyone who cares about Mission Bay — leaseholders, dog walkers, kids learning to sail, families looking for a clean restroom, naturalists, athletes, and visitors. One unified voice. One operating model. One park.
Public Trust
Held in trust. For the public. In perpetuity.
Mission Bay was conveyed to San Diego by the State of California in 1945 — not as land for sale or development, but in trust for four specific public purposes: navigation, fisheries, recreation, and visitor-serving uses. In 1962, San Diego permanently dedicated it as a public park.
1945
State tidelands conveyance — in trust for navigation, fisheries, recreation, and visitor-serving uses.
1962
San Diego Ordinance O-8628 — perpetual public-park dedication.
1987
Charter §55 (Proposition D) — voter-approved 25% commercial-use cap, public-supporting purposes only.
That trust is the frame. Every decision about Mission Bay — leases, restoration, public access, capital investment — must serve those public-trust purposes and the people they were dedicated to. It is not surplus land. It is not a site for housing. It is not a commercial portfolio. It is a public park, held for everyone, forever.
Our model
Community catalyst. Three proven mechanisms.
A community catalyst pulls together the vast diversity of constituents who care about Mission Bay — leaseholders, dog walkers, sailors, families, environmentalists — behind one credible, transparent plan with a unified voice. The result force-multiplies every steward already caring for the park.
Sustainable private funds & endowment
Private philanthropy and corporate partnerships create a reliable revenue stream that supplements — never replaces — city resources.
Professional crews & community programming
Conservancy funding restores day-to-day service — supplies, supplemental cleaning contracts where the City budget falls short, and coordinated maintenance — alongside free and low-cost events, nature walks, and youth programs that reflect what the community actually wants.
Transparent stewardship & Master Plan leadership
Lead a holistic update to the 1994 Master Plan, advance De Anza Natural restoration, and publish clear performance metrics.
Theory of change
How back-to-basics care becomes a different park.
IF we act as a community catalyst with back-to-basics optimism — recruiting a strong board, securing 501(c)(3) status, raising private funds, delivering professional maintenance (starting with adopting the planned restroom closures), advancing De Anza Natural restoration, and engaging the community —
THEN Mission Bay will have a unified, independent voice and become a clean, safe, climate-resilient public waterfront where recreation, nature, and commerce thrive together as one living system,
BECAUSE we ignore the noise, focus on what people actually care about, celebrate our intellect and ideas, and refuse to wait for another budget cycle.
Vision 2035
Making temporary paradise permanent.
In 1974, planners Kevin Lynch and Donald Appleyard published Temporary Paradise?, a powerful call to protect San Diego's extraordinary landscape before it was lost. Fifty years later, that warning remains urgent. Vision 2035 is to transform Mission Bay Park into a world-class, climate-resilient, publicly-owned waterfront that delivers on the original promise of the founding vision — clean, safe, and deeply cared for.
Vision 2035 is simple: Central Park–level daily standards, constituent coordination and project amplification, and a unified voice that treats Mission Bay as one living system — not competing parts.
By 2035, Mission Bay Park will be:
Clean, safe, and beautifully maintained
- "Central Park–level" daily standards across all 4,235 acres
- Deferred-maintenance backlog eliminated
- Privately-funded crews supplementing City staff
A model of climate resilience
- Updated Master Plan adopted, fully incorporating De Anza Natural
- Restored wetlands and living shorelines supporting the Pacific Flyway
- Sea-level-rise buffers functional
A hub of community life
- 5,000+ annual volunteers, youth leadership pipeline established
- 100+ free or low-cost public events each year
- Streamlined event permitting
A national model of partnership
- Public ownership intact, always
- Sustainable endowment supporting day-to-day operations
- Replicable framework for other coastal parks
Note from the founder
"This park is important to me, to my business, to my customers, and to all of San Diego."
I'm Bradley Schnell. I own Mission Bay Beach Club. I see what works in this park — and what doesn't — every single day. I'm starting this organization to advocate for everyone who depends on it: the families, the athletes, the wildlife, the leaseholders, and the everyday San Diegans who deserve a clean restroom and a safe path.
We need the right people to make things happen. We will celebrate our intellect, our ideas, and our optimism. We ignore the noise. We care about what you care about. Join us — and allow Mission Bay Park to succeed.
As a leaseholder, Bradley will recuse himself from any Conservancy decisions involving his business interests at Mission Bay Beach Club, consistent with the conflict-of-interest policy adopted by the founding Board.
Bradley SchnellFounder · Mission Bay Park Conservancy