What is it?

• "Hub Park" is a 96 acre property owned by SDG&E on the south shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
• SDG&E entered into a lease agreement with the City of Carlsbad for this property as mitigation for a power plant expansion and an oil refinery proposed by SDG&E in the 1970s. The controversial oil refinery project was never built, but the Hub Park lease was still executed in 1975.
• The land has a lot of constraints (sensitive habitat areas, limited area that fronts the street for public access, no place to park, etc.)

Update

The city has faced several challenges in trying to plan a new trail on the south shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon, mostly because the city doesn’t own the property. However, the City Council voted on Nov. 16 to continue discussions with the property owner, SDG&E, and others in hopes that an agreement can still be worked out.  

The city’s Trails Master Plan shows a future 2.4 mile trail, north of Cannon Road, from I-5 to a blufftop overlooking the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. 

During a project update in In June, the City Council agreed to move forward with a scaled back trail, reduced from 2.4 miles to 1.4 miles, after SDG&E informed the city it would not allow the trail to be developed on adjacent land. The city-leased property is home to sensitive habitat, which limits the development that may be permitted. Additionally, SDG&E wants to keep its existing access roads clear for power line maintenance and will not allow those roads to double as city trails.

At that time, the City Council directed staff to research potential parking options nearby, along with habitat mitigation and management requirements and construction costs for the shorter trail.

The Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation board of directors has since voted against allowing the city to use its parking lot for trail parking because it needs parking for its own uses, including regular visitors, field trips and events held at its Discovery Center.

The estimated total project costs for the shorter trail is about $3.8 million, significantly more than the original estimate because of the need to build new trails instead of using existing access roads and the need to address habitat mitigation requirements.

View the staff report for the Nov. 16 City Council meeting for more information.

The city has a 1975 lease agreement with SDG&E which indicates the Hub Park property may be used for park and recreation purposes, subject to the city consulting with SDG&E regarding any proposed improvements prior to the start of construction. This lease applies only to the Hub Park property. It does not apply to the adjacent land to the west or south of the Hub Park property. Continuation of portions of the trail through those adjacent lands would have potential direct connection to an underpass at the I-5 Freeway, and to underpasses at Cannon Road, respectively.

Since May 2020, the city’s design team considered several potential alignments for the trail, based on the Trails Master Plan guidelines, and the environmental and physical constraints of the Hub Park Lease property and adjacent lands. The city submitted the potential trail alignments to SDG&E for review and approval. In response, SDG&E representatives stated that the trail development must be limited to only the Hub Park Lease property, and that any encroachments into SDG&E’s power transmission corridor easement and use of existing utility access roads within the lease property must be minimized to the greatest degree possible.

The revised trail concept will lead from Cannon Road on the east to the boundary of the Hub Park Lease property on the west. The trail alignment will follow the edge of the habitat preserve on top of the bluff above the south shore of Agua Hedionda Lagoon within the Hub Park Lease property, overlooking the lagoon. 

The revised conceptual trail alignment will allow pedestrian access to the trail at Cannon Road, where the existing SDG&E access road and gate are located. The trailhead will not include a parking lot.

The trail could potentially include amenities such as picnic tables and outlook points, in addition to basic trail amenities, such as trail signs, dog stations and recycling/trash bins.

The South Shore Agua Hedionda Lagoon trail concept is included in the trails master plan adopted by the City Council on Aug. 28, 2019, which lays out a long term approach for maximizing the city’s extensive network of walking, jogging and biking paths throughout Carlsbad. Under the plan, approximately 67 miles of citywide trails would be expanded to more than 100 miles over time.

Next steps

Staff will continue to work with SDG&E and the tribal communities to try to come to an agreement for a trail along the south shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon, as well as with the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation on potential parking for users of the trail. An update on the city’s efforts will be provided to the City Council at a future date.

Background

Back in June 2016, City Council agreed to consider adding a trail at the Hub Park lease property during its 2017 goal setting workshop. The project was not made a goal during that workshop. During its June 18, 2019 meeting, City Council directed staff to prepare and present a report to add the trail as a Capital Improvement Project. On Sept. 17, 2019, the Carlsbad City Council approved adding the South Shore Agua Hedionda Lagoon Trail to the city’s “Capital Improvement Program,” a long term plan for major city construction projects, and directed staff to approach SDG&E to pursue getting approval for the public access easements related to the trail.

Lease area

Lease area showing constraints

Related topics

• Open space in Carlsbad
• Trails program