Bradley Schnell has an idea for how to maintain city-owned structures and services around Mission Bay Park during these trying fiscal times: create a nonprofit conservancy.
The owner-CEO of Mission Bay Beach Club (formerly the Mission Bay Visitor Information Center) at 2688 E. Mission Bay Drive, Schnell has initiated a process to do exactly that.
Land conservancies are 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofits operating exclusively for charitable purposes and cannot distribute profits to private individuals. Their tax-exempt status allows the conservancy to receive tax-deductible donations and hold conservation easements in perpetuity.
Schnell’s effort to establish a Mission Bay Park Conservancy seeks to offset deep cuts proposed in the city’s FY2027 proposed budget.
A conservancy would accomplish a number of purposes including preventing 13 Mission Bay restrooms from closing seasonally (winter and summer) and five Shoreline Parks restrooms from closing in winter, as well as saving seven portable restrooms from being eliminated entirely at Fiesta Island.
“We are stepping in, adopting and supporting the maintenance of these essential facilities so they stay open and clean for the public,” said Schnell on his conservancy website, noting specific restroom locations will be announced by city Parks & Recreation.
“The Conservancy is positioned to support each one as the list is published,” Schnell said adding, “This is a concrete, immediate impact that will significantly improve the health and safety for all park goers. It is the start of a back-to-basics commitment that will define everything we do.”
The expected benefits from raising funds include purchasing supplies so restrooms can remain open on peak days and providing contract cleaning services where the city budget falls short. Much like Forever Balboa Park and the La Jolla Coast Conservancy, Schnell said, “we will seek a partnership with the city, a permit to maintain where they cannot.”
He talked about the mission he is taking on in creating a conservancy, noting it will have “real impacts on our lives.” Concerning how he came up with the idea, Schnell pointed out, as a business owner, that he’s noticed the park getting “a little rough around the edges. It’s kind of shocking.”
Schnell cited a close friend, the late Richard “Dick” Lareau, the original architect for Mission Bay Beach Club, as an influence “at the heart” of the conservancy’s mission.
“Before he passed in 2022, he was a great supporter of my plans to redevelop his building,” Schnell said. “In the same spirit, the original vision for Mission Bay Park 80 years ago was audacious. Now is the right time to continue that restoration and process of care for the rest of the park.”
Schnell characterized his quest to establish a conservancy to protect Mission Bay Park as a “long journey” and “late-night craziness,” in assuming responsibility for the largest aquatic park of its kind in the nation, which he describes as a 4,600-plus acre “urban playground.”
Regarding the park, Schnell noted we “really don’t have a unified voice” in maintaining it, pointing out that that’s essential. If a conservancy isn’t established to step in, he warned that ultimately there will be severe day-to-day consequences in the park.
“We could be watching grass not getting watered and restrooms being closed and not maintained properly,” he said. “To me, clean and safe parks is not a political issue. We need a conservancy to be a catalyst that pulls the entire community together – the lessees, the user and environmental groups and the dog walkers. The city needs help.
“I’m trying my best to bring attention to this amazing resource (aquatic park),” concluded Schnell. “It’s an incredible opportunity to lower the volume on political discontent and focus on things we can do to maintain clean, safe parks for our kids and for everyone.”
For more information visit missionbaypark.org.
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