Coastal Communities Drug Free Coalitionserving the communities of Mission Beach and Pacific Beachin the City of San Diego - The zip code of 92109 includes the San Diego coastal communities of Mission Beach and Pacific Beach which are centrally located on the west coastline between La Jolla to the North and the San Diego River and Ocean Beach to the South. The 8-lane interstate 5 provides the east boundary. Mission Bay Park and the broad sand beaches are the key geographic features. The coastal communities are a hospitality destination, attracting millions of local and more distant visitors each year. The area is home to the world famous Sea World, and very close to the San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park. Approximately 50,000 residents live in the coastal communities which are made up of a diverse population of long time residents who live in post World War 2 cottages, more recent arrivals and students, who are renters of apartments and condominiums. The population’s socioeconomic status is very diverse, with an estimated 55% of the residents in white collar jobs, and 45 in blue collar jobs. The ethnic groups of the coastal communities mirror those of San Diego County: 47% Caucasian, 32% Hispanic/Latino, 11% Asian, 6% African American, 4% other including American Indian and Pacific Hawaiian. The residents of San Diego’s coastal communities’ enjoyed the quiet neighborhoods and family friendly business district until 1990 when the attractions of living in a beach town began to catch the attention of out-of towners, college students looking for housing near the rapidly enlarging University of California, San Diego, and the hospitality industry, primarily bars and restaurants that morph into bars. As the population increased, and small houses were mowed down and dense apartments replaced them, more and more young adults crowded into the coastal communities. Visitor populations to the bay and beach come primarily in the summer and on warm weekends during daylight hours. However, an evening and late night visitor population came to the community to drink alcohol and go to nightclubs. This population has grown over the years as many businesses have opened or evolved to create what the local population calls “the bar zone.” The coastal communities have about 1400 businesses and about 120 of them have alcohol licenses. Over the years the bar zone atmosphere has created a decline in business mix, and now include up to: 19 tattoo parlors, 15 stores selling drug paraphernalia, 7 vape shops, and 25 illegal/unpermitted stores selling marijuana. Illegal marijuana stores come and go as local code enforcement is inadequate to the task. Virtually every census tract that has business property is identified as having high crime. Law enforcement is inadequate to solve this problem on its own, and the lack of public health policies and land use ordinances is glaring. Teen use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs has continually increased as access to them has extended, normalization has increased, and perception of harm has decreased. Parents are often befuddled by this situation, as are the institutions that serve youth – schools, churches, youth serving organizations, PTAs, and healthcare agencies. The community takes great pride in its friendly, sunny, temperate coastal location, beautiful beach cottages, schools, churches, and many family owned businesses, and have begun pushing back on the conditions that that have increased teen substance use and made neighborhoods unsafe at night, and unhealthy all the time. Community residents have realized that a positive change for their children, families, neighborhoods, and local businesses are up to them, and support the work of the Coastal Communities Drug Free Coalition.
