PARKS IN CHULA VISTA, MORE SHOPS TO OPEN

City to allow limited recreational uses, pickup at businesses

CHULA VISTA

The slow reopening of Chula Vista begins Friday, when San Diego County’s second-largest city will reopen parks and allow more businesses to offer pickup services.

On Tuesday, the city unveiled a framework of how to ensure businesses maintain social-distancing guidelines and established a set of rules regarding what specific activities will be allowed in public parks.

City officials stress that this limited reopening is not a sign that Chula Vista’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is over. The city is still seeing higher rates of infection compared to other parts of the county.

“We are in an area that is hit harder than much of the rest of the county,” said City Manager Gary Halbert. “We do want to open these businesses up, but we also want to make sure we do so in a healthy manner.”

News of Chula Vista’s reopening came after state and county officials announced that some businesses that were previously forced to close because of the pandemic could open as early as Friday. Those businesses include bookstores, music stores, florists, retailers, clothing stores and sporting goods stores.

To ensure businesses are in compliance with sanitation and social-distancing requirements, Chula Vista created a new no-cost permit. Every business that reopens must submit their

safety protocols to the city.

The new permit will give the city a snapshot of which businesses reopened and which didn’t. With that information, the city can do spot checks to ensure businesses are complying with protocols.

Although the city will primarily use education as its enforcement tool, businesses risk fines for not complying with sanitation and social-distancing protocols.

The second major part of Chula Vista’s reopening is public parks.

Starting Friday, parks and dog runs will reopen on a limited basis from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Limited uses include walking, jogging, running, hiking, bike riding, standing and laying on the grass as long as visitors maintain social distancing.

People will not be allowed to gather in the parks with anybody they do not live with and household gatherings will be limited to 10 people.

Sports fields, courts, playgrounds, picnic benches, gazebos and public restrooms will remain closed.

Halbert said it is important that everyone follow the rules to ensure that parks remain open during

the pandemic.

“We don’t want to go backwards,” he said.

Mayor Mary Casillas Salas noted that she has been under a lot of pressure to reopen the parks.

Given the city’s higher rates of infection, Salas said it is vital that residents continue to follow social-distancing protocols, only leave their homes to run essential errands and wear face masks.

“It’s going to be even more important now as we move to opening parks and businesses that we continue to do this,” she said. “It’s a matter of courtesy and it’s a matter of love for your fellow community members.”

gustavo.solis@sduniontribune.com