Pioneer Park Today

Future Plans

The Future of Pioneer Park

Pioneer Park is of great importance to the community of Mission Hills. The neighborhood has united to prove that they treasure the park. This began when they got involved in the clean up of the cemetery when it was in disarray and continued through the change from cemetery to park and again in the park design. Today when someone says they’re going to the park, everyone knows what they mean.

City Plans

San Diego City Park and Recreation Department is in charge of Pioneer Park. They have no plans for changing the park. Gary Stromberg, the District Manager of the Parks and Recreation for the City of San Diego said, “There are no plans for future development of Pioneer Park. The general development plan is to keep the park the way it is now and to continue with the general maintenance. There is a possibility of some minor landscaping, but nothing that would change the park significantly.”  Along with the city plans, the park was dedicated in perpetuity, which means that the city can’t change Pioneer Park to anything but a park, and they can’t do anything without two thirds of the vote of the residents.

Just recently, in December 2004, some of the old eucalyptus trees that Kate Sessions planted were knocked down by the wind and rain during a storm.  This saddened and surprised the neighborhood. The clean-up was immediate; large trucks came and the fallen trees were cut up and taken away. Only the stumps remain. This proves the city’s support for maintaining the park. After interviewing people, we have discovered that many of the Mission Hills residents want all of the eucalyptus trees to be cut down for safety reasons. However, others feel that the historic trees symbolize the past and they should stay.

Fallen eucalyptus trees

Saving Our Heritage

Mission Hills has united once again to save our heritage. In addition to all the efforts to preserve the historic Pioneer Park with its Calvary Cemetery Memorial, the residents and the Save Our Heritage Society have put in a request to the City of San Diego for parts of Mission Hills to be declared a historic district. Once again it has been proven that the Pioneer Park is a treasure to the community and Mission Hills is a treasure to San Diego.

by Lauren

Root of fallen eucalyptus tree

A tree that survived the windstorm