The transition for Paradise Point Resort in Mission Bay into becoming a Margaritaville resort took another step forward in January when the owner of Paradise Point, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust based in Maryland, paid the $1 million fine levied on it by the California Coastal Commission in September.

Changes to the property to become a Margaritaville await approval by the Coastal Commission.

The Coastal Commission fined the resort after years of violations by the previous owner restricting public access to the property, located at 1404 Vacation Road on Vacation Isle, just southwest of the Ingraham Bridge. The fines are from decades of violations when the previous owner of Paradise Point Resort when the resort was known as Vacation Village, restricted public access to the beach and did not post any free parking or public access signs on the 44-acre property. Until recently the public was not aware of the access and some of the changes will include a way to alert the public through the installation of signs.

When the City of San Diego established the plan to develop Mission Bay into a public recreation area in 1958 part of the original plan included complete and unfettered public access to Vacation Isle’s coastlines. The privately owned Vacation Village was established on the isle in 1962.

Some of the changes made to the property include funding an educational outreach program to bring lower-income students and families to the resort for free overnight stays, new signs indicating public access and free parking on the property and on the Ingraham Bridge Southbound, marine debris reduction plan, the removal of any barriers on the coastline to obstruct movement along the entire island and the construction of a public restroom. Pebblebrook will also replace a wooden pier with a newly constructed pier that is expected to cost around $1 million.

The proceeds for the fine will go toward a statewide reserve for initiatives that include improving public coastline access, acquiring open space, and completing regional trails.

Pebblebrook’s plan in 2018 after it acquired the property was to build a Margaritaville resort on Vacation Isle however they ran into a series of delays when the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 prevented any progress in that direction. Pebblebrook presented a redevelopment plan to the Coastal Commission in 2022 and was on the Commission’s agenda in June 2022 but the company was forced to pull its application due to pressure from local government officials.

Then another attempt was made in 2023 to present a redevelopment plan was presented and it was decided by the Coastal Commission for the company to get approval it would make a series of changes to the property and pay a $1 million fine.