Fiesta Island in Mission Bay Park with its off-leash dog park and multiple recreational uses is familiar today to most San Diegans.

But few recall what the 470-acre, man-made island was like before it was developed, when it was a sea of ill-smelling and unattractive mud flats, being the disposal area for a multitude of drainage facilities, and overflows from sanitary sewers, as well as being an outlet of the San Diego River and Tecolote and Rose creeks.

One of those well-acquainted with Fiesta Island’s “earthy” and somewhat unsavory past is Maria K. “Kat” Occhipinti, daughter of the late Carl “Doc” Occhipinti.

“He almost single-handedly built and ran Fiesta Island when it was comprised of sludge beds from the wastewater plant, where the sludge was dried and then loaded onto trucks as fertilizer,” noted Kat of her late father. “I have no doubt many city workers remember him to this day, maneuvering a huge earth mover like it could dance, cigar clamped in his teeth. And he had so powerful a work ethic that it took three people to replace him when he was forced to retire.”

Of her dad and his importance to Fiesta Island, Kat noted: “He loved that island, the views and the sea air and the fields of daisies. He rescued countless cars with his bulldozer when they got stuck in the sand of the public area of the island.”

Kat said Doc was honored by the City and the mayor at the groundbreaking of the new wastewater treatment plant years ago when it was finally built. She pointed out that was before “his island became a romper room for dogs, which he absolutely loved.” Said Kat: “My Dad left an indelible mark on the city (and island) we loved.”

Another person who knew – and remembers – Doc Occhipinti, the “father of Fiesta,” was Dan Bois, who too was a City employee and trained under Doc’s watchful eye in the wastewater business.

Of Fiesta Island and its purpose in the early days before it was developed, Bois said: “It was created from construction and dredge from the bay in the 1950s. Then, when the sewer system was upgraded in 1963, we needed a place to get rid of the (wastewater) solids after they were separated from the water. Sludge is the leftover, and went into beds in giant pools.”

Added Bois, “We would get 126 tons of solids pumped out a day to Fiesta Island. We pumped the solids into those pools, which would then get dried by the air. Doc would maintain the berms that surrounded the pools. He’d go in with his bulldozer and push the sludge back and forth, eventually pushing it into these long rows. And when they were dry enough, we’d have trucks come and load the sludge and take it to different parts of the island to store it.”

Both Bois and Doc’s daughter recall that he was a larger-than-life character who was a gentle giant.

“He was really a character, a force of nature,” said Kat adding, “He was built like a fireplug, big chested, had hands the size of hams. He did not tolerate fools gladly – or at all. If you were a lazy person, he was not going to like you, or work with you very long. But people who (really) knew him knew that he would do anything for you. He would help anyone at any time.”

Bois shared that positive view of his former boss. “He came off gruff and rough, but the more you got to know him – he was just a big Teddy Bear,” he said adding, “He was like a father figure to me. He just loved working at the island and being a mentor. I just respected him. He was a really great guy. We had a great relationship.”

FIESTA ISLAND

Spread across 4,600 acres of land and water, Mission Bay Park is the largest aquatic park in the United States, boasting 19 sandy beaches and 14 miles of bike paths and trails along its 27 miles of shoreline. And, tucked away in the southeast corner of Mission Bay Park, lies Fiesta Island, a rustic man-made 470-acre, multi-use park best known today for its 90-acre, fenced-off, off-leash dog park.

However, it’s difficult for visitors today to realize that much of Fiesta Island was previously the disposal area for a multitude of drainage facilities, and overflows from sanitary sewers, as well as being an outlet of the San Diego River and Tecolote and Rose creeks. But, realizing the potential beauty of the area early-on, San Diegans planned for years to create the aquatic park and man-made island. And, as a result of their successful redevelopment efforts, the aquatic park today is now the site of SeaWorld, hotels, restaurants, boating, and swimming facilities.

Phased Development

The history of Mission Bay Aquatic Park and Fiesta Island divides naturally into four phases. The first phase, from 1852 to 1929, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in order to save San Diego Bay from silting, diverted the waters of the San Diego River into Mission Bay by means of a dike running northeasterly from what is now Midway Drive and Frontier Street. Phase 2, from 1929 to 1945, the State Division of Parks acquired miscellaneous lands by purchase and by contributions of public-spirited donors, but was unable to proceed with the park, because no money was available.

The third period, from 1945 to 1962, saw the City of San Diego, with state and federal aid, undertake the dredging and compilation of land areas to fulfill its master plan for the area. Finally, from 1962 to the present, the numerous lease holdings in the park area were developed.