Portside Community

The Community Air Protection Program (CAPP or AB 617) Portside Environmental Justice Community encompasses parts of Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Sherman Heights, and National City. In 2019 the Portside Community was selected by CARB to develop a Community Emissions Reduction Plan (CERP).   

Located on unceded Kumeyaay territory, the Portside Community is known for its community activism and iconic public art. Its murals draw visitors from across the globe. Adjacent to Downtown San Diego and the San Diego Bay, it is home to Chicano Park National Historic Landmark. The Portside Community’s neighborhoods are some of the oldest and most culturally vibrant in San Diego County. It has endured decades of mixed zoning development favoring working waterfront industry-growth at the cost of human and environmental health.  

Community Priorities

The following list highlights some of the air quality priorities identified by the Community Steering Committee: (Note, it is not an exhaustive list of community-identified air quality priorities.)  

  • Implementation of residential air filtration and air monitoring. 
  • Reduced exposure for community members with increased vulnerability to air pollution. 
  • Completion of a health risk assessment. 
  • Reduction of health risk, including reduced cancer risk for community members by 2026. 
  • Increased community participation in incentive programs. 

  • Emissions from shipyard employee transportation. 
  • Emissions from vehicle traffic on Interstate Highways 5 and 15. 

  • Idling heavy duty trucks. 
  • Emissions from trucks traveling to and from industrial sites.  

  • Emissions from off-road equipment (such as cranes and bulldozers), medium-heavy duty vehicles, and ocean-going vessels. 
  • Presence of air-borne metals and airborne toxic gases (known as toxic Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs)  

  • Diesel emissions from cargo handling equipment, welding operations, ships at berth, and commercial harbor craft. 
  • Emissions associated with traffic at Naval Base San Diego. 
  • DPM and NOx emissions from portable air compressors and other diesel sources at shipyards.  
  • Advance adoption of zero-emission vehicles and machinery. 

To learn more about what are the community’s air quality priorities and strategies to address these issues, you can read the Portside Community Emissions Reduction Program (CERP) here. En Español. 

Join the Portside Steering Committee!  

If you are an interested Portside Community member, return this form to apcdoutreach@sdapcd.org. 

Portside Steering Committee Meetings 

The Community Steering Committee meets the fourth Tuesday of every month from 5-7PM.  Meetings are held remotely via Zoom, except once every 3 months when we meet in person.  

Final Community Emissions Reduction Program (CERP)