Restoration and parks approved for degraded piece of Oceanside creek

A 1,600-foot stretch of Buena Vista Creek clogged by invasive weeds and littered with trash left by the homeless will be restored with two small parks, walking paths, benches and interpretive nature signs.

The degraded waterway is just west of Thunder Drive and north of Lake Boulevard, between Oceanside’s Fire Station No. 4, a CarMax dealership and the state DMV office on Marron Road. The restoration is funded by a $275,800 grant from the California Department of Water Resources in 2020.

“It sounds like a needed … and great project for the community,” said Commissioner Tom Rosales, at an Oceanside Planning Commission meeting where the project was unanimously approved last month.

Oceanside planners worked with the Buena Vista Audubon Society and the community to design a project that would improve existing riparian habitat, enhance water quality, and provide recreational and educational opportunities for the surrounding community, according to a city report.

In addition to the protected creekside habitat, the project will include two separate public parks bordering the wetlands — one along Lake Boulevard and another on Thunder Drive — totaling 1.23 acres.

“Over the years, segments of Buena Vista Creek have been altered through replacement of sections of the natural streambed and banks with concrete channels and armored banks,” the report states. “This has resulted in fragmented habitat, degradation, loss of riparian habitat and native vegetation, and proliferation of invasive plant species.”

The restoration will remove invasive species, and plant and seed the area along the creek with native species such as willow, oak, mule fat and coastal sage. A contractor will monitor the project for at least five years to assure the trees and plants thrive.

California has lost over 90% of its historic wetlands to development, said Diane Nygaard of the local nonprofit Preserve Calavera.

Wetlands support a wide range of native species and serve as “nature’s kidneys” by removing pollution from flowing water, she said, and the restoration is important work.

“This area has been badly damaged,” Nygaard said. “This project is a very big step in the right direction.”

The site is near the eastern end of a nearly four-mile corridor along state Route 78 from the Buena Vista Lagoon to the Vista border for which Oceanside and Carlsbad received a three-year, $11.4 million state grant in 2024 for efforts to find long-term shelter for people living in encampments.

A significant portion of that grant supports programs run by Interfaith Community Services, the La Posada de Guadalupe shelter in Carlsbad and other regional assistance efforts.

Buena Vista Creek originates in San Marcos and drains about 21 square miles in parts of San Marcos, Vista, Carlsbad and Oceanside.