The Otay River Valley has a rich history of human occupation and resource use. Over 9000 years ago, prehistoric Native Americans were early inhabitants, taking advantage of the River Valley¹s abundant natural resources. In the early 1800s, vast Spanish ranchos covered the area and cattle grazed on the gentle mesa surrounding the river.

On January 30,1990, the Cities of Chula Vista and San Diego, and the County of San Diego entered into a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement, and the establishment of a 30 member Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) to advise the Policy Committee (PC) on matters relating to the coordination of property acquisition, planning, and design of a Concept Plan for the development of an Otay Valley Regional Park (OVRP). With the creation of the Otay Valley Regional Park, the Otay River Valley will serve its South Bay residents and visitors by providing a mix of recreation opportunities ranging from playing fields and picnic areas to hiking, biking, and horse trails while protecting open space, environmentally sensitive areas wildlife, culture, historic, agriculture, archaeological and scenic resources.

The Otay Valley Regional Park (OVRP) is located in The Otay River Valley, which extends from the southeastern edge of lower San Diego Bay, east about 13 miles to the Otay Lakes Reservoir. The River Valley runs between the southern boundary of the City of Chula Vista and the northern boundary of South San Diego (Otay Mesa/Nestor). It contains about 178 acres in the floodway and flood plain area, disturbed and undisturbed land exists along the steep slopes along the south side of the river. Eventually it will cover more than 3,000 acres. Seven fresh water ponds were created from past gravel and sand excavation. Two gravel, sand, and concrete batch plants currently operate in the River Valley west of Beyer Way and east of Hollister Street, separated by Beyer Blvd.