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California Riding Magazine • August, 2009 San Diego Polo Club by Chris Maloney, |
Equestrians throughout San Diego are watching and waiting as the use of public trails continues to heat up. Now in the fray is a portion of the public equestrian/pedestrian trail along the San Dieguito River historically used by the San Diego Polo Club to exercise polo horses during the polo season. At stake is the ability of trail users to recognize each other’s legitimate rights to the trail—and then work toward “win-win” solutions that meet the needs of all San Diegans. Recently, the Polo Club submitted plans to the City of San Diego that go above and beyond in providing a real solution to the challenge, as the “trail turf” issue continues. Over the past 23 years, the San Diego Polo Club has leased from the City of San Diego about 80 acres of land on which it provides five polo fields, training school, arena and stables to the local equestrian community. The land also is used by the San Diego Surf Soccer Club for practice and tournaments. The land on which the Polo Fields rests is part of a larger area gifted to the City of San Diego in 1983 by Watt Industries for the creation of Fairbanks Ranch master-planned community and its signature Country Club. The Corporate Grant Deed (signed October 24, 1983) noted that the property would be retained as open space or utilized for agricultural uses, passive non-commercial recreational uses and active non-commercial recreational uses. In the Grant Deed, equestrian activities were specifically identified as a permitted active non-commercial recreational use. In fact, the polo fields and adjacent trail were graded as part of the original Fairbanks Ranch map approvals. Now gaining steam, however, is an effort by the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to complete its 55-mile coast-to-crest multi-use trail—which includes a 1.2-mile stretch of trail currently used by the Polo Club as a pony exercise track and by the public as an equestrian trail. The River Park/JPA advocates believe that the use of the trail by the Club and the related trail maintenance (to keep it safe for the horses), precludes other users from enjoying the trail. They maintain that, in its current condition, the public cannot safely use the trail even though the trail is designated for “public” use. They also claim that, over the years, the Polo Club has realigned the trail and made other changes without permits that have resulted in damages to the River’s banks and intruded into an area identified by the City of San Diego as environmentally sensitive lands. In its defense, the Polo Club points out that maintenance of the trail for equestrian use has been a regular occurrence for more than 20 years, and was part of the original intent of the land as an equestrian-use area. In addition, key trail improvements have been made as a result of flooding and erosion along the San Dieguito River. Nevertheless, the Polo Club received a fine for its trail modifications from the City of San Diego, who also asked that the Club submit an application for a Site Development Permit for the restoration of habitat found along the trail. In response, the Polo Club proposed the creation of a 10-foot-wide public-use trail for bikers and hikers which would parallel a 24-foot-wide equestrian trail, jointly used by area equestrians and the Polo Club as an exercise track. Separating the two trails to ensure user safety would be a fence. The Club had until early July to submit its trail renovation plan to the City of San Diego. Almost immediately, the reaction to the Club’s proposal was heard. River Park Executive Director Dick Bobertz demanded that the public use trail be 14 feet wide and that other equestrians, as well as pedestrians and bicyclists, should not share the softer track with the Polo Club ponies. In addition, Bobertz and other JPA leaders insisted that, in addition to all of the other site improvement efforts and habitat restoration efforts proposed by the Polo Club (and some additional efforts proposed by the JPA), the Club would have to resurface a portion of the public trail with decomposed granite. The Win-Win Solution The bottom-line is that the Polo Club wants to solve the current situation—and secure peace among all trail users. As a result, the Polo Club has now modified its last proposal to include the re-compaction of a public pedestrian/equestrian trail along the River and the creation of a separate private trail within the Polo Club’s leasehold area to exercise horses. Specifically, the revised proposal includes the following:
The leadership from the Polo Club has remained steadfast in voicing its appreciation to the City of San Diego to work for solutions to this challenge. In addition, all members of the San Diego equestrian community are invited to learn more about this situation by contacting the Polo Club at 858-481-9217 or www.sandiegopolo.com. The hope is that this new solution offered by the San Diego Polo Club will serve as an important step forward in creating positive partnerships that unite all trail users in San Diego, while also being the first leg of the River Park/JPA’s coast-to-crest trail through the San Dieguito River Valley.
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