Despite a current lawsuit against the City of San Diego seeking enforcement of the grant deed that limits use of the former polo fields to 25 days a year, a Nov. 21, 2023 permit application filed by Surf Sports Del Mar, (d.b.a. Pioneer Sports and Entertainment) proposes a two-story sports facility for the 24-acre agriculturally zoned parcel adjacent to the former polo fields. The property at 3975 Via de la Valle was purchased two years ago for $6.6 million by a Florida shell company related to Surf Cup Sports.

The environmentally sensitive parcel in the San Dieguito River Valley has faced intense scrutiny over the past decade, starting with a proposed senior housing project that was eventually abandoned after several years of mitigation and permitting roadblocks. Since the property’s sale in 2021, Surf Cup has twice been served with civil penalties and fines, as well as two cease-and-desist orders from the State of California for illegal grading of wetlands and pumping runoff water into the San Dieguito River.

The most recent permit application, moving at an unusually swift pace through City offices, has already prompted a slew of letters in opposition to the project from the Coalition to Preserve the Polo Fields Neighborhood as well as a thorough admonition from Douglas Dill, chairman of the San Dieguito Planning Group, an advisory board that follows developments in the region. Mr. Dill’s letter follows in its entirety in the link below.