Editor’s Note: This article was updated with new information on the City of San Diego council’s upcoming decision expected at their meeting July 29.
In a disturbing development in the lawsuit brought by Fairbanks Polo Club Homes against the City of San Diego to enforce the land-use and environmental restrictions governing the former polo fields in the San Dieguito River Valley, it appears the City now has colluded with Surf Cup Sports and Ocean Industries – the original owner of the polo fields – to erase those restrictions altogether. The San Diego City Council next week (July 29), is expected to vote on a backroom deal that if approved would result in a termination of all open space land-use protections for the polo fields / Surf Cup Sports Park.
This is no less than an attempt to prevent the court from adjudicating in the Fairbanks case whether the City and Surf are in violation of those restrictions, and, even more important, to remove those legal safeguards from Surf’s future exploitation of the fields. If the City Council agrees, it would completely eviscerate the legal protections that were expressly for the benefit of communities neighboring the fields and to which the City and Surf freely agreed when they leased the land in the first place.
Open Space Deeded in Exchange for Fairbanks Development
This precious open space was gifted to San Diego 40 years ago in exchange for the development of Fairbanks Ranch. The land was protected by a grant deed and reserved for passive, non-commercial, public use. That same grant deed is the focus of the Fairbanks Polo Club Homes lawsuit against the City for not enforcing those use limitations on Surf Cup Sports. The City, for its part, agreed to those use restrictions when it acquired the polo fields in 1983 through a Grant Deed which required the restrictions as part of the deal. Surf, in turn, agreed to abide by the Grant Deed incorporating those restrictions when it signed the lease for the 114-acre property in 2016.
Yet in a joint filing dated June 30, 2025, the City and Surf announced that they have agreed with Ocean “to present a resolution to the City Council which would result in a termination of the use restrictions [in the Grant Deed] that are the subject of the [Fairbanks] litigation.” Now the legal battle that was expected to take place in a courtroom in December, appears headed for a purely political decision at the City Council Meeting July 29.
City Attorney To Avoid Trial By Gutting Grand Deed
The latest move is a despicable end run by the City Attorney to avoid a trial and gut the Grant Deed. If approved by the Council, it would leave the river valley land without any environmental or land-use protections whatsoever and allow Surf to expand its sports and entertainment events without constraint, exacerbating the already dangerous, and potentially catastrophic traffic gridlock on two-lane rural roads, among other impacts to surrounding communities.
Make Your Voices Heard
It is imperative that residents in Rancho Santa Fe, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Solana Beach and other communities that have been adversely affected by Surf’s overuse of the fields and associated traffic, noise, and dust – write to members of the City Council as soon as possible to express outrage for this scheme and the City’s complete betrayal of public trust in allowing such a resolution to even come before the Council. Email addresses for the mayor and members of the City Council can be found below as well as this linked portal to provide input.
Mayor Todd Gloria – MayorToddGloria@sandiego.gov
District 1 – Council President Joe LaCava – JoeLaCava@sandiego.gov
District 2 – Jennifer Campbell – jennifercampbell@sandiego.gov
District 3 – Stephen Whitburn – stephenwhitburn@sandiego.gov
District 4 – Henry Foster – HenryFoster@sandiego.gov
District 5 – Marni von Wilpert – marnivonwilpert@sandiego.gov
District 6 – Kent Lee – KentLee@sandiego.gov
District 7 – Raul Campillo – raulcampillo@sandiego.gov
District 8 – Vivian Moreno – vivianmoreno@sandiego.gov
District 9 – Sean Elo-Rivera – seanelorivera@sandiego.gov
Editor’s Note: The previous RSFA Board worked to help protect our areas roads and rural ambiance by contributing to the Fairbanks Polo Club Homes lawsuit against the City of San Diego. If you would like the new Board of Directors to continue supporting the effort, make your voice heard at memberinput@rsfassociation.org.
Jeffrey J. Carmel is a contributor representing the Coalition to Preserve the Polo Fields Neighborhood.