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RANCHO SFNEWS
.com THE RANCH’S BEST SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS
VOL. 8, NO. 13
AUG. 24, 2012
THISWEEK Residents still
await update on polo fields By Jared Whitlock
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
The new chef at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe is putting his personal touch B1 at Innfusion.
HELPING THOSE WHO SERVED The Rotary Club is planning to lend a hand to Navy SEALs who were crippled while serving A5 their country
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RANCHO SANTA FE — To the chagrin of many polo players and other athletes, the fate of a Rancho Santa Fe field is still up in the air. The San Diego Polo Club signed a 25-year lease with the city of San Diego when it first moved onto the property, home to polo matches that are open to the public from June to October. But the polo club’s lease expired in March. The city of San Diego declined to renew the lease and announced it would go out to bid on the property and request proposals. That has yet to happen, though. Dirk Wray, a Solana Beach resident, is among the polo players who hopes matches will continue at the field, which is located a mile or so east of the Del Mar Racetrack, off of El Camino Real. “It’s one of the best all-time sports and would be a huge loss to the community,” Wray said, adding that there are few other options for polo players in San Diego. “I’m sure a lot of people would stop playing if we lost the field,” he said. “The club’s future could be in doubt.” The city of San Diego has said a request for proposals would be issued sometime this summer. But Steve Lewandowski, community relations director of the polo club said he hasn’t received word on proposal requests. Calls were placed to Mayor Jerry Sanders’ spokesperson, but were not returned. A new tenant, possibly one that doesn’t want to support polo events, could be operating the field in the future. But for now, the polo club is still leasing the field on a month-to-month basis, said Lewandowski. He said the city of San Diego wasn’t legally obligated to renew its lease with the polo club. “They’re trying to get the best deal possible, and we think we can offer that,” Lewandowski said. He said the polo club eagerly awaits the opportunity to place a bid and hopefully secure
The San Diego Polo Club wants to remain the leaseholder of a field that’s used for polo and other events. The city of San Diego will go out to bid on the field, but hasn’t announced when. Photo by Jared Whitlock
a longterm lease. “We’re really determined to remain there,” Lewandowski said. “We feel we’ve been good stewards of the field.” According to Lewandowski, the polo club has given the city of San Diego $3 million throughout the 25-year lease and has also generated more than $650,000 in property taxes. Additionally, he said, the polo club has put on numerous fundraising events at the field for more than 80 charities.
To fund operating and maintenance costs, the polo club uses membership dues and subleases the property to various sporting events, including cricket, rugby, lacrosse and soccer games, according to Lewandowski. Organizers behind those events are also vested in the future of the polo field. “They are uncertain about what would happen if the city awards the lease to someone TURN TO POLO ON A21
Committee focuses on dying trees Rancho Santa Fe Editor’s note: This is the first of a recurring series highlighting the various Rancho Santa Fe Association committees that help run the community. This week will look at the Committee on the Natural Environment, or CONE By Patty McCormac
RANCHO SANTA FE — The Committee on the Natural Environment, or CONE, is a relatively new ad hoc committee that was originally concerned with finding alternative sources of water, educating residents about and encouraging them to plant drought-resistant trees and plants and raising awareness about the diminishing forest in the community. While this remains a mission of CONE, dead and dying trees, particularly the red gum eucalyptus that have become fire hazards within the Covenant, have become a new focus. “We are concerned with the area on the west side that
has become a top priority of the Association,” said Pete Smith, Association manager. Association directors Ann Boon and Anne Feighner founded CONE motivated by concern for long-term water issues. “We brought that to the retreat a year ago, about finding secondary water for the golf course and finding ways to make the Covenant more drought-tolerant,” Boon said. CONE originally set out to educate residents about using drought-tolerant trees and plants. Association Planner Arnold Keene helped the committee develop a long and diverse list of drought-tolerant plants and trees, which can be found on the Association’s website. “As a part of that, we wanted to do some re-landscaping on Covenant-owned property to show we are planting drought-tolerant plants,” Boon said.
Those plants can be seen at some of the entrances to Rancho Santa Fe and at the entrance of the Osuna Ranch, she said. The committee soon learned the issue was much larger than just water. About two months ago, the committee was approached by fire department officials who shared with it their concerns about the fire hazard some of the dying trees in the Covenant had become, she said. Boon said they were concerned about some of the trees on Cielo heading toward Lomas Santa Fe. She said she and Feighner brought the concerns to this year’s board retreat earlier this month. “Now the fire hazards have become our No. 1 priority,” she said. Smith said the Association owns some of the TURN TO COMMITTEE ON A21
homicide victim ID’d By Jared Whitlock
RANCHO SANTA FE — Homicide detectives are investigating the death of resident Kenneth Howard Gerber, 62, a doctor who was found outside a residence in the 4600 block of Sun Valley Road Aug. 17 around 11 a.m. According to Sheriff’s homicide Lt. Larry Nesbit, Gerber’s body was found in the front yard of the home he lived at. Nesbit said he couldn’t confirm whether it was Gerber’s property. Nesbit said an acquaintance of Gerber first notified police of the homicide. Nesbit declined to state further details about the circumstance and acquaintance. Paramedics arrived and confirmed the male was deceased. Due to “suspicious circumstances,”
homicide detectives and crime lab personnel were requested at the scene, Nesbit said. A preliminary investigation was then conducted. Following an autopsy that was performed the next day, the case was classified as a homicide. Nesbit said he couldn’t release more information about the autopsy, as it’s still sealed. After the autopsy, detectives returned that day to the Rancho Santa Fe home to conduct additional processing of the scene, according to Nesbit. No arrests have been made and there are no suspects in the case, Nesbit said. Detectives are investigating possible motives, TURN TO HOMICIDE ON A21