Politics & Government

Wine Country Sports Field Up for Vote – Again

The 65-acre multi-use field will go before the county's planning department.

A 65-acre multi-use sports complex in Wine Country will go before the county’s planning department – again.

The plan was approved in February, but a group of residents filed an appeal.

The Riverside County Planning Department will make a final decision at a meeting set for 9 a.m. tomorrow at the Perris City Council Chambers, 101 North D St. in Perris.

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The complex is slated to go at Galway Downs, an equestrian center on Los Caballos and Pauba roads.

Plans include several sports fields, a single-acre vendor area with two 4,800-square-foot shade structures and 1,930 parking spaces, according to a county report.

Find out what's happening in Temeculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The owner aims to rent the fields not often used for its equestrian events for non-equestrian, non-motorized sports, said Galway Downs manager Robert Kellerhouse.

About 99 percent of the time, the equestrian center takes up only 100 of the facility’s 242 acres, he said. Management hopes to have the first two fields up and running by August.

The county put a condition on the permit it approved requiring the owner to install a new left-turn lane on Highway 79 at Los Caballos Road before opening any more than four fields.

A bank owned Galway Downs for more than a year before local businessman Ken Smith bought the property in October, Kellerhouse said.

Galway Downs’ previous owner planned to build homes on the spare acreage, but then the housing market tanked and, in 2009, the owner lost the property, according to the manager.


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