Torrey Pines Park Nears Completion

The city's newest park features two dog parks and a synthetic turf baseball field and diamond, and could be open for public use by late October, a city official said.

Construction on Torrey Pines Park, which is situated at the east end of Torrey Pines Road and adjacent to , is coming to a close, Assistant City Manager Jim Holston said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Construction crews worked under the hot sun Tuesday. A play area has already been erected, as have restrooms. A baseball diamond and field made of synthetic turf are also complete, and decomposed granite will be laid soon at the dog park. Once finished, the dog park will have separate fenced areas suited for small and large dogs, along with play equipment.

All that is missing are the cheering fans and the frolicking dogs.

And that's what is worrying nearby resident Rick Chavez, whose rental home on Saint Honore Drive is a brick wall away from the dog park. Chavez runs a trucking company, and many times sleeps during the day.

"I'm waiting to see how much noise and extra-curricular activity takes place in my neighborhood," said Chavez, who has rented his home for four and a half years now. "To me, I like quiet. I'm not real thrilled."

He is used to a certain level of foot traffic and noise due to being near Warm Springs Middle School, but said he worries that with ball games and dog park-goers, the noise will start at 6 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

To that, Holston said the park will follow the same hours as the city's other 50 parks--sunrise to sunset--and that ball leagues are restricted to 8 a.m. start times. Leagues don't typically play on Sundays, either, he said.

Lights were not part of the park's design, further restricting play hours, Holston said. He added that park rangers patrol the city's parks at night.

The city purchased the 8.8-acre park from the Murrieta Valley Unified School District. After years of planning, construction started in April. KASA Construction of Ontario was awarded the bid at $2.17 million. It was funded by fees collected from developers.

To read more about the park's design and construction, .

Holston said following a mid- to late-September construction wrap-up, the city will wait at least 30 days before opening to the public so that newly-planted trees can take root. New trees need about 90 days total to be safe, he said.

That puts the tentative opening date in late October, according to Holston.

Chavez expressed further concern about a road that runs by his upstairs bedroom window. The road will serve visitors to the dog park, he said.

"The biggest complaint I have is my privacy," Chavez said. He also wondered whether the fence was built high enough to provide him that privacy, and said he's contacted his landlord about it.

"It is what it is; I only rent here any way. I can move."