The Farm in Poway: Open Space Amenities for All of Poway

This post is sponsored and contributed by a Patch Community Partner. The views expressed in this post are the author's own, and the information presented has not been verified by Patch.

When the idea to redevelop the abandoned Stoneridge Country Club was first talked about by Kevin McNamara and his partners, they made the decision that providing accessible open space and recreational opportunities would be the key driver in the project’s design. They wanted to take a former, private country club and open it up for Poway residents to enjoy. The result is The Farm in Poway, which is on the ballot in November as Measure P.

“We realized that we had a unique opportunity to create a beautiful community and increase accessible open space and recreation for all Poway,” said McNamara. “The Stoneridge property has been closed off for too long and we felt it was time that it was made into something the community can enjoy.”

The Farm in Poway will provide a maximum of 160 homes on the 117-acre property. The homes have been limited to just under 29% of the property and segmented into five product types to create visual interest, which allows a large majority of the property to be used for recreational and conservation open space. The project is providing more than 55 acres of conservation open space where none exists today, and more than 14 acres of publicly accessible recreational open space for Poway residents to enjoy. The open space areas will feature specialty gardens, a new park with an off-leash dog park and tot lot, 3.5 miles of trails, an outdoor amphitheater, a butterfly vivarium and more. All of these open space amenities can be provided at no cost to taxpayers because of the balance between residential and public spaces. Ongoing maintenance will be funded by the Master Community Association.

“This is a unique situation,” said McNamara. “Many planned communities only allow their open space areas to be used by the residents of their community, but we wanted to create a community that was open to everyone.”

To guarantee that these open space areas will be open to the public in perpetuity, a condition of approval was included in the City Council resolution approving The Farm in Poway. This condition states that Public Access Easements “will be required for all public facilities and access onsite. This may include but is not limited to: utilities, streets, parking areas and facilities within OS-R, sidewalks, trails, the dog park, the amphitheater, and the tot lot.” (Note: OS-R is the designation for recreational open space areas.) These easements ensure that the Master Community Association cannot just vote in the future to revoke public access.

“The fact that the open space and amenities will be available to all residents is one of the reasons that the Green Valley Civic Association’s board voted to support The Farm in Poway,” said Steven Stone, GVCA President. “The parks, trails, and gardens will be a real asset to our community.”

The Farm in Poway is on the ballot on November 3 as Measure P. For more information, visit the project’s website at www.TheFarmInPoway.com.

This is a sponsored post contributed by a Patch Community Partner, a local sponsor. To learn more, click here.