SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Now that the train tracks will not likely be going into a tunnel under the Del Mar Fairgrounds — it appears the people who run the place are once again open to talking about “affordable housing” somewhere on the property.
“It’s not just any tunnel, that is a trench. That is a cut and cover trench. Before you cover, you have to cut, and that means cutting from the surface,” said Tristan Hallman, Del Mar Fairgrounds. “I think that has maybe been lost in this discussion, it’s not just burrowing under and nobody notices. It’s digging from the surface through a wide expanse, and leaving us unable to host the events and activities that we’ve hosted here since 1936.”
While there’s been talk of housing on the fairgrounds for years, that talk was shut down last month after the City of Del Mar openly supported a rail alignment that could have gone under the fairgrounds.
The fairgrounds’ board saw that as a betrayal, and put a pause on any talks about housing.
“The position that Del Mar took was anything that harmed the fairgrounds they were against. Obviously, you heard the mayor of Del Mar taking a position counter to that. We also heard them taking a position to ask for a delay of this fully funded, long planned project, that the only reason for delaying that project is because they wanted to keep the tunnel in play,” said Hallman.
But now that SANDAG has voted to eliminate the tunnel under the fairgrounds, at least for now, it appears the City of Del Mar and the fairgrounds board could be working together again on a housing plan.
A housing plan that’s required by state law for every city in California.
Even though the Del Mar Fairgrounds is home to dozens of events year round — including the County Fair and world class Horse Racing — there is a lot of land, 340-acres.
There was a real fear that building a tunnel would directly impact business.
“That means no fair, no horse racing, no events. No business,” said Hallman.
Along with a potential for low income housing, the fairgrounds board sees this as another opportunity.
When and if the tracks are ever moved off the coast, they’re hoping to build a “seasonal platform” on the fairgrounds during peak times. Not under the fairgrounds, but on the surface.
“The platform will be right at the edge of our property. That would allow people to come straight to the San Diego County Fair, straight to horse racing, straight to other events. It would be special events only, it’s not going to stop there all the time,” said Hallman.
