San Diego City Council members have voted to do away with decades-old grant terms that prohibit commercial activity on public parklands in the San Dieguito River Valley, a move they hope will help them win a lawsuit.
The changes were approved by a majority of the elected officials over complaints from neighbors who say they have put up with youth soccer tournaments and other events that draw thousands and disrupt the community.
Council members said the new arrangement will strengthen the legal positions of the city and Surf Cup Sports, the for-profit operator that hosts dozens of events a year on the property formerly known as the polo fields.
The council declined to immediately update the annual rent as part of the deal, as is normally standard. Instead, officials ordered a rent review to be completed by next September. Surf Cup was given a 28-year lease in 2016 and pays San Diego about $240,000 a year, plus a percentage of some revenue.
The property attracts hundreds of thousands of people each year, creating traffic and other headaches for nearby homeowners. Residents said Monday that the crowds also cause traffic accidents and paramedics cannot quickly reach victims.
“These lands were never meant for private exploitation,” Pam Heatherington of the Environmental Center of San Diego told council members. “They were meant for everyone.”
But after a contentious hearing, the council voted 6-2 to terminate the 1983 deal land approve a new contract. Councilmembers Raul Campillo and Marni von Wilpert voted no; Councilmember Jennifer Campbell left the meeting before the vote.
Contract amendments always “seem to be to the city’s detriment,” Campillo said before the vote. “We always seem to be held to our promises and not hold others to theirs.”
People walk to their cars at Surf Sports Park on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Surf Cup generates millions of dollars a year in revenue, records show. Almost 20% of the tenancy is owned by Brees Company, a firm owned by former San Diego Chargers quarterback Drew Brees.
Both the city and Surf Cup were sued by nearby homeowners in 2023, accused of violating terms of the 1983 grant deed that banned commercial use of the land.
Under the original agreement, “active non-commercial recreational activities that involved a large assemblage of people or automobiles” were prohibited. But the contract didn’t define such activity or spell out what a large assemblage means.
City officials said the new agreement would clarify what activities are permitted on the 115 or so acres.
Once the lawsuit was filed, the defendants’ lawyers found language in the grant deed that they say allows the city and the successor company to the Fairbanks Ranch developer to rewrite terms of the original deal.
Because Ocean Industries merged with original developer Watt Industries and still owns two parcels within the leasehold, San Diego officials said the city and tenant could redo the 1983 contract and cancel the ban on commercial uses for the property.
Now the city is expected to push for the lawsuit filed by Fairbanks Polo Club Homeowners Association in 2023 to be dismissed.
Council President Joe LaCava, whose district includes the affected property, noted that Surf Cup has not always met the terms of its existing lease, but he nonetheless agreed to do away with the restrictions on commercial use of the public space.
“Some of the previous managers have not been the best in being a good neighbor,” he told the lessee. “In a lot of cases, the organization has been stepping on its own feet. I’m hoping that you have learned your lesson. Figure that out — bottom line.”
LaCava also required Surf Cup to complete a portion of the long-delayed Coast to Crest Trail through the area by June 30, 2027 — a provision that was included in the 2016 lease but not initiated by the leaseholder until earlier this month.
Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera amended the motion to include a provision that Surf Cup pay $18 per hour of use per field into a city parks fund. The company said it would be complicated to calculate annual usage and agreed to a $100,000 annual fee.
Hundreds watch or play in soccer matches at Surf Sports Park on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The property was deeded to San Diego in the 1980s, when a Los Angeles developer wanted to create a community of luxury homes that became Fairbanks Ranch.
The city agreed to accept 600 acres of open space along the San Dieguito River in exchange for building approval. Most of that land now supports the Fairbanks Ranch County Club, but 115 acres became the polo fields.
For years, Surf Cup subleased part of the polo grounds for its soccer program. It took over the lease nearly a decade ago.
Since then, the company has improved the property and expanded the number of events it hosts there, including wine and food festivals, hot-air balloon rides and seasonal pumpkin and Christmas tree lots.
Several speakers testified in favor of terminating the grant deed, saying Surf Cup and the events it sponsors have become staples in the community.
Chief operating officer Brian Enge said Surf Cup generates $120 million a year in economic impact for the area. “Believe it or not, that is on par with ComicCon,” he said. Enge also said its events also provides youth soccer athletes a path toward paying for college.
“Every year local kids earn millions of dollars in scholarship money on these fields alone,” he said. “This is all about giving back to the city.”
Soccer matches are played at Surf Sports Park on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Others described a tenant that fails to follow lease terms, misrepresents facts and ignores neighbors’ concerns. One man said his dog died after being injured in a car accident following a soccer event.
Shawna Anderson of the San Dieguito River Park Joint-Powers Authority asked the City Council to do more to protect the sensitive habitat surrounding the soccer fields.
“The JPA is concerned about the future of this property and the river corridor,” she said.
The deed change also was opposed by the nearby cities of Del Mar and Solana Beach, as well as state Sen. Catherine Blakespear and a host of other public agencies and officials.
“I have watched how the intensification of this property has changed the ability to go a mile to visit friends” due to traffic gridlock, Solana Beach Councilmember Jill MacDonald told the San Diego council members.
Lawyers for the nearby homeowners previously said the City Council’s vote would not affect their lawsuit because Ocean Industries gave up all rights and privileges to the land in 2017.
A status conference in the litigation is scheduled for early December.