Point Reyes Light- December 10, 1998

Polo field near Red Hill draws flak from neighbors

A half-dozen West Marin residents this week complained to Marin planning commissioners about construction of a polo-playing field without a use permit on a former farm off San Antonio Road east of Red Hill.

"The field is already built and they used it all summer - in spite of the fact that the county told them they couldn't build it without a use permit," said Robert Hersey, a San Antonio Road resident who lives adjacent to the field.

The 8-acre polo field, located south of San Antonio Road just inside the Marin County border, is owned by a limited-liability corporation called Cerro Pampa with seven directors, said county planner Johanna Patri.

Patri said she didn't know who the seven directors were.

The polo field is part of an 87-acre property zoned A-60 (agricultural, one house per 60 acres), Patri said. "While equestrian activites, such as horse pasturing or breeding, are allowed in A-60 zoning, we don't consider this polo field as just an equestrian activity.

"We consider this an organized recreational activity that utilizes horses. Under the code, these kinds of activities need a use permit," she said.

After receiving Cerro Pampa's project application in March, Marin Community Development Director Mark Riesenfeld determined that the group needed to submit a use permit before starting to build, she said.

However, Patri explained, the playing field was built anyway. Later, she said, an attorney representing Cerro Pampa appealed Riesenfield's decision.

Monday's hearing centered on Cerro Pampa's appeal, which was heard by four of the planning commission's seven members, who decided to continue the hearing until Jan. 11, she said.

The appelant requested the delay to allow time to "consult with the county and neighboring landowners," she explained.

Hersey said he attended the hearing with six other concerned neighbors. "Our main concern is the fact that we believe that what they've built is a sports facility in an agricultural area, bringing the typical traffic and sports noises with it."

Cerro Pampa's attorney has argued, however, that any polo playing on the field will be low-key, will not involve an "intense use" of the land, and will not involve the use of any sound or lighting systems, according to county planning staff records.

Norma Schlesinger, a San Francisco resident who is building a house off San Antonio Road, said she believes that the polo-playing field is "totally inconsistent" with West Marin's existant agricultural operations.

The project doesn't seem to fit in with nearby cattle ranches, nor with the "Tuscany-like" olive orchards grown about a mile away by Nan McEvoy, she said.

What's worse, Schlesinger said, is that she and her neighbors don't know what Cerro Pampa's members aim to do with the rest of their land. "There's no way for us to safeguard the agricultural use of this property without them [Cerro Pampa] applying for a use permit."

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