Arbolitos Flood Control Basin Summary UPDATED

   The Arbolitos Flood Control Basin was created in 1996 as a rain water retention basin to prevent flooding south of Abraxas High School. A sports field was created in the process of grading the detention basin in what was originally an open space nature preserve. To secure the cooperation of the local residents in creating a sports field over the basin, The City of Poway promised (or gained cooperation,  or gained a concession with the neighbors) that the fields would be for daytime use only and that floodlights would never be installed for night time use.

Since then, and repeatedly, the city council has been harassed, harangued, cajoled, and petitioned by a minority of Poway residents and non-Poway residents to renege on that promise. To convince the council to renounce the promise and to ignore the primary reason the fields exists, this minority has generated a plan that included these statements:

1. Flood lights should be installed for night time use of the basin.
2. Artificial turf should be installed over the basin. 

Through backdoor dealings with the city council, the city manager and the city staff these attempts have finally met with some success in getting one of these elements of this plan approved. They have convinced the current members of the city council to ignore the City's General Plan and more importantly to break the promise to the neighbors and proceed to put lights over the flood control basin.

We can, and should, hold the members of the city council to the commitment (promise) made and not spend our tax dollars in this venture. In reneging on the earlier commitment to the Arbolitos neighborhood, the Mayor said it was "not a promise, but a decision," one in which he participated. But at the September 7th council meeting it was obvious that the council members had already made up their minds. The meeting was simply a necessary legally required roadblock. They chose to ignore the facts and they summarily disregarded the concession to the Arbolitos neighbors treating it as something no more than a minor bother. The Mayor and the rest of the council were steadfast in retracting on the commitment, just as they have done in prior instances.

Peter De Hoff attempted to hold the city council members to their commitment, but that too has was passed over. Here is your opportunity to add your name on his petition against this plan.

The city staff and the members of the city council set aside the issue of placing artificial turf in the Flood Control basin. This was done mainly because there is strong visual evidence of the folly of putting artificial turf in a flood control basin, but they are continuing to pursue lighting of the flood control basin with additional "promises" that the lights will go off at 8:00 p.m.

When the current members of the city council promise something, then don't keep that promise, what then of the 8:00 p.m. promise?

October 13 Update: It didn't take long for that "off at 8:00 p.m." promise to die; it's now being discussed "as a concession to the neighbors, the lights will go off at 9:00 p.m." 

Yeah, right. Here's another 'concession' being offered that will soon be broken too. Ten o'clock anyone?