Once in a blue moon, the thought jumps into my head: it’s just one field, right? How much would it really matter to Del Mar if we lost half the Height’s field – the amount slated for burial in the latest (January) school site design.
Is it worth continuing the fight for 80,000 square feet?
The thought always vanishes . . . I know what’s at stake for Del Mar.
Circled in yellow below, you see Del Mar Heights Elementary, Del Mar Hills Elementary, and the Shores Park – the only real outdoor public playfields and courts available to the children of today and tomorrow in Greater Del Mar, west of I-5.
the only outdoor fields and courts in Greater Del Mar
The pie charts below snap our overall park situation into perspective. Today, the Heights’ fields are about 50% of our total play fields and the Heights’ hardcourts/blacktop is about 50% of our total hardcourt area.
The district’s current January 2020 design cuts the fields from 160,000 square feet to less than 80,000 square feet and the blacktop from 49,500 square feet to 22,000 square feet. Here’s what that would look like for Del Mar.
1/4th: That’s what’s at stake.
We have a better alternative. Rolf’s design (click here) – currently under review by the district – saves 52,000 of the 80,000 square feet of field space proposed to be cut by the district, in a safer design that gives the district all of their educational needs and yet preserves a valuable community asset and play fields and blacktop for the kids. It also gives us 3000 additional square feet of blacktop space.
If you support Rolf’s design, let the DMUSD board know. It only takes a second to click one of the links below that will open an email from you to the board with a simple, customizable message. It’s only through our efforts as a community that we’ll save the fields for the kids of today and tomorrow.
Build the School. Save the Fields.
John
P.S. Here’s an interesting historical tidbit. Call me slow, but I learned only recently that the Shores Park also used to be a DMUSD School and property, but sometime around 2005, DMUSD decided to close and sell it to the highest commercial bidder. It was only through community pushback and litigation that this was stopped. The park was eventually purchased in 2008 by the City of Del Mar with with 65% ($5.5M) raised in the largest fundraising drive in Del Mar history by the community ($2.5M) and the non-profit Winston School ($3M) which has served children with learning differences there for over 30 years. Great job saving that 50,000 square feet of fields and blacktop, community!
Play Outside Del Mar 