This election season, Poway residents are weighing in on a local ballot measure that would put a 30,000-square-foot Life Time Fitness Center in an apartment complex called The Farm.
The measure, called Measure H, has sparked controversy, with critics arguing the proposed fitness center would be too large for the area and breaks promises to residents.
In the 2020 election, Poway residents approved The Farm, a 117-acre residential development that included plans for about 160 homes, community gardens, an event space, walking trails, a dog park, a 3,000-square-foot fitness club and much more. . The complex is located in north Poway, on the site of the former StoneRidge Country Club.
In Poway, any proposals to increase housing density on certain types of land must be approved by voters. This is the result of Proposition FF, which voters approved in 1988.
Farm: As for the 2020 proposal, some residents who supported it said they were attracted to the idea of building a luxury home with a small-town feel. But as some residents told the Voice of San Diego, they expected commercial businesses like the fitness club to be filled with local small businesses.
Now, instead of the proposed 3,000-square-foot fitness club that voters approved in 2020, The Farm could get a luxury fitness center 10 times the size of the original proposal and run by a huge corporation.
Life Time, a Minnesota-based fitness company with hundreds of fitness centers throughout the United States and Canada, proposed creating a recreational fitness club with two pools, pickleball and tennis courts, a fitness center, a café with a bar, and a day spa. and several retail stores that would be located on the farm’s 6.87 acres.
Proponents of Measure H say North Poway deserves a high-quality fitness center that offers the same amenities and benefits that Life Time would offer residents. The $30 million facility will also generate between $70,000 and $90,000 in property taxes for the city each year.
Proponents also argue that there was a lot of opposition when the Farms project was originally proposed several years ago, but the area has been largely successful.
Critics of the measure say that if voters approve Measure H, the area could experience a sharp increase in traffic and noise as residents from all over Poway and possibly neighboring North County towns travel to the area to use the fitness center.
They also say this plan is not what they signed up for in 2020.
Steph Griffin, senior development manager at Life Time, provided a statement via email.
“We designed our project to minimize impacts to surrounding residents, and an independent traffic study has confirmed that it will not create any significant new traffic impacts,” the statement reads in part. “Measure H provides convenience to the entire community, which generates property tax revenue plus sales tax revenue.”
Life Time’s full statement can be read here.
This past July, the Poway City Council voted 4-1 to approve a developer’s plan for a larger facility, pending approval by a public vote. The council then voted unanimously to place the measure on the ballot.
Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said at the meeting that approval of the developer’s changes is not an indication of the council’s position on the project itself and that voters will ultimately make the decision.
Councilwoman Anita Edmondson was the lone dissenting vote in the discussion, which approved modifications to the facility. Edmondson represents the district in which the farm is located.
“This property is in a residential area that is not zoned for major commercial activity,” Edmondson said at the meeting. “In my opinion, this major modification is too severe to move forward.”
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