This last election many Poway High students were eligible to vote. Prop P The Farm in Poway, was a very important vote in our own backyard that would determine the future of the abandoned Stoneridge Country Club. Prop P passed with an overwhelming 62% of Powegians voting Yes on the proposition. 

On June 16, Poway City Council members approved The Farm in Poway project, which was a proposal to allow the development of 160 residential units with recreational, agricultural, and commercial amenities. It will be built on at least 70.4 acres of land that was originally a part of a 117 acre site owned and occupied by the Stoneridge Country Club. 

Prop P was proposed by Kevin McNamara, a Poway resident who wanted to purchase the Stoneridge Country Club if he could make it. Currently the property is owned by a professional land developer from Beverly Hills. 

“The property should change ownership to Mr. McNamara in March or April of 2021, construction should begin shortly afterwards and the project should take four years to complete,” Poway city Councilmember Barry Leonard said.

The project when completed will have a 3.2 mile walking path constructed around the perimeter of the property for public access. The housing will include a fitness center with tennis and pickleball courts, and a swimming pool will be available for membership. A restaurant with a beer and wine garden will be part of a Barn facility for public use and gatherings. Flower fields will have fresh produce grown and sold, and a butterfly vivarium will be constructed for family visits and education. An outdoor amphitheater that will host small musical entertainment. North Poway currently does not have any of these amenities at this time. “The abandoned golf course is full of weeds and I believe that the new renovations to the property will benefit and improve the community,” senior Quinn Cortes said. 

Property taxes and other fees are expected to contribute at least $500,000 to the City budget each year during the project. People against the project worry about additional traffic on Espola Road and the loss of open space that will be occupied once the project is completed. “I am strongly against Prop P. It will create so much more traffic and road blocks, and there will be limited parking on our streets,” junior Kaden Snead said. 

According to the experts, Espola can handle the traffic and more people will not negatively impact quality of life.

“I am very supportive of the project as it gives certainty to the land use and the proposed development will benefit all Poway residents” council member Leonad said.