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Economy

Del Mar Fairgrounds May Get More Local Control

By Alison St John / Reporter
Published April 22, 2013 at 2:10 PM PDT
This story was published more than 11 years ago.
Aerial view of the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
San Diego County Fair & Del Mar Fairgrounds
Aerial view of the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

The Del Mar Fairgrounds belong to the State of California, but what happens there has a major impact on neighboring communities in San Diego.

Del Mar Fairgrounds May Get More Local Control
A plan to have more local control over the Del Mar Fairgrounds is before San Diego County Supervisors this week.

Back in 2010, the tiny City of Del Mar offered to buy the Fairgrounds from the state for $120 million. That deal fell through but residents of Del Mar, Solana Beach and north San Diego would still like more say in future developments there.

The County has been in discussion with the Fair Board and come up with a plan for a Joint Powers Authority.

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Supervisor Dave Roberts, who represents that district, said the Fairgrounds generate jobs and economic activity, but also noise and traffic.

“Currently, the nine members on the Fair Board are appointed by the Governor in Sacramento," Roberts said. “So there hasn’t always been that connection with the local impact. I think adding five seats appointed by the County Board of Supervisors will help.”

Dave Roberts said some of his constituents would like to see members from neighboring cities, such as Del Mar and Solana Beach, appointed to the new Joint Powers Authority.

However, that’s not in the plan before the Supervisors on Tuesday at 9 am. The proposal by Supervisors Greg Cox and Ron Roberts would allow each of the five supervisors to nominate one member to the Joint Powers Authority, even though the Fairgrounds is not in the district they represent.

The partnership would leave most of the day-to-day operation of the Fairgrounds as they are now. For matters not related to personnel, the Joint Powers Authority would operate according to county policy.

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Economy Regional GovernmentsSan Diego
Alison St John
Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.
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