County extends Fallbrook Sports Association lease at airpark

The lease the Fallbrook Sports Association has for use of Fallbrook Community Airpark has been extended until 2035.

The lease which was scheduled to expire in 2018 was replaced by a new 20-year lease effective April 1, 2015, and terminating on March 31, 2035. The new lease was approved on a 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote March 18.

"Extending Fallbrook Sports Association's lease is a win for everyone involved, but especially for the parents and children in Fallbrook," said Supervisor Bill Horn. "I'm glad that they'll be providing their activities on our airpark land for another 20 years to come."

The Board of Supervisors approved a 20-year lease in August 1998 for the 18.49 acres used as the Fallbrook Sports Park. The Fallbrook Sports Association worked with the county's Department of Parks and Recreation and with community donors to fund the initial development of the Fallbrook Sports Park along with the subsequent improvements. Park Land Dedication Ordinance (PLDO) funding provided by developers to fund park facilities in the development's community is not required to be used for a county park as long as the park is open to the public (facilities can be reserved during part of the venue's open hours), and PLDO funding has been used for some of the improvements.

The Fallbrook Sports Park currently consists of two baseball or softball fields, an artificial turf indoor soccer field, and an artificial turf multi-purpose field which can accommodate baseball, softball, outdoor soccer, gridiron football, rugby, lacrosse, and other sporting activities. The sports park also has a small building which houses the snack bar, an office, and restrooms. Both the fields and the parking lots are lighted to allow for nighttime use.

The lease was to have expired in 2018, but the Fallbrook Sports Association requested a new 20-year lease so that long-range business plans could be made to continue to operate the Fallbrook Sports Park beyond 2018. The new lease decreases the leasehold area from 18.49 acres to 18.28 acres by removing a small unused area. That removed area will allow for future improvements by an adjacent agricultural leasehold.

The new lease also increased the rent to the current market rate for the usable area; the monthly rate which had been $1,958 will initially be $2,025 and annual rent increases of three percent will be implemented through the 10th year, when the rent will be renegotiated to the appraised fair market vale. The county also now has better protections through the updated lease language which reflects 2015 county standards.