City of Chula Vista Wants Horses Shuffled Off to Imaginary Evacuation Site When Wildfires Hit Bonita-Sunnyside

Rohr Park Horse Arena railing

At the "Final" Rohr Park Master Plan Meeting, many Bonita-Sunnyside residents and horse owners begged the City of Chula Vista to keep our Rohr Park Equestrian Arena for training, turnout and evacuation in the case of a disaster. They requested they leave the arena in place and find another location for the new soccer fields.

Director of Chula Vista Parks & Recreation Frank Carson did not appear to be looking for a solution. He coldly uttered a message to all present, "Drive to Del Mar." (Imagine Clint Eastwood as "Dirty Harry" whispering "Make my day" and you've captured the moment.)

Have you every tried to get horses into a ink-black tin box (trailer) when they are frightened, much less when the smell of smoke and fire is assailing their nostrils? Not an easy task. Owning more than one or two horses would require several trips. And if you don't have your own trailer, you'd have to wait in line with everyone else to get a pick up from a very busy horse transporter.

In addition, Mr. Carson then wants us to navigate that trailer—loaded with spooked horses—through evacuation traffic, nearby fires, sirens, bright lights, fire engines and police vehicles to a possibly already jam-packed facility miles away. You won't know how bad it is until you get there . . . if you even do arrive.

I wondered if it was the Del Mar Fairgrounds he was speaking of because I don't believe they would accommodate all the horses, especially if a Del Mar Horse Show was in the works. No, not the Del Mar Fairgrounds. So what was Mr. Carson referring to?

Ah, maybe the Del Mar HorsePark, a 65-acre equestrian facility owned by the State of California. No, that can't be . . . look what I found on FaceBook.

They're going through their own "land grab by developers" battle.

It looks like the Friends of Del Mar HorsePark fought the battle back in June 7, 2023 and were successful! They signed up 17,256 supporters who helped save Del Mar HorsePark.

Unfortunately, the developers came back for a second bite on November 12, 2025. Carla Hayes has started a new petition for you to sign and share with others.

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So now where do we take horses in an evacuation situation?

It's much like that saying about parachuting . . . "Why jump out of a perfectly good plane?"

Well the same thing goes for horse arenas. Why leave a perfectly good large-animal evacuation site in the middle of a disaster to look for another undetermined safe spot that may or many not even exist???

That's insane!

There are two meetings tomorrow that you could attend and speak what's on your mind.

The Sweetwater Community Planning Group will be meeting this Tuesday, December 2nd at 7:00 PM. It's at the Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Protection District located at 4900 Bonita Road, Bonita, CA 91902-1705. Action Item 6 is in regard to supporting a letter written by the Bonita Valley Horsemen. Read the letter and meeting agenda at "Rohr Park Horse Arena is on Agenda of 12.02.25 Sweetwater Community Planning Group".

If you'd like to voice your opinion directly to the Chula Vista Mayor and City Council, you could attend one or all of their weekly Tuesday meetings. The next meeting is Tuesday, December 02, 2025 at 5:00 PM. It will be held in Council Chambers, 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA

Watch live in English and Spanish: chulavistaca.gov/councilmeetings

or Cox Ch. 24 (English only).

Free Spanish interpretation is available on-site.

In-Person Public Comments: Submit a request to speak to City Clerk staff before the close of the public comment period on an item or before the close of the general Public Comment period for non-agenda items.

Electronic Public Comments: At chulavistaca.gov/councilmeetings, locate the meeting and click the comment bubble icon. Select the item and click "Leave Comment." You may also email cityclerk@chulavistaca.gov. eComments, emails, and other written comments must be received by the day of the meeting at noon for a regular meeting or three hours before the start time for a special meeting.

Watch Live or Recorded (English and Spanish): Visit chulavistaca.gov/councilmeetings. Click "ES" at the bottom to switch to Spanish. Closed captioning is available in both languages.

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