Finally . . . Someone Might Be Paying Attention to Bonita Residents About the Horse Arena

Last night, a group of 50-100 concerned individuals attended the SPECIAL MEETING OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION PLANNING COMMISSION at the Norman Senior Park Center Conference Room on F Street in Chula Vista.

I apologize to you all for not taking photos inside the room and the attendees but I was so underwhelmed when I walked into the room that it slipped my mind. Let me describe the setting for you.

The room was ginormous, large enough for parties and galas with plenty of tables and chairs. But this was no party. This was serious business . . . one of our last—if not THE last—battles to keep our horse arena.

Several rows of chairs had been arranged at the back of the room with additional rows on the two sides of the room.

At the front of the room were three tables, formed in a square U-shape. The commissioners sat there with their backs to the audience and their voices traveling away from the attendees. There were no microphones.

Those, who had filled out a speaking form, were called one-by-one to the podium on the left side of the room. Instead of the normal 3-minute time allotment, we were allowed two minutes. Again no microphone and no timer to let you know how many minutes you had left in your speech time. I asked the secretary if she could give us an indication when we were almost out of time. She was wonderfully accommodating and raised her hand for each speaker, alerting them that they had 30 seconds left.

"My name is Darrell Jett. I’m a Bonita resident, a backyard horse owner, and a lifelong educator. I’m here to ask you, respectfully and urgently, not to remove the Rohr Park equestrian arena for more soccer fields. This arena is not just dirt and fencing. It represents over 40 years of continuous community use.. parents teaching children to ride, and now grandparents watching their grandchildren do the same. It is one of the last living reminders that Bonita and Chula Vista are still horse country. Equity matters here. Approximately 75% of equestrian participants are female. If this arena is removed, Chula Vista will be eliminating one of the few public athletic spaces where women and girls are the overwhelming majority. That is not equity.. it is erasure. This arena is also critical public-safety infrastructure. During the 2003 Cedar Fire and the 2007 Witch Fire, Rohr Park functioned as a large-animal evacuation site. Horses cannot be evacuated like cars or bicycles. There is no comparable replacement site proposed, identified, or even discussed. Removing this arena creates a real safety gap that cannot be solved later. The arena is also deeply woven into the local economy. Backyard horse owners in Bonita—permitted by county and codes support local feed stores, veterinarians, farriers, trainers, and small businesses throughout Chula Vista and the South Bay. Removing the arena harms more than recreation.. it harms livelihoods. Chula Vista residents benefit too. Every day, families walk the Rohr Park loop trail, stop to watch horses run, let children safely pet a horse for the first time, and experience something rare and memorable in an urban park system. That experience does not exist anywhere else in Chula Vista. And let’s be clear about scale. Chula Vista has 85 multi-use athletic fields.. and one equestrian arena. Eliminating the only arena does not create balance or fairness. Finally, I need to address trust. On November 20, 2025, the City’s own website still showed the arena remaining in place. Only later that same night at Providence house was a new vision presented showing lighted soccer fields and the complete removal of the arena. That feels like a bait-and-switch to the community that has supported this park for decades. Bonita is Chula Vista’s northern neighbor. Being a good neighbor means respecting history, safety, equity, and shared community assets. There are many Chula Vista residents who board their horses in Bonita and use the Rohr Park arena. Please keep the Rohr Park equestrian arena in the master plan.. permanently, publicly, and proudly. It should be a diamond of a proud city that embraces a marginalized disappearing connection to our past history that predates governments. Make Rohr park a star of your park portfolio commissioners! Thank you."—Darrell Jett

There were approximately fifteen presenters, maybe more. We had been instructed not to repeat information already stated by a speaker. That was difficult for me as I was called after most of the topics had been covered.

Finding no mic at the podium and being dwarfed by its size, I stepped away to stand in front of the commissioners to speak to them directly.

I started out with the fact that the Rohr Park Horse Arena was our evacuation site in times of disaster. I explained that the Del Mar area that Mr. Carson had told us to use was possibly disappearing. The Horse Park owners are currently trying to hold onto the land while the developers are pushing for a land grab.

I then switched to the argument that this is THEIR park, no longer Bonita's. And since they're adding so many amenities and making Rohr Park the Best-of-the-Best, why would they destroy this top-notch arena? Chula Vista will own the only arena in the South Bay and Rohr Park will have boasting rights.

"I appreciate you Commissioners being here and I appreciate you listening. But I want you to look at this differently. Don't look at it as Bonita's arena, its Chula Vista's arena. Chula Vista has this Primo Park, and it'd be the only place that has this gorgeous arena that was built by Muriel Watson—already done—and in pristine shape. You would be the people that have it. We have a lot of riders out of Chula Vista because they don't have much boarding there. They keep them over in Bonita. And Bonita's like the playground. Please don't ruin the playground. Make it yours. Embrace it. Please protect your little sister. Please protect us and keep that arena. It is such a value to you. And everyone would say, I'm going to Rohr Park because they have the coolest arena and horses walking around. And it's yours. It's not ours anymore. Please don't take it away."—Susan Heavilin

I'm here to respectfully ask that the Roar Park Equestrian Arena remain in master plan as a protected... The arena is one of the last publicly accessible riding arenas in the South Bay. It serves local families, not large boarding farms, and provides a safe place for children . . . and equestrians to ride. It's also a critical safety and evacuation resource during fires, smoke events, floodings and when horses run quickly. Rohn Park has always been a multi-use community space, and we can support youth sports, and preserve equestrian heritage. I respectfully urge you to keep the equestrian arena in the Master and maintain public access for the community and for San Diego County." —Jenny Lee

The public comment period ended soon after that and the commission discussion began. The secretary stated that 89 public e-comments were done online: 16 in support of removing the arena, 56 in opposition, 7 that were neutral and five emails.

Director Carson did the Power Point presentation on Rohr Park Master Plan that has been shown before. Then there was discussion on all the things they're adding: "recreational amenities would include, softball, our existing facilities are softball, soccer fields, volleyball, play areas, basketball courts, gym, two playgrounds, picnic shelter and tables, a dog park or actually two dog parks to each other, restrooms and equestrian arena, 3.3 mile multi-use trail, and the live steamers mini railroad train."

"Feedback that we got: top five amenities were more trees, dedicated sports fields, a gourmet community center, a club track or skate park, pickleball and tennis courts. Pickleball is obviously the number one. So recreation and gathering for the draft master plan, what was included was amphitheater, central plaza, splash pad, upgraded play areas, genius center, additional picnic tables, barbecues and shade structures, dedicated soccer and softball fields, an archery range, kickball and tennis courts, fitness and play pockets, a suspension bridge connecting the nature play area to a native demonstration garden and state park. So nature and restoration, expanded. We want a river and a pond at restoration, native garden demonstration area, and naturalized existing drainage channels, new trees and native planting. So sustainability access improves stormwater and irrigation systems, accessible trails, and recreation areas for all ages, added benches, watering stations, solar lighting, and dog waste stations, upgraded restrooms, and additional restrooms."—Director Frank Carson

The Commissioners had been introduced to some new information from the public comments and they were asking questions of Director Carson. Commissioner Jessica Fawver asked some pointed questions after revealing that her father was from Sunnyside. Other Commissioners jumped into the discussion and seemed to want more discussion on keeping the arena. They had noticed that the public had a very short period to react and were concerned about it. Chair Martin Calvo made a motion to put it on the agenda and was asking for a second when I believe Director Carson shut it down. I'm not sure about that because we really could not hear what they were saying and Mr. Carson's back was to us.If anyone has this information, please write it in the comments at the bottom of the page.

Here is a chart of the commissioners that I made with their districts and when their term ends.

PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSIONERS

NAME	DISTRICT	APPT CRITERIA	TERM
Martin Calvo (Chair)	1	At-large	2028
Jessica Fawver	1	At-large	2028
John Zarem*	1	Dist 1 Representative	2029
Brianna Englehart	2	At-large	2027
Nicole Enriquez	2	Dist 2 Representative	2006
Ashleigh Padilla (Vice Chair)	3	Dist 3 Representative	2027
Michelle Rodriguez	4	Dist 4 Representative	2026

*Will continue to serve until vacant seat is filled | Click on image to enlarge

On a personal note, they need to change the location of these meetings. You can't hear anything. Other cities in San Diego County use their Council Chambers for their Commission Meetings. Chula Vista has a beautiful Council Chamber with good lighting, microphones, comfortable seating and the meetings are videotaped so you can watch them online.

All in all, this was the best meeting I've been to since this Rohr Park Master Plan began. The Commissioners were polite, friendly, intelligent and gave full attention to the speakers. They paid attention to the content and commented to each other about items that concerned them. I was looking at Director Carson's back the entire meeting but was told by several that his face and ears turned red when the Commissioners were discussing maybe having a new survey. My take from this meeting was that the Commissioners thought there was merit in keeping the arena and Director Carson was not happy. Fingers crossed!

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