PoloBARN News Briefs November 2000

"Save our Trails" Ride Set to Preserve Equestrian Lifestyle By DIANE HENSLEY INDIO - It's inevitable. The sum of a good economy and a scenic resort area fertile for growth was sure to eventually equal large-scale development. But, unfortunately, thousands of residents that dropped stakes here, buying into the desert mystique, open space and big sky, don't factor into the multiplying retail space, plans for dense housing and road-widening projects to accommodate increased traffic. But a few activist-minded residents are figuring out ways to balance the economic equation in favor of preservation. Tracey Darroll, of Rancho Cheetah, is one of them. Darroll, a long-time polo player and Cheetah Software patron who owns property in Vista Santa Rosa, a newly designated Community Council in the Coachella Valley, is leading efforts to stop the madness in her community. Angered over a Ralphs grocery store planned for construction near Eldorado and Empire polo clubs at Jefferson and Ave. 50, and over a planned dense residential project adjacent to her property with multiple homes planned per acre, she rallied her neighbors together and formed a coalition to fight the development and save the trails. Such building would degrade the area's pristine landscape, discount its attractiveness as a remote getaway and limit open space and trails designated for equestrians that are used by many polo club members, she said in a telephone interview. "I just couldn't believe it. They got away with it legally. They sent development notices to all residents within 300 feet," Darroll said, "but out there, the only thing within 300 feet of the development might be a lizard. That's how they get away with it." Landowners in unincorporated areas with objections have a voice through due process to affect the outcome of development issues, but if no one knows about planned projects because of the faulty notification requirements, the opportunity to express an opinion is lost, she said. She found out, however, that it wasn't too late, so she contacted all of her neighbors and organized. She took her complaint to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and supervisor Roy Wilson designated Vista Santa Rosa a Community Council on November 7, under resolution 2000-318. Designation as a community council gives residents of the designated area a similar status and legislative voice as other unincorporated desert areas such as Sky Valley, Mecca, Indio Hills and Thermal; that also operate through the community council vehicle. "They are an organized body set up to present issues relative to the community. They provide input to Supervisor Wilson on public health, safety, welfare, public works and planning. The supervisor considers the council's viewpoint and relies on their input and recommendations when he makes decisions," Wilson's legislative assistant Leticia Delara said. Each council must designate a chairperson whom Wilson must ultimately appoint, Delara said. Darroll said her council has unanimously selected actor, restaurateur and Thermal area resident Bill Devane as the council's spokesperson and "mayor-elect." Devane is a horseman, an avid environmentalist and a proponent of protecting the valley's natural resources including a project to save the Salton Sea. Efforts to contact Devane at press time were unsuccessful. Darroll has also published two issues of the Community Council's newsletter, The Vista Santa Rosa Gazette. In it, she said the group is endeavoring to become a formal "Community of Interest" under the Local Area Formation Commission of Riverside County (LAFCO). The Vista Santa Rosa group fears annexation into La Quinta, slated for city council consideration in January. That designation will enable the group to study annexation issues (and potentially delay the annexation) for two years. Though Darroll admits she's nothing like activist Sally Field portrayed in "Norma Rae," she's getting results with the help of other members of the polo community including Sue Sally Hale, of Indio, and Eldorado Polo Club's Alex Jacoy, who's agreed to adjust playing schedules of the "Go Honey" tournament on Saturday to accommodate the trail ride.

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