DEL MAR—Even before the horse community had a chance to raise its collective voice, hundreds of residents near the Del Mar Horse Park are protesting a concept to bring temporary homeless housing to the show facility.

The 65-acre Horse Park, under the purview of the 22nd District Agricultural Association that manages the Del Mar Fairgrounds, apparently is not under any immediate impact.

Carlene Moore, the fairground’s deputy manager, said in published reports that fairgrounds staff are not evaluating any specific agency proposals related to housing for the homeless at this point.

“What we are looking at is really the issue of temporary and homeless housing, and whether or not that is a fit for the fairgrounds and the community,” she said.

Moore said the 22nd DAA – the fairground’s operating entity – has been considering options for housing the region’s homeless population since Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order regarding the state’s homelessness crisis in January. was reportedly considered a candidate for a project pitched byis hoping to make one thing clear: the fairgrounds is not breaking ground on any such project, anytime soon.

The order required the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture to “conduct an initial assessment of fairgrounds in or near jurisdictions where a shelter crisis is currently in effect…”

Moore said the fairgrounds initially struggled with the order, due to the number of large events that usually take place at the 340-acre, state-owned property.

But with the grounds now essentially empty into the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 pandemic, temporary housing for the homeless has become a more feasible option. Such a plan might allow the fairgrounds to pull in some revenue from a land lease, as the self-funded 22nd DAA faces an approximately 90% loss in revenue this year.

The fairgrounds would not be operating the site but renting the property to an agency specializing in coordinating homeless housing facilities. Staff are studying the potential of both the fairgrounds proper and horse park, located off of El Camino Real a few miles to the east.

At about the same time staff began to assess this possibility, the 22nd DAA received a project outline from Los Angeles company Fixx Solutions, proposing a temporary, modular housing concept for area homeless.

Dan Quirk of Del Mar launched a change.org petition to oppose the proposal.