County Ok's purchase of historic Fallbrook ballfield to build affordable housing

The games may be numbered at a historic baseball field in San Diego’s North County.

On Tuesday, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the purchase of a 3.04-acre parcel from the North County Fire Protection District with the intent to develop more affordable housing. Right now, that land is home to the Bonsall Fallbrook Little League and a baseball field that was built in 1914.

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Before the vote, the four county supervisors listened to several phone calls from Fallbrook residents who opposed the plan to build homes where the field now stands.

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“Parks and recreation are not a luxury," said one caller. "They are a critical part of healthy, connected and a thriving community."

“While I fully support the county's urgent need for affordable housing, I strongly oppose the development of this land for that purpose,” added another.

“Equity is not achieved by trading one community hardship with another in an underserved area,” argued yet another.

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The Little League administrators previously told NBC 7 they have already tried finding a new location for their fields. However, they said, none of those locations would allow them to install lights for nighttime sports. The lights extend their operation hours and allows the fields to host more sports, teams and generate more revenue.

Before the vote, District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond, who represents Fallbrook said, “I'd like to let the Fallbrook community know that I'm going to be bringing an agenda item forward to explore options for more parkland, and also additional ballfields.

"I don't want to see us lose that opportunity or lose those ballfields,” Desmond continued, "and if we can put them someplace else, I'm going to be bringing forward an item to look into that.”

There are currently no plans to develop the ballfields. The Bonsall Fallbrook Little League president told NBC 7 the county could take the land early with a 60-day notice before their five-year lease expires.