Forty years ago, Paul and Betty Valenzuela rented nearly 7 acres of land from San Juan Capistrano to offer the community a space to house horses. Now, their son is set to purchase the property.
The 6.78 acres are slated to be sold to the Paul J. Valenzuela Trust to preserve the home of the Mission Trails Equestrian Stable for an appraised value of $1.47 million, according to a resolution unanimously approved by the City Council last month. The land, regardless of owner, must be used for equestrian stable operations, according to the purchase and sale agreement for the property.
The Mission Trails Stables, located at 28432 Calle Arroyo, was started by the Valenzuelas as a place for people to not only house their horses but also a space where the community could get an up-close look at all of the creatures. The center is open to the public and houses 130 horses, with three equestrian trainers on site.
Valenzuela’s parents died a few years ago, and he said keeping the stables makes him “feel close to them.”
“My parents were part of a lot of the history of San Juan Capistrano, and so it is nice to finally be able to purchase this property and dedicate it to them,” Valenzuela said.
San Juan Capistrano owns the approximately 13.5 acres of land that the stables are a part of, next to Mission Springs’ residential development. Other than the stables, the land is occupied by the C. Russell Cook Park, a portion of the San Juan Creek and two public trails; only the stable land is being sold.
The city designated that land as “surplus” in 2023, and Valenzuela inquired about purchasing it in August.
City staff plan to return to the City Council on April 2 with a recommendation to solidify the purchase agreement and hear any possible protests of the sale from the public. Then, once the agreement is approved, the proceeds of the sale will be deposited into the city’s general fund, according to the agenda report.
Councilmember Howard Hart was…
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