Galway Downs (CUP02303R1)

Project Location

The Project site comprises two parcels totaling approximately 241.6 acres, situated in the southwestern portion of unincorporated Riverside County. The 241.6-acre Project site that is the subject of this EIR is located within the Southwest Area Plan (SWAP) portion of unincorporated Riverside County and within the Temecula Valley Wine Country Policy Area. The Project site is situated approximately 0.3-mile east of State Route 79 (SR-79) and approximately 6 miles east of Interstate 15 (I-15). More specifically, the Project site comprises two parcels, Assessor’s Parcel Numbers (APNs) 927-160-001 and 927-160-002, located at the street address of 38801 Los Corralitos Road, Temecula, CA 92592. The Project site is bounded to the west and south by Los Corralitos Road; to the east by Pauba Road; and to the north by Los Caballos Road. The nature of the Project site and the surrounding area is characterized primarily by equestrian and winery uses, along with rural residential uses and open space.

Project Information

Under existing conditions, the Project site consists of an existing events center that features a variety of recreational-related amenities, including a horse racetrack, stables, barns, arenas, and other equestrian facilities; polo fields; lodging facilities; retail and restaurant/dining space; recreational vehicle (RV) park with club house; grooms quarters; office space; clock tower house, and storage spaces.

Galway Downs is an existing events facility that first opened in the 1960’s and has a current street address of 38801 Los Corralitos Road. It operates under four (4) approved Conditional Use Permits (CUPs), including CUP 001127, CUP 00966, CUP 01615, and CUP 02303.

The Project Applicant (SFT Realty Galway Downs, LLC) is seeking approval of Revision No. 1 to CUP 02303 (CUP 02303R1), a Change of Zone (CZ 22000010), and Exception No. 9 to Riverside County Noise Ordinance No. 847 (hereafter “proposed Project” or “Project”). The primary use of the site would continue to be equestrian related. The proposed Project would generally allow the Project Applicant to: (1) make physical and operational modifications on the property to attract higher level of competition for equestrian events that can be hosted on the site; (2) permit a portion of the site to host non-equestrian sports events (primarily on weekends and holiday weekends); and (3) designate areas of the site where exterior sound amplification can occur between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. without need to seek a separate permission for every event that includes sound amplification audible for a distance greater than 200 feet from the source.

New structures and uses that would be constructed, installed, or permitted on the site pursuant to proposed CUP 02303R1 include a new restroom building, an awards/ceremony area, a grand pavilion tent, an office trailer, a metal solar structure that is proposed to be placed over an existing arena to support rooftop solar panels (hereafter called “metal solar structure”), and additional area for equestrian recreational vehicle (RV) park use. Existing structures that would continue to be operated in connection with the Project include an existing 1,513-square-foot (s.f.) barn/storage building, an existing 624 s.f. storage building, an existing 1,560 s.f. polo field metal storage building, and an existing 360 s.f. manufactured storage structure. Additionally, areas are proposed where up to 36 park model lodging units could be placed in the future and where 18 additional employee modular housing units could be placed in the future; the design of these areas would be subject to future discretionary approval of Plot Plans by Riverside County. Notwithstanding, the environmental effects associated with the future construction and operation of the 36 park model lodging units and 18 additional employee modular housing units are evaluated throughout this EIR based on reasonably foreseeable conceptual designs that include the following characteristics: (1) Scale: The Park Model Lodging area would not exceed 36 units within the 5.50-acre Zone 3 area and the employee housing area would not exceed 18 units within the 2.76-acre Zone 4 area; and (2) Ground Disturbance: Grading within Zone 3 and Zone 4 would be limited to that necessary to prepare level pads for each unit and associated access and utility infrastructure; substantial alteration of existing topography or drainage patterns would not occur.

Exception No. 9 to Riverside County Noise Ordinance No. 847 is sought by the Project Applicant pursuant to Section 7.a.3 of Ordinance No. 847. Exception No. 9 would allow for sound amplifying equipment to operate on certain portions of the property between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. without need to seek a separate permission for every event that includes sound amplification that is audible beyond 200 feet from the source.

CZ 22000010 is sought by the Project Applicant to amend Article XIVd (Wine Country Zones [WC]) of Riverside County Ordinance No. 348 (herein “Ordinance No. 348”) to allow for operational enhancements at the site, which specifically would add definitions for three uses; modify the list of conditionally permitted uses within the “Wine Country – Equestrian (WC-E)” zone; slightly modify the General Standards applicable to the WC zone to expressly prohibit parking on public streets during special occasion events; modify the development standards for Class II equestrian establishments; and add new development standards for Wine Country Equestrian Park Model Lodging and Equestrian Recreational Vehicle Parks.

Environmental Review

Public Review Period

The County of Riverside is the Lead Agency under CEQA and is holding a 45-day public review period of the Draft EIR, during which time the public and interested parties are invited to comment on the Draft EIR for the Project. Comments on the adequacy of the analysis and the appropriateness of the Project may be made in writing or email, indicating the section of concern. Comments may include additional or alternative mitigation measures to those proposed in the document. The project name and numbers should be noted on all correspondence and the comments should indicate if you would like to be notified of public hearings. At this time, public hearings have not yet been scheduled.

Please note that the public comment period for the Draft EIR is from June 25, 2026, to August 10, 2026. All comments must be submitted to the County of Riverside at the address indicated below and must be received no later than 5:00 pm on August 10, 2026.

Riverside County Planning Department
Attn: Russell Brady, Project Planner
4080 Lemon Street, 12th Floor
PO Box 1409 Riverside, CA 92502
(951) 955-3025
email: [email protected]

Locations Where the Draft EIR May be Reviewed

The Draft EIR and its technical appendices may be reviewed online at the following link: CLICK HERE

To request a hardcopy of the Draft EIR, technical appendices or other project documents, please reach out to Russell Brady whose contact information is above.