Poway OKs plans for Blue Sky amphitheater

By Steve Dreyer

Plans for a scaled-down outdoor amphitheater at the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve were approved unanimously Tuesday night by the Poway City Council.

The amphitheater will have five concrete terraced rows of seats with a capacity of up to 150 people. The seats will face a 20-foot diameter circular stage. It will be used for city staff, docents and guests to present nature education programs at the reserve, according to a staff report.

Nearly 10 years ago the council approved far more ambitious plans for a 6,000-square-foot educational interpretive center with a 300-seat outdoor amphitheater. A nonprofit organization was formed to raise the estimated $5.75 million needed to build the facilities. The drive, which raised $100,740, was suspended following the 2007 Witch Creek fire that burned most of the reserve, and the economic recession. The foundation disbanded and the money was conditionally turned over to the city.

That money will be used to build the small amphitheater, Senior Planner Jim Lyon told the council.

The amphitheater will have no permanent lighting or sound system, Lyon said. A portable one-speaker sound system will be allowed for larger groups, he said.