The playground and pickleball courts at the Butterfield Commons on Strawberry Creek will remain open and available to the public at least until early November.
Despite plans to begin groundbreaking for the amphitheater (a band shell) this month, the San Jacinto Mountain Community Center board is still working with the Riverside County Planning Department to complete the final studies and review before scheduling a public hearing on the project’s plans.
The board hopes that will occur in October and construction of the amphitheater, driveway and parking areas will begin shortly afterward. The intent is still to complete the work before June 2017.
Satisfying the county’s needs for approval to proceed, the SJMCC had to furnish reports on archaeological findings, traffic control plans for events, a tree analysis and exemption report, environmental and biological site assessments, an acoustical study, a greenhouse gas analysis, a photometric study, and air- and water-quality reports.
The 5-acre site was a gift to the SJMCC from Loie and Dave Butterfield in 2008. The Butterfields subsequently pledged $2 million toward developing the site and the amphitheater.
