Life Time Poway

Indoor hours: 5:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Outdoor hours: 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM

• The hours proposed align with our other Southern California clubs. The reason for these hours is to ensure we are providing an operation to best serve our members and meeting our mission to provide a place for everyone.
• The Farm Specific Plan is approved for ‘The Club’ operating hours from Sunrise to 10pm (indoor and outdoor). The intent of Life Time’s proposal is to define Sunrise as 5am for indoor operations, limit outdoor operations until 7am and to be clear on hours of operation for both indoor and outdoor uses.

• One-story building that is less than 35' at its tallest point.

• Life Time is proposing a one-story, ~30,500sf indoor facility with a peak height of 35ft.
• Life Time is also proposing outdoor amenities of ~62,000 sf, including a lap pool, leisure pool, spa, group fitness, café with bar, Kid’s Academy, and 6 pickleball courts.
• The Project is proposed on the same 6.8-acre site originally identified as ‘The Club’ in The Farm Specific Plan. ‘The Club’ property was approved for ~100,000 sf of combined indoor and outdoor programming. Life Time’s proposal provides just under 100,000 sf of indoor and outdoor programming.
• Compared to the approved Specific Plan, the proposed 30,500 sf indoor facility brings a larger portion of the programmed space indoors. Bringing activities indoors will not only help to mitigate noise, but will also offer additional fitness and social amenities that will support the community and maintain the viability of the business into the future.

• The buffer is consistent with Specific Plan requirements, including a solid wall (6-14' tall) along with enhanced landscaping.

• Lighting is within Specific Plan requirements to prevent exposure beyond the property. All lighting is dark sky compliant.
• As a result of community feedback, Life Time revised the lighting plan to further reduce brightness, resulting in foot candle levels ranging from 1.6 – 8.2 foot candles.
• All outdoor light fixtures will be integrated with timing devices to turn off lights during non-operational hours, except as required for security or by City Ordinance.

• Pickleball Noise:
  • The acoustical analysis was completed for the entire club operations and demonstrates the project is consistent with The Farm Specific Plan requirements and will not exceed a Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) 60.0. The analysis considers pickleball and all the associated sounds, which demonstrates Life Time will not exceed the requirements of CNEL 60.0.
  • The pickleball industry is looking to find technology and ways to make the sport quieter. As the nation’s largest pickleball operator, Life Time looks forward to implementing that technology as soon as it becomes viable.
• Other Outdoor Amenity Noise (Pool Deck & Outdoor Classes):
  • Some of the best mitigation for noise is topography, landscaping, and site location, which Life Time puts at the forefront of design while maintaining a viable business that meets the intent of The Farm Specific Plan.
  • To meet The Farm Specific Plan requirements, Life Time will:
    • Adhere to specific requirements of speaker levels.
    • Implement silent disco technology within the outdoor Group Fitness areas.
    • Install enhanced landscaping and fencing surrounding the site, including the pickleball courts, to provide sound attenuation. The fencing will be Trex fencing, or similar, for sound attenuation to provide the same sound attenuation properties as padding with a more appealing aesthetic.
    • Adhere to Outdoor Hours of operation 7am – 10pm.
  • ‘The Club’ is currently zoned for a recreational club and the Specific Plan identifies ‘The Club’, to include outdoor recreational courts, swimming, and other fitness amenities.

• 3D renderings illustrating site context will be included in the application.

• SANDAG Methodology & Internal Capture
  • Life Time has engaged a certified traffic engineer to perform a traffic impact analysis to evaluate the impact Life Time’s proposal has on the original Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA). The updated TIA uses the same transportation analyses and methods used in the original approved TIA for The Farm. Therefore, as noted in Table 7-3 of the original TIA and Table 4 of the revised TIA to reflect Life Time’s proposal, the SANDAG methodology is the same, including for internal capture and trip reductions allowed for transit access. These tables follow SANDAG guidance for internal capture rates.
  • The trip generation calculations followed standard procedures utilized in preparing traffic studies throughout the region. The independent variable used to calculate the number of trips for a health club by SANDAG is the gross floor area of the buildings. Not only did SANDAG count the trips that use the indoor portion of the health club facility, but indirectly the outdoor and incidental uses were also included in the final SANDAG gross floor area rate for health clubs. The SANDAG method that relies on gross floor area is applied since it is common for patrons of a health and fitness club to use multiple portions of the site during a visit (or one portion and not the other) and therefore it would not be accurate to count all uses as separate trips.
  • In line with this standard practice, LLG analyzed whether Life Time’s proposal, which increased Gross Floor Area of ‘The Club’ from 6,000 to 30,500 sf, would result in any new or significant impacts. LLG found that even though the proposed project would result in a slightly higher ADT at ‘The Club’ than previously analyzed in The Farm in Poway Specific Plan Environmental Impact Report (TFIPSP EIR), this would not result in any new or more significant impacts beyond what was already disclosed and analyzed in the TFIPSP EIR.

 

• Life Time intends to contain its membership parking within the limits of the parking lot. As a paid membership facility, Life Time’s members expect convenient access to the club without having to circle the parking lot.
• According to the approved zoning for the site, Life Time is only required to install 158 stalls, however 246 stalls are being proposed due to analyzing other Life Time locations of similar caliber and size to provide an enhanced member experience.
• As a national operator of fitness and recreation facilities with over 170 locations to analyze, Life Time carefully plans adequate parking for projected member attendance. The number of members does not dictate daily attendance.

• Local Resident Incentives
  • While Life Time does not offer discounted memberships, the price at Poway will be comparable to Life Time’s existing clubs in Southern California. It is difficult to be precise, since the Poway Club is not projected to open until 2026. Currently, Southern California facility membership rates start at $299/month. Each additional add-on for family memberships is roughly $100/month. Junior Memberships (under 12 years) is roughly $80/month.
  • Six months prior to the Poway Club opening, a waitlist for new memberships will begin to establish the current market demand and an appropriate pricing structure. At this point, Life Time would utilize the waitlist projection to determine the feasibility of providing incentives to The Farm residents.
• Medicare Health Benefit Programs
  • Many of Life Time’s clubs currently accept benefits from Medicare Advantage/Supplement plans, including the La Jolla and San Clemente clubs. The expectation is to be similar in Poway. There are links on the Life Time website that provide additional details on compatible membership providers like Silver Sneakers and Renew Active, along with how to enroll. These programs and offerings change based on the providers, but currently there are no limits to the number of Medicare members per location.
• Guest Passes
  • Life Time welcome guests, whether with a member or as a walk-in visitor interested in learning more about Life Time.
  • As part of the membership benefits, members receive four complimentary guest passes each month. A non-member may utilize a member guest pass once every sixty days. More than one visit within a sixty-day window by the same individual requires the purchase of a one-day membership (regardless of location visited).
  • Ages 13 and younger are complimentary with a one-day membership purchase.
• Life Time Locations & Access
  • As a member of Life Time Poway, you will have access to all Life Time locations in Southern California, and across the country.
• Childcare
  • 2.5 hours of child care per day are available to members.
  • Occupancy of the Kids Academy is determined by the Fire Marshall, and the State of California licensing division. If capacity is reached at any point in a given day, Life Time would have the unfortunate reality of turning junior members away from checking into the Academy, until capacity alleviated.

 

• The proposed development's Modern Agrarian design reflects Poway's "City in the Country" feel and Specific Plan design guidelines.

• We support open, transparent communication and regular updates will be provided here.

• ‘The Club’ property was previously the Stone Ridge Country Club and was zoned for a recreational club prior to Life Time’s application. The Specific Plan for The Farm identifies residential areas as well as a 6.8-acre site, ‘The Club’, to be managed by a professional firm and to be available to residents of surrounding communities on a private membership basis.
• With the City of Poway specifically in mind, Life Time has designed an athletic club to both meet the intent of the Specific Plan for ‘The Club’ and contain all the health and fitness programming needed to ensure a viable business for many years to come.

• Life Time intends to be a fixture of this community for many years to come.
• Over Life Time’s 30-year history, Life Time has never closed a club that was built from the ground up.
• As an operator of over 170 locations across the US and Canada, Life Time has roughly 20 locations of similar size to what is proposed in Poway.
• Life Time would not be making a $30 million investment in the construction of this facility if confidence in the viability of success was lacking.

• Life Time currently has an application for a Specific Plan Amendment submitted to the City of Poway. The understanding is Life Time’s application will be put on the City Council’s public hearing agenda to be voted on by the City Council. If this is approved by the City Council, contingent upon a city-wide public vote, it would be voted on in the November 2024 election. At this point, if Life Time receives approval contingent upon a city-wide public vote, a 2025 construction commencement is anticipated, with a grand opening some time in 2026. Life Time will continue to keep the Life Time Poway website up to date, including when public meetings are scheduled.