Poway property with lazy river and ballpark

This palatial estate in Poway caused quite a stir with neighbors several years ago when the owner decided to construct his field of dreams without obtaining the proper permits.

In 2005, sports agent Jonathan Weisz asked Poway officials for permission to build a complete baseball field with dugouts, lights, and a backstop on the 42-acre estate at 18880 Old Coach Way. The Poway City Council shot him down on a 3-1 vote. Weisz went ahead and built the field anyway, though omitting the dugouts and stadium lighting, saying he was acting on the advice of then-mayor Mickey Cafagna.

In August 2009, the city council changed course and voted unanimously to let Weisz keep the field and to issue a permit for its construction after the fact, as long as it were used for private purposes only, such as providing a practice facility for his three sons.

In addition to the ball field, the property boasts a barn, horse corral and riding arena, basketball court, and batting cages. There’s also a disappearing-edge pool with spa and its own lazy river.

Then there are the residences. The main house, built in 2006 and described in the listing as “nothing less than a masterpiece of luxury living,” has 12,764 square feet of living area and a six-car garage with “showroom quality fixtures.” A guest house on the property adds another 3000 square feet.

Inside is a “30-foot-long kitchen with two refrigerators, walk-in pantry, espresso bar, [and] warming oven” that was designed to “maximize efficiency as well as attractiveness.” There’s bar seating for four, as well as a breakfast area with “light and bright” seating for six or more.

The home has a private gym with commercial-quality weight machines and its own spa with an indoor hot tub, sauna, and two large walk-in showers. A home theater offers terraced seating for nine, and the game room houses billiards and foosball tables in addition to a wall-length wet bar.

“The great room is indeed great,” the property’s marketing materials assure, “with ceiling arching 30 feet overhead plus large glass pocket doors that open gracefully and vanish to comfortably blend the outdoor lanai and covered patio with the indoor living area.”

Care was taken to site the residence in an ideal location atop a hill overlooking Maderas Golf Club and views of the surrounding landscape, described as the “often golden, sometimes green rolling hills.”

The property has been on and off the market several times since it was originally listed in August 2011, when the seller was soliciting offers for between $9.2 million and $11 million. After no luck attracting a buyer, the price was lowered the following January to a flat $6.9 million. With no buyers to be found, the property was taken off the market in June 2012, re-listed from November 2012 to January 2013, and off the market again until it was re-listed last month with the asking price changed again. Weisz now says he will entertain offers between $8.9 million and $10.9 million.