Presented at the February 1, 2006 Parks & Recreation Commission meeting.

Introduction

This report is submitted to the San Carlos Parks and Recreation Commission as a response to the San Carlos Fields Use Committee’s majority recommendations.

The San Carlos City Council formed this committee in early 2005 and presented the committee with the following objectives:

• Determine the current and projected field space needs
• Identify options to secure additional field space
• Identify financing options and costs
• Identify impact to neighbors and the community
• Identify obstacles and solutions to securing additional space

Although committee members and city staff contributed considerable amounts of data, these data ultimately was not used to formulate its recommendation. The committee failed to agree on specific field space needs, never developed objective criteria for its recommendations and adjourned before completing the analysis of the cost of its recommendations.

Part One: Rebuttal to the Majority Opinion

1. Installation of synthetic turf at Highlands Park is inappropriate for a number of reasons.

A.The natural grass field is not much more than 10 years old and is in reasonably good condition. Further, the committee heard that the field quality could be dramatically improved if today’s field was replaced with a natural grass field more appropriate to our climate and usage.

B. Highlands Park is already the most heavily used park in San Carlos and a synthetic turf conversion would create a significant neighborhood impact

• 5 tennis courts, three baseball diamonds, two full size soccer fields and the city’s only lit soccer field.
• The Committee was presented with a likely usage plan if Highlands is converted to synthetic turf that, on weekdays, would hold practice for 10 soccer teams or roughly 120 players at a time and 240 players jamming the streets as one practice ends and another begins.
• Aberdeen Road (Highlands Park’s single access road) is also access for over 70 homes and provides emergency access for an additional 30 homes.

C. Highlands Field, because of its large size, is used primarily for older youths and adults, and thus this doesn’t solve the San Carlos need for field space, which the committee concluded was primarily for youths under the age of 12.

D. Conversion to synthetic turf would significantly impact the community’s access to the park for non-league, or drop-in, utilization of the facility.

2. Heather Elementary School is not an ideal synthetic turf facility.
   1. The committee unanimously agreed to NOT recommend adding lights to this facility. The full committee recognizes that Heather resides on a prominent plateau with line of sight to a large area of San Carlos. The Minority Committee go one step further to recommend that that lighted fields should NOT be the community’s top priority.
   2. Heather School is an elementary school and the secondary benefit of improving school children’s athletic education during school hours, is better served at a San Carlos middle school (Tierra Linda or Central).
   3. Heather is just one block from Highlands Park and conversion to synthetic turf would contribute to the traffic, and safety issues.
   4. Heather School is a particularly high density residential area.
   5. Due to its canyon location, additional noise generated at Heather will impact a substantial number of residences

3. The benefits of Highlands & Heather conversion are narrow.
   1. The committee agreed that the community doesn’t get a substantial increase in new playable hours by converting an existing field.
   2. Most of the new playable hours created by these conversions come at times (winter) that aren’t in synch with San Carlos’ field demand problem (fall and spring).
   3. The cost per new playable hour of these fields is extremely expensive and solutions with greater benefits or lesser cost were dismissed as too difficult to accomplish

4. The Majority recommendation of three conversions to artificial turf is expensive and was made without adequately considering the benefits to our community.
   1. Cost estimates were never completed before the committee made its recommendation.
   2. The committee learned that natural grass, if not overused, can last indefinitely and be replenished inexpensively relative to artificial turf. By contrast, artificial turf has a finite life (10 year warranty) and repairs can be expensive. Redwood City and other towns all factored replacement costs into their financial analysis.
   3. The full committee voted unanimously to sell City owned land ONLY to acquire new land that would be appropriate for a new field but the final recommendation was to sell City owned land to fund turf conversions that will ultimately wear out. The Minority committee believes that City owned land should only be sold in connection with acquiring new space for a new San Carlos park.
   4. The committee did not include the cost of bathroom facilities at Heater School.

5. Natural grass contributes to the San Carlos quality of life.
   1. Natural grass is an important element for our parks and synthetic surfaces should be used sparingly.

Part Two: Minority Recommendations

Tom Davids and Brad Lewis are both City Council Members and served as the Chair and Co-Chair of the Fields Use Committee. Davids and Lewis recommended a Compromise Proposal that was voted down. The Minority Committee supports key elements of the proposal and has summarized the highlights of this proposal below:

1. Top Priority: Build a new park.The minority believes that San Carlos has a capacity problem and that the top priority, the most benefit on our investment and the only solution that maximizes field space during peak periods is the creation of a new field.(San Carlos has only 8 fields while similar communities like Belmont and Foster City have considerably more (11 and 17 respectively)).

A.The Committee investigated selling City owned property (Chilton & North Crestview) and using the proceeds to purchase property in San Carlos’ East Side that would be appropriate for a sports facility with lights.

B.City Staff reported that if a suitable lot(s) could be identified that the sale of property would cover both acquisition and development.

C.The Committee also investigated developing the North Crestview property. Originally zoned as an Interstate 280 on-ramp, this property is large enough for a new park and soccer field.

2. Short Term Priority: Convert Tierra Linda to synthetic turf.

A.The city’s immediate needs for all-weather field space can be accommodated by converting a single field to synthetic turf

B. While this is not a new field, this field is not currently maintained or brokered by the City and only gets minimal support from the School district.If renovated, this effectively makes it new additional field space. (except SC Girls Softball – see below).

C. Field is currently poor quality and unusable by some youth sports.

D. New grading and configuration of ball fields would permit a new full size soccer field, which yields the same facilities as possible at Heather.

E. T.L. campus supports 2 schools encompassing about 750 students during school hours, enabling more SC youth to utilize a City-installed field.

F. T.L. is the home base of San Carlos’ Girls Softball league, which should get as much City support of its facilities as do boys baseball leagues.

G. San Carlos School District representatives support the field conversion at Tierra Linda, thereby expanding the District’s relationship with the City.

H. There is less neighborhood impact at T.L. than other sites.Many of the league participants would be able to go directly to practice after school, without requiring additional transportation.

I. Creating a synthetic turf field will help reduce scheduling on naturalgrass fields and protect the City’s investments in these fields.

Summary

We recommend conversion of the field at Tierra Linda to synthetic turf and acquisition and development of a new sports field.This solution provides the most benefit for San Carlos residents given our current resources.