Dec. 21st, 2006

City to fund study, explore ways to develop more playing fields

By Eli Segall

San Jose is one step closer to getting more sports fields.

Moved to action by a pressing citywide shortage of youth sports facilities, the San Jose City Council on Dec. 12 approved $165,000 for a new sports field master plan. The Community Sports Feasibility Study will identify new field locations in each of San Jose's 10 council districts and explore possible partnerships with neighborhood schools.

To fund the study, $15,000 will be taken from each council district's Construction Tax and Property Conveyance Tax Fund, as well as $15,000 from a citywide parks department construction and conveyance account.

Councilwoman Nancy Pyle proposed the feasibility study in October, and the funds will be used to hire an outside consultant to lead the study.

A big reason behind the sports field shortage pertains to prior bond measures. School districts across the city have received bond monies for capital improvements, leading some to jump the gun and close all their fields at once for renovations, said Cynthia Bojorquez, deputy director of the San Jose parks department. These decisions led other school districts to become territorial over their new fields and limit the number of permits issued for field use, she added.

Measure P, a San Jose bond measure passed in 2000, secured $200 million for adult athletic facilities to move adults off youth sports fields, yet so far no sites have been successfully identified.

Some neighborhoods are feeling the squeeze more than others.

"This fall we had 2,500 children playing soccer and only five fields for them," said Michelle Marquard, an Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League board member. "It was hugely chaotic."

Due to the field crunch, the AVYSL recently cancelled its upcoming spring soccer season for "recreational" players, who form the majority of Almaden's youth soccer players, Marquard said.

The parks department will spend the next two months forming the advisory committee and informing neighborhood groups about the study. The city plans to put out its bid for a consultant in March. Before that happens, the parks department will run the request by the advisory committee to ensure its standards for applicants meet the committee's standards also, Bojorquez said.

The study should be completed by January 2008. The San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services wants to keep community members actively involved every step of the way. The consulting group will work directly with a committee of 20 to 25 concerned citizens, developers and representatives of affected jurisdictions, including the Santa Clara Valley Water District and Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department.

"We want a cross-section of individuals," Bojorquez said. "Anyone who wants to join can come."