August 26, 2004

Anticipated sports fields EIR confirms concerns
News is nothing new

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

After much concern—wrapped in controversy—the draft EIR for the McKean Road Sports Complex was released Aug. 13, confirming what many already knew since the project set its sights on the Caglia site in the South Almaden Valley Urban Reserve.

According to the report, the project would result in significant and unavoidable cumulative impacts related to water supply, pedestrian/bicycle traffic safety, visual aesthetics, and loss of prime farmlands.

“It’s kind of a common situation with an EIR,” says Mike Campbell, with RBF Consulting, the firm that prepared the EIR. “They’re not necessarily project killers—it just means that who ever is going to make the decision to certify the EIR has to adopt a statement of overriding considerations saying that they’ve considered those impacts before making their decision.”

“The EIR amendment did exactly what it was supposed to do, which was to identify how much could be developed in that area and what some of the issues would be if the project were to go forward,” says Vice Mayor Pat Dando. “The primary concern is water and it [the EIR] has identified a good first phase—to develop the first five acres.”

District 10 candidate Rich De La Rosa agrees and says the EIR didn’t reveal anything new. Rather it sheds new light on mitigating measures that should be taken to ensure that the project is done correctly.

“The natural take on EIRs is that they’re negative,” he says. “They’re supposed to be. It doesn’t mean the project can’t go forward. The bottom line is to make sure we do this right—we don’t want it to cost more afterwards and use up valuable resources.”

The primary concern is the water supply and the study indicates that the source wells would only be able to accommodate the irrigation of approximately five acres of natural turf, prompting the city and the AYA to discuss phasing in the project and using overlapping fields, while flexing their fundraising muscle in an effort to finance synthetic turf in time for the next phase. The EIR will now serve as a guideline for the redevelopment and design of the fields.

“Obviously the real concern for water is very specific,” De La Rosa adds. “They have to come up with a plan on how they’re going to design the complex. Obviously, phasing is going to be a part of that. No one thought the original plan was going to be the one that would ultimately be built. We’ve got same pretty smart people on this project and I think they’re going to put together a good plan that works.”

Significant impacts, as described in the EIR, would affect hydrology and surface water quality, biological resources, hazards and hazardous materials, cultural resources and air quality. However, if mitigating measures are implemented as recommended in the report, they could be reduced to less-than-significant levels.

When contacted by the Almaden Times, Nancy LaScola, president of the South Almaden Valley Rural Alliance, said she was still examining the hydrology data and although there are still a lot of questions, she hadn’t formed an opinion of the EIR as of press time.

“We’ve got it under review right now and it’s premature for me to say what we think of it, LaScola says. “In a few more weeks, there should be a lot more opinions expressed.”

“I’m very concerned about the safety of children and families outlined in the Draft EIR and would like to better understand how the city and the Almaden Youth Association might mitigate them,” says District 10 candidate Nancy Pyle. “I’m also troubled by the significant environmental factors raised in the report.”

In addressing the safety concerns, AYA Chairman Brad Bosomworth says ensuring the safety of the players has always been at the forefront.

“The traffic issue is one that we’ve been aware of since day one and there’s always been a plan in place,” he says. “We see no reasonable possibility that any children would ever walk or bike down McKean to this facility.”

According to the report, noise levels will exceed the General Plan noise guidelines, posing another significant and unavoidable impact. Although it establishes an added challenge that needs to be addressed, De La Rosa doesn’t see it as a major concern.

“Whenever you do any project like that, you’re going to get noise,” he says. “And since there’s no noise there now, of course that’s going to be their conclusion. That’s just a normal by-product of kids playing. I can’t see that as a problem—it’s not like the houses are lining the field.”

For the most part, the jury is still out. Although too early for a general consensus, many agree that there really aren’t any new surprises—just varying perspectives on how or if the project should go forward.

“For nearly a decade Almaden families have been waiting for a project like this to be completed in our neighborhood,” says Pyle. “I feel for them and I will continue to monitor this situation so that we may come to the best possible outcome.”

The 45-day review period will end on Sept. 27, where the city and consultants will get together to work on the responses to the comments received. This will result in the first amendment to the draft EIR—a process that is managed by the planning department.

When questioned about the EIR and the future of the project, Campbell deferred comment to the planning department.

“What they [city] want to do now is wait until the public review period closes before they start addressing questions,” he said.

“I feel great about where this is going,” adds Bosomworth. “We’re ready to move forward and make it a good project.”