September 1, 2005


Alternative site considered for sports fields

McKean Road property temporarily abandoned due to lawsuit, school district constraints

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

An alternative site to the controversial McKean Road property to build a sports complex in Almaden Valley is being considered by city and youth officials.

An orchard of fruit trees now occupies the 33 acres of property owned by IBM, which city and youth officials are considering purchasing to build a sports complex on the outskirts of the South Almaden Valley Urban Reserve. Photos by Sheila Sanchez

Three parcels of land totaling 33 acres owned by IBM, near the company research facility at 650 Harry Road just west of the Camden Avenue and Harry Road intersection, could possibly make room for kids to play sports in the valley in the future.

“We’re looking into purchasing this land. It’s private open space. IBM is not using it. This property presents a lot of other possibilities that the McKean Road site doesn’t. It’s in city limits so services such as water and utilities are already there,” said Councilwoman Nancy Pyle’s chief of staff Lee Wilcox.

Wilcox said the Almaden Youth Association is also excited about this option as it could use real turf instead of artificial turf, which is expensive and would require the nonprofit organization to raise more money besides the exorbitant funds it will have to obtain to build the complex.

A much larger site owned by the San Jose Unified School District has temporarily been put to the side, especially after the South Almaden Valley Rural Alliance (SAVRA) sued the city to stop the project from going forward because of environmental concerns and after the school district declined to lease the property for more than five years without reviewing its environmental impact.

“We’re trying to think of a solution short term,” said Wilcox.

As soon as Pyle took office in January, she began meeting with City Attorney Rick Doyle to see if the McKean Road site would be feasible, Wilcox said.

The city, the district and the AYA are defendants in a lawsuit filed Jan. 13 by the SAVRA and the Committee for Green Foothills to overturn the project’s final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and the city’s general plan text amendment.

The alternative site, which in 1999 was being considered for sale to a developer to build homes, has sat empty since the community opposed additional development in the outskirts of the South Almaden Valley Urban Reserve. Right now it contains dozens of fruit trees and is the home of several wildlife animals, such as deer and several bird species. An environmental impact study would have to be conducted before the city can proceed to make into a full-fledged sports complex.

“It’s another way to preserve that open space,” Wilcox explained.

Two recent meetings have already occurred between Pyle and IBM executive management officials, Wilcox said.

“Last week I met with IBM with a proposal which is now under consideration,” Pyle said.

IBM officials may have questions and concerns about the city’s proposal, Wilcox said, but the city and its staff is willing to work with them to address issues.

With 33 acres, Wilcox anticipates the sports complex could accommodate four to five soccer fields and four baseball/softball fields. “It’s a bit smaller, but it still helps the situation,” he said.

“We’re getting fields in District 10 somewhere,” Wilcox said, a former soccer player. “We definitely need fields. I played at Pioneer High School where the fields are really bad. We need some type of solution.”

Dan Kennedy, treasurer of the AYA, said he was excited about the new piece of land being considered, but added the McKean Road property has not been completed ruled out. “It’s still on our radar screen but with the lawsuit and the issues raised by the school district, we’ve had to wait,” Kennedy said. “We’ve had to stop negotiations.”

“But we’re looking for more fields for the kids to play on,” he continued. “We hope this will work for us. We have scoured high and low and if this is the property that will work for us we will take it.”

City officials, former San Jose Vice Mayor Pat Dando, the AYA and other sports organizations have complained for years about a deficiency in youth sports fields in South San Jose.

For the past decade, Dando worked hard to identify land to accommodate the local youth soccer, softball and little leagues. The dilemma led to the exploration of the 75.86 acres of district-owned land on McKean Road.

Nancy La Scola, president of the SAVRA, said this week her organization gave the city a list with nearly 40 alternative sites to the McKean Road property several years ago. A more consolidated list of 15 sites was then compiled for city and sports officials to review, she said.

“We’re putting the lawsuit on hold to allow the city and the AYA more time to take a thorough look at those sites,” La Scola said.

La Scola added other alternative sites are owned by the city and other government agencies such as the transportation department, water district and school district.

“It’s good that the (Calero Creek Trail) is going through there and it’s great that it has city water and sewer but some of the other properties also have the same qualities,” she said. “I don’t think there were any properties on the list that were outside the urban service area.”

Dan Smyth, president of the AYA, declined comment, saying it’s premature to speak about the feasibility of the IBM property when it’s still under negotiation.

La Scola agreed. “They’re looking at this site and at others,” she said. “They’re continuing to go through the process and we’re allowing them the time to go through the process. Everyone wants to make a good faith effort.”