December 9, 2004

City Council gives thumbs-up to McKean Road Sports Complex in 8-1 vote

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

After twelve years fraught with EIRs, public meetings, political hurdles, and accusations, Almaden Youth Association [AYA] members are now free to enter the fundraising phase for the McKean Road Sports Fields project, after the City Council approved the EIR and General Plan Amendment Tuesday night.

After a 10-year battle for safer playing fields, AYA President Dan Smythe, Vice Mayor Pat Dando, and AYA Treasurer Dan Kennedy couldn’t be more relieved, now that they have the go-ahead to build them. “Kids should be playing on them by this time next year,” Dando said.

Although the EIR passed unanimously and in line with Planning Commission recommendations, Council-member Linda LeZotte provided the only dissenting vote for the General Plan Amendment, which the commission had earlier denied, but not before commending Dando, the AYA and the community for their dedication and effort.

The lone dissenter, Lezotte, said she had serious reservations about the project. “Unfortunately, I don’t think any project can address all the environmental and smart growth issues that are raised by this delicate location,” said LeZotte. “I do believe it will set a bad precedent by allowing inappropriate development to occur.

I’ve had many anxious moments over this, but I think we’re addressing very similar areas in the Coyote Valley specific plan and I think it’s that type of undertaking that we need to take when it comes to the South Almaden Urban Reserve. Before I can vote to amend the General Plan, I think there needs to be a bigger picture looked at here.”

“I was on the task force that created the South Almaden Valley Urban Reserve,” explained Councilmember Reed.

“We called it an urban reserve for a reason and that’s because we intended for it to be developed. It’s not a greenbelt reserve, it’s not an open space reserve, and it’s not a rural reserve, even though many people think it’s never going to be developed. That’s not the way we planned it. What we determine to be interim use is up to us. I think this particular interim use is a good one and I’m going to support the motion.”

Councilmember Chavez said she seconded the motion because of the willingness to scale the project back and carve out specific areas for natural and artificial turf.

“We put pressure on fields throughout San Jose,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where you live. It’s disappointing to scale 12 fields down to six, but I think it’s smart.”

“I’m watching this with anticipation,” added Councilmember Williams. “It’s time for us to really consider the future of this city. We’ve got to have our kids and this is a beautiful chance.”

“This is an interim use and we’re obviously short of open space,” said. Councilmember Chirco. “This is not an inappropriate use for planned situation. I would like to see more of us looking at policies on how we use some of this urban reserve land for interim use. It’s a difficult decision, but I think it’s the right one.”

“It’s rare that you have a proposal fit into a particular piece of land,” added Councilmember Yeager. “I believe Dando has done diligence in making sure that this proposal would fit into the community. I think this is a project that does fit well and will be a benefit to the entire community.”

“I hope this project moves quicker than later,” said Councilmember Campos.

Councilmember Cor-tese also supported the motion, but passed on the opportunity to speak at the late hour.

“This is not a precedent,” reminded Mayor Gonzales, as he referenced a similar South San Jose project. “We allowed ballpark uses in the Greenbelt, which is far more restrictive.”

After the vote sealed the project’s future, Dando expressed her renewed faith in the system.

“This gives me a lot of confidence in the democratic process,” said Dando, “It gives me confidence in our community and what they can do when they believe in something, they stick to it and they continue to work until it happens. I believe that each one of my colleagues judged this on the merit of the project and what the speakers had to say. Quite frankly, they know there is a need. We are woefully short of fields and the planning was not done for it.”

She stressed the need for government agencies to work together with the private sector, especially during tight budget times.

“This is an example of what government agencies should do,” she said.

“This is a dream I believed in then and I believe in today,” said newly elected county school board member Gary Rummelhoff.

Others opposed to the project questioned how the council could adopt an amendment that no other outside governmental body would touch, reminding them again of the Planning Commission’s decision just last week to deny the recommendation.

“We’re not here to approve the fields,” insisted Doug Turk. “We’re here to approve the text amendment. And I feel it is incumbent on the City Council to listen to their Planning Commission. This is not a public project. This is a project for a select few Almaden Valley children and their families.”

“I want to make it clear that these fields will be used by recreation, comp, and select teams,” insisted AVYSL president Teri Thompson. “And we don’t discriminate by zip code. Anyone is welcome to join and if they don’t have the money, we can help them with scholarships. These new fields will allow us breathing room throughout our league. All of our kids deserve more fields. All of our kids deserve safer fields. With the addition of the six McKean fields, we will have the opportunity to rest fields and do repairs—a luxury we never had in the past.”

Outgoing Almaden Valley Community Association President Bob Boydston announced that the board voted 4-2 to reject the project, citing water supply impacts as a key concern.

“It’s only natural that the AVCA wishes that there would be a simple place for Almaden youth to play baseball and soccer,” he said. “We would likely support such a venture.”

Sympathetic pleas also came from young soccer and softball players, as they told of teammates with broken ankles or torn ACLs.

“I’m sympathetic to the cause,” added Al Stewart. “It’s been studied to death. There’s no alternate site in the Almaden Valley. The time is now to make a decision for all children in San Jose to use this facility.”

In addition to the approval of the EIR and the General Plan text amendment, the City Council passed two additional agenda items that further pave the way to the fields.

A Memorandum of Understanding will allow the city to enter into an agreement with the AYA for the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of the complex, while the City Manager works to establish an appropriation of $739,000 that will be transferred from the Sports Field Development Reserve to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services.

“This is a dream I believed in then and I believe in today,” said newly elected county school board member Gary Rummelhoff. “I’ve spent the past eight years helping to facilitate the use of these fields. At the district, we have a common interest serving our youth. I believe this is a great first step to take for our children—to seize this unique opportunity that is available to us, and to establish a monologue for intergovernmental cooperation between kids and schools. I would be remiss if I overlooked the concerns of the community, but I believe the struggle is a worthy one to overcome those concerns.”

Looking Ahead
With community meetings, EIRs, and political demonstrations out of the way, AYA now faces a bigger challenge, as phase one of the project brings with it a hefty $5.2 million price tag. To get the ball rolling, Dando proposed the transfer of $500,000 from the District 10 Parks and Acquisition Fund to the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services to cover design, construction management, and roadway and frontage improvements.

“Like the players I represent, many years ago I was like these kids who have come here,” said Alexi Lalas, President and General Manager of the San Jose Earthquakes. “If they are lucky enough, they can have safe facilities where they can be good soccer players—not because it gives them the facilities to learn to play professional sports, but because it gives them the opportunity to play sports--and with them, and all those lessons that everybody talks about. On behalf of the San Jose Earthquakes organization, and more importantly the players, please give the youth of today the opportunity to be involved in youth soccer.” Photos by Kymberli Brady

Dando also suggested trimming the development from 35 to 20 acres and from 12 to 6 fields, with five acres of natural turf surrounded by ten more that will encompass up to four acres of artificial turf, bleachers, dug outs, parking areas and parking access roads.

“This is not Taj Mahal,” she reiterated. “The purpose is to provide a few extra fields for the District 10 neighborhood to accommodate the growing needs of youth who play there.”

In the meantime, AYA inherits a monumental fundraising task, as they gear up to raise the lion’s share of construction costs—roughly $4 million that will pay for drought-resistant landscaping, natural turf, and artificial turf.

“There’s a lot of details that we need to work out with the city,” explains AYA Treasurer Dan Kennedy. “As we raise funds, we’ll phase them in, one field at a time. We’ve been so focused lately on the EIR, now that we’re here, we need to focus on part one and part two. We started throwing out some ideas last night and we still have our original plan. It’s just a matter of updating it. We’ll be looking for corporate sponsors and small businesses—maybe tier it down to individuals, selling bricks, and naming fields, with other sponsorship opportunities. Of course, we’ll be continuing with fundraising events like our annual golf tournament.”

On Wednesday, as the AYA headed in a new direction, Nancy Pyle headed to City Hall to be sworn in as the new District 10 council member, but not before issuing the following statement:

“I am looking forward to meeting with all the community leaders to bring this dream into reality.”

Checks and balances
In an effort to maintain a balance between the residents and the complex, triggers will be put into place to prevent potential mishaps.

Water admittedly ranks highest on Dando’s list of concerns and she assured residents Tuesday night that extensive scientific and technical analysis indicated that conservatively, five acres of natural grass could be developed and maintained effectively and without inconvenience, while the water levels will continue to be monitored with meters at well sites.

“If there’s any indication that there will be a negative impact on the water, we’ll stop immediately,” she said. “And that’s not unlike any other sports field, park, or facility in the city of San Jose.”

“We’ve worked long and hard to get to this point,” exclaimed Kennedy.

“And it’s all for the kids,” added Smyth. “We’re very excited.”

For now, barley continues to grow at the site, thanks to a last minute reprieve and an estimated six-month schedule for the design process. Yet, according to Dando and AYA officials, barring any hiccups—financial or otherwise, kids should be playing on the fields by this time next year.

“I am so proud of the community,” she said. “This is a community that wouldn’t say die and they didn’t say die because they believed in it. I’m thrilled for them and the children who will be able to play on these fields—not just for today, but for generations to come.”

“The fundraising is the next step,” she added. “Now we’ve got to get busy working.”