CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting: January 18, 2022
Subject
Athletic Field Use Policy Update
Recommended Action
Receive an update on the Athletic Use Policy and provide direction on next steps.
Background
The City Council identified a study of the current Athletic Field Use Policy as a City Work Program item in Fiscal Year 2019-2020. The objective of the study is to assess the current Athletic Field Use Policy, including a review of scheduling, the fee schedule, cost recovery, and Sunday reservation feasibility. After performing outreach to the community and receiving input from the Youth Sports Organizations (YSOs), staff presented proposed adjustments to the Parks and Recreation Commission on April 8, 2021 for review and input (Attachments A and B). Based on feedback from the Parks and Recreation Commission, the policy was updated. The revision was presented to City Council on April 20, 2021 and discussion was continued on May 4, 2021. The updated Field Use Policy was approved with the following amendments (Attachments C and D):
Individual Sunday Field Use allowed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Add a limit of 10 Sundays for each site (by either tournaments or individual Sunday field use) Staff to provide an update to Council in one year
Fees to be phased over two years with a 50% increase in the first year and 100% increase in the second year In response to concerns about the amended policy from the YSO's, the Athletic Field Use Policy was agendized and revisited by City Council on September 21, 2021 (Attachment E and F).
During that meeting City Council considered adjustments to the revised Athletic Field Use Policy and directed staff to make further refinements based on Council’s comments:
provide a 6‐month report to Council with extended usage suggestions include 4‐month input usage data
make suggestions for simplification
bring back a presentation to Council at the second meeting in January.
Discussion
Extended Usage Suggestions
At this time, staff does not recommend any changes to Field Use Policy as it relates to extended usage. Feedback from the YSOs has been favorable, with the exception of one group who would like the option for more Sunday games and practices. The current policy allows adequate time for the public to use the fields, including the City’s high usage fields at Creekside and Wilson Parks. This issue should wait to be reassessed until after the Spring 2022 season, allowing for a full year of data collection and feedback from the public and YSOs. 2021 Fall Season Usage Data
Field use is composed of two seasons, fall and spring. The fall season runs from July through December and the spring season runs from January through June. The newly updated Athletic Field Use Policy was implemented on July 1, 2021 for the fall season. Staff monitored use carefully, performing spot checks on fields to ensure policy compliance. During the course of the fall season there were five reported instances of non-permitted Sunday use, all at Library Field. The incidents were documented by Code Enforcement and Staff followed up with the YSO. In addition, there were eight instances of YSO’s either starting before or staying after their permitted time, at a variety of fields. YSO’s were notified regarding the infractions and almost all updated their permits accordingly.
Overall, site use was lower than expected, giving the public ample time to utilize the fields. Depending on the season, YSO’s only expended approximately 19% of the available field hours.
Total reservable hours per season
Total YSO hours reserved
Hours available for public
Fall 2021
28,965
5567
23,398
Spring 2022
27,029
8680 projected
18,349
This trend continued for Sunday play, with only a fraction of the available time reserved by YSOs. The current version of the Field Use Policy allows for two Sunday tournaments per year, per group. A tournament is defined as at least three teams all participating in a sport or game. Additionally, organizations may request two Sunday field permits, per year, for games or practice. A game or practice is defined as a maximum of two teams participating in a sport. A maximum of ten Sundays will be allowed to be permitted at any site whether it is for a game, tournament, or practice.
Sunday Requests Per Site – Fall 2021
Games
Tournaments
Creekside
1 Eaton
1 1
Garden Gate
1 Kennedy
2 Library Field
2 1
Regnart
1 Stevens Creek
1 Wilson
2 TOTAL
5 8
As of now, there are no requests from YSO’s for Sunday usage during the Spring 2022 season.
Financially, FY 21-22 has been on trend with pre-pandemic numbers. Two new YSOs were added this fiscal year, increasing revenue accordingly. Projected revenue for FY 22-23 is a best guess based on actuals from 2021. Due to the upcoming fee increase, there is a possibility that YSOs may not reserve as many hours.
Fiscal Year
Season
Revenue
Total
FY 18-19
Fall 2018
$74,613.00
$137,423.00
Spring 2019
$62,810.00
FY 19-20
Fall 2019
$65,439.00
$65,439.00
Spring 2020
No Permits
FY 20-21
Fall 2020
$52,492.00
$92,576.00
Spring 2021
$40,084.00
FY 21-22
Fall 2021
$63,432.50
$158,392.50
Projected Spring 2022
$94,960.00
FY 22-23
Projected Fall 2022
$126,865.00
$316,785.00
Projected Spring 2023
$189,920.00
The Field Use Policy allows for play on 13 park fields and 14 school site fields. Soccer fields are the most plentiful, although the participation numbers for soccer are the highest of all offered sports.
Participation vs. Fields Available for Each YSO
BASEBALL – 3 BASEBALL FIELDS AVAILABLE PLUS 8 MULTIPURPOSE FIELDS CLL
2019
2020*
2021
Residents
179
43 203
Non-Residents
49 6
43 TOTAL
228
49 246
CRICKET – 1 FIELD AVAILABLE
CCA
2019
2020*
2021
Residents
56 27
67 Non-Residents
26 12
28 TOTAL
82 39
95 SOFTBALL – 2 FIELDS AVAILABLE
CGSL
2019
2020*
2021
Residents
16 4
13 Non-Residents
22 37
53 TOTAL
38 41
66 VOLLEYBALL – 1 FIELD AVAILABLE
USYVL
2019
2020*
2021
Residents
80 No Permits
21 Non-Residents
70 No Permits
37 TOTAL
146
No Permits
58 SOCCER – 12 SOCCER FIELDS AVAILABLE PLUS 8 MULTIPURPOSE FIELDS AYSO 35
2019
2020*
2021
Residents
292
No Permits
199
Non-Residents
178
No Permits
105
Total
470
No Permits
304
AYSO 64
Residents
11 15
19 Non-Residents
44 86
44 Total
55 101
63 CFC
Residents
295
40 223
Non-Residents
134
9 148
Total
429
49 371
DYSL
Residents
539
110
324
Non-Residents
1099
469
738
Total
1638
579
1062
FRS**
Residents
N/A
N/A
84 Non-Residents
N/A
N/A
157
Total
N/A
N/A
241
GTS
Residents
32 No Permits
25 Non-Residents
7 No Permits
18 Total
39 No Permits
43 KFB**
Residents
N/A
N/A
28 Non-Residents
N/A
N/A
26 Total
N/A
N/A
54 TOTAL
3125
858
2603
*Fields closed Spring of 2020 due to COVID-19.
**New YSOs as of Fall 2021.
Possible Simplifications
Based on feedback from the YSOs and City Council there is confusion over Sunday play. Specifically, as it relates to the provision that any given field site cannot be used more than 10 Sundays per fiscal year. Staff suggests removing this clause from the Policy in order to simplify the terms of Sunday play. Sunday play will continue to be tracked at each site; however, if each group is only allowed two tournaments and two additional Sundays for games and practices then Staff feels confident that the fields will still be readily available for neighborhood use.
Since September 21, 2021 the City’s Athletic Field Use website has been updated to be as user friendly as possible. Usage calendars are now displayed per site, making it easier for all users to determine whether or not use is permitted. There is also a Frequently Asked Questions section with information on how to reserve, unauthorized use, the drought, and more.
Additionally, staff worked with the Public Works Department to design and place permanent signage at all City fields, including fields used through the Joint Use Agreement with Cupertino Union School District. Signs include a QR code that takes you to the Athletic Field Use webpage and information on how to report unauthorized usage.
In addition to removing the clause regarding the use of 10 Sundays, staff also recommends adopting a handful of minor changes to verbiage in the policy. These changes are meant to help simply and clarify the policy (Attachments G and H).
Sustainability Impact
No sustainability impacts.
Fiscal Impact
No fiscal impacts.
_____________________________________
Prepared by: Joanne Magrini, Director of Parks and Recreation Reviewed by: Dianne Thompson, Assistant City Manager
Approved for Submission by: Dianne Thompson, Assistant City Manager Attachments:
A – April 8, 2021 Staff Report - Athletic Field Use Policy B – April 8, 2021 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes C – May 4, 2021 Staff Report – Updated Athletic Field Use Policy D – May 4, 2021 City Council Meeting Minutes
E – September 21, 2021 Staff Report – Revised Athletic Field Use Policy F – September 21, 2021 City Council Meeting Minutes
G – Athletic Field Use Policy with Proposed Updates Clean H – Athletic Field Use Policy with Proposed Updates Redline