Dear Oxnard Public Works and Transportation Committee,
We are writing in regards to the upcoming “Park Lights” workshop on 28 October 2025. It is very exciting to see that the committee is interested in this issue. The prospect of updating the public park hours and installing lights directly impacts our family and community as Oxnard residents that reside on Masthead Dr. near the Via Marina Park. We have two daughters that currently play soccer at the Via Marina Park twice per week. Our older daughter is 6 and plays on the Oxnard United Soccer club team.
During the summer months there are no issues in utilizing the park, but from fall to early spring and an earlier sunset, practice at the park becomes very complicated. Due to parents schedules and the need for more parents to work, practice is not able to start until 6pm. For six months out of the year, the sun sets shortly after this time. This causes the need for coaches to bring lights and power sources in able to support these practices. For our team specifically this adds around an hour and half of set up and take down time each practice, which totals at least 3 hours each week. The team is organized and led by all volunteers. Each day at Via Marina park from October through March there are around four different teams doing the exact same thing to support their children on their teams. This totals around thirty hours of volunteer time per week or 720 hours per year setting up lights and taking them down just at Via Marina Park. This is a highly inefficient system and is likely happening at parks throughout Oxnard. Additionally, there are environmental concerns in regards to individuals setting up and running generators daily at the parks. This also causes safety concerns because in order to set up these lights volunteers oftentimes have to drive onto the field areas to drop off the lighting equipment.
It would be outstanding city support if the hours of city parks that contain sports fields be adjusted to sunrise to 8 or 9pm and that the city installed hardwired lighting for the field areas where practical. This applies specifically to the Via Marine Park field, but there are likely other Oxnard neighborhoods in need of this support. This would save countless hours of time for current and future volunteers that support our kids and our community interest in sports development and create a safer environment for these practices.
Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
Very Respectfully,
Kyle and Emily Mitchell
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Subject: Public Works & Transportation Committee Meeting - ITEM D-2 From: Joe Garcia
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Date Sent: Monday, October 27, 2025 1:23:26 PM GMT-07:00 Date Received: Monday, October 27, 2025 1:24:19 PM GMT-07:00 Attachments: Sept23.pdf,Oct23.pdf
Good Afternoon,
I'd like to share my thoughts on Item D-2 on the Agenda Dated Oct 28, 2025.
I am AGAINST Sports Lighting at Neighborhood parks and if you've talked to me or have met me you know I am a huge advocate for youth sports in our city and have actually attended several Park and Rec commissions meeting asking for lighting because I myself am a soccer coach for over 15 years here in Oxnard after years of community outreach and learning more about neighborhoods this isn't the right thing to do. I have been asked by residents in 4 different neighborhood parks to not train at their neighborhood parks so I think I am experienced to speak on this item.
At the Sept 2023 Park and Rec Commision I asked for sports lighting, then again in Oct 2023 see attached meeting minutes.
It wasn't till early 2024 an ad hoc-committee was created to look into Park Hours see below screenshots, What troubles me is there has been ample discussion about this and time invested by the CAG and community members that whoever is pushing for this failed to see the work that's already been done.
I later joined the Parks and Rec CAG and on Sept 25, 2024 a recommendation was made see below to change the hours of
Community and Regional Parks ONLY.
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After all the work that's been done the first step is changing the city ordinance for Community and Regional Parks ONLY . Why haven't you received this recommendation at council? The second is to improve the restrooms (PortalndLOO, Exeloo etc.) at those parks and maybe add lighting in the future but even so I believe the money is better spent on actually adding more soccer fields to College Park and allowing sanctioning sports teams from Oxnard to practice there and removing them from neighborhood parks. I live in the East Village and I cannot use my own park to take my son to play anything because private trainers and youth teams that don't belong to Oxnard based organizations use all the space ie VCOaks, Ventura Surf etc... and the turf on that field at my park is so bad that you can rake the artificial turf with your bare hands and get mounds of it and there's holes everywhere (wear and tear is another discussion for a later time).
The real issue isn't lighting it's space we need more space.
Maybe add lighting at Del Sol in conjunction with the skate park and see if the cost can be added to that project strategically to give ample lighting for green space usage.
I can go on for hours but in short here are my thoughts.
1. Community and Regional Parks hour change only as recommended by the CAG.
2. Walkway lighting for safety issues at parks that currently don't have lighting.
3. Upgrading or adding restrooms at Regional and Community Parks ( Portland Loo, or Exeloo) most likely will be a CAG future item.
4. Add more green space for organized youth sports at Regional and Community parks with existing lighting and restrooms i.e. College Park to allow them to practice. ( funding source needed) If you'd like to have a discussion on this or other park related questions feel free to reach out.
Thank you
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Lai, Dee <[email protected]>
Park Lights - We're in Favor
1 message
Randa Forrester Tue, Oct 28, 2025 at 3:45 PM
To: [email protected]
Just got a notice on my door about the meeting tonight. It would have been better to have the notice a little sooner.
My husband and I own a home across from Orchard Park. We really enjoy that people enjoy the park. We are especially happy to see young children practicing sports. We are in favor of park lights, especially as it is now becoming darker much earlier in the day.
Randa and Vernon Forrester
10/28/25, 4:35 PM City of Oxnard Mail - Park Lights - We're in Favor https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=c9e9a3d468&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f:1847267445614851208%7Cmsg-f:1847267445614851208… 1/1