VlcMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
:rom:
Sent:
ro:Subject:
Pilar Reynaldo
Friday, October 9, 2026 10:34 AM
h-1ampton, Tyron; Cole, Rick; Lyon, Jason; Rivas, Jessica; Masuda, Gene; Jones, Justin; Gordo, Victor; Madison, Steve; Bernard, Nicole (Distt); DerBoghossian, Megheti; [email protected],· Morales, Margo; Chapman, Justin; Thyret, Pam; De La Cuba, Vannia; Gao, Beitei
Please Fund Cooler, more Affordable, Natural Grass Fields You don't often get email fromittps://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderldentification ] why this is important at
[ A ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content ^s safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button (PAB). For more information about the PAB view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Dear Members of the Pasadena City Council and staff,
<\s a garden volunteer who volunteers @ San Rafael Elementary who cares about the physical and financial health of our community, I urge you to focus City park funding on natural turf, not plastic, recreational fields.Plastic fields are more expensive in the long-term than natural turf fields. Durable, drought-tolerant, natural turf does not needto be wholesale replaced and landfilled every 10 years. Grass can be reseeded.Plastic fields expose children and recreational users to harmful chemicals and heavy metals. Artificial turf fields are generally made with crumb rubber infill (from old tires) and petroleum-based plastics . PFAS 'forever' chemicals are regularly detected in plastic fields, with potentially serious, long-term health impacts for regular field users.
Plastic fields shed microplastics and pollute our stormwater system and waterways, contributing to long-term health impacts, environmental pollution, and negative fiscal impacts associated with the cost of cleaning polluted groundwater.Plastic fields are unusable on hot days, routinely reaching surface temperatures of 140°F or more. These conditions render fields off-limits and place users at risk of burns, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
Plastic fields worsen local urban heat islands as our region faces a rise in dangerous heat waves and extreme heat days.
According to UCLA climate researchers, the number of days with such hot temperatures is expected to double in the next twodecades. Natural grass would help reduce the impacts of this increase in heat by cooling Villa and Robinson Parks.
Plastic fields provide no environmental benefits. They do not support biodiversity. They do not cool the air. They create significant waste as fields must be replaced every 8-10 years. And they may worsen flooding and undermine our ability tocapture storm water.
In light of the many downsides of artificial plastic fields, the City of Pasadena should direct field replacement funding to the safer, cooler, and more climate-appropriate option - natural grass turf.
Thank you,
Pilar Reynaldo
10/13/2026
Item 11
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:To:Subject:
Wesley Reutimann
Friday, October 9, 2026 3:03 PM
PublicComment-AutoResponse; Hampton, Tyron; Cole, Rick; Lyon, Jason; Rivas, Jessica; Masuda, Gene; Jones, Justin; Gordo, Victor; Madison, Steve; Bernard, Nicole (Dist1); DerBoghossian, Megheti; [email protected]; Morales, Margo; Chapman, Justin; Thyret, Pam; De La Cuba, Vannia; Gao, BeileiAgenda Item 11 - Please Invest in Safer, Cooler, more Affordable Grass Fields [ ! ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Reportphish using the Phish Alert Button (PAB). For more information about the PAB view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Dear Council Members and staff,
As a Pasadena household with two soccer playing children, I urge you to invest in natural turf fields.The case against artificial fields is lengthy and growing due to climate change. A partial list includes:
Affordability - Plastic fields cost more in the long-term than natural turf fields. Durable, drought-tolerant, natural turf does not need to be replaced and landfilled every 10 years.Grass can be reseeded.
Heat Risk - Plastic fields are unusable on hot days, routinely reaching surface temperatures of 140°F or more. These conditions renderfields off-limits and place users at risk of burns, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
• Injury Prevention - Plastic fields are harder on the body than grass.
The NFL Players Union has formally caHedQn all teams tojjse natural turf fields for safety reasons: "Based on NFL injury data collected from 2012 to 2018, not only was the contact injury rate for lower extremities higher during practices and games held on artificial turf, NFL players consistently experienced a much higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries on turf compared to natural surfaces.
Specifically, players have a 28% higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries when playing on artificial turf. Of those non-contact injuries, players have a 32% higher rate of non-contact knee injuries on turf and a staggering 69% higher rate of non-contact foot/ankle injuries on turf compared to grass."
Chemical Exposure - Plastic fields expose children and recreational users to harmfulchemicals and heavy metals inherent in petroleum-based plastics.
Plastic Pollution - Plastic fields shed microplastics, contributing to long-term healthimpacts, environmental pollution, and negative fiscal impacts associated with the cost ofcleaning polluted groundwater.Urban Heat Impacts - Plastic fields worsen local urban heat islands as our region faces a rise in dangerous heat waves and extreme heat days. Natural grass would help reduce theimpacts of this increase in heat by cooling Villa and Robinson Parks. 10/13/2026
Item 11
Our children have participated in multiple local leagues over the past decade, including the Villa Park program. We recognize that demand for field space outstrips local supply. However, the utility of Pasadena's plastic fields at Robinson and Villa parks diminishes every year as extreme heat becomes more prevalent. Children and parents suffer when asked to play on at best uncomfortable, at worst dangerous, conditions on overheated plastic fields.
Rather than lock players and families into another decade of hostile playing conditions on artificial turf, I urge the City to commit to the more climate-appropriate and affordable option - natural grass turf.
Thankyou,The Reutimann Family
Pasadena 91103