City Council
Study Session
July 28, 2026
Artificial Turf Policy Study
DRAFT PRESENTATION
2City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Agenda
Project Overview and Timeline
Community Engagement Results
Research Findings
Recommendations + Discussion
DRAFT PRESENTATION
3City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Project Overview and Timeline
RFP +
Contracting Kick Off Community
Engagement
Report
Development Study Sessions
Apr. – Sept.
2025
Oct. 2025 Jan. – Mar.
2026
Jun. – Jul.
2026
Apr. - May
2026
• Funded with FY 25/26 Budget as a Study Issue: $150,000 • ESD 24-0 1, now Council Priority Project SU -2
• Project team: Led by ESD, supported by DPW, LRS, and CDD
DRAFT PRESENTATION
4City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Policy Study Scope (ESD 24-01)
• Background:
• Community concern was raised over
e
nvironmental and health impacts of artificial
turf, ESD 24-01 was sponsored in response to this
• ESD 24-0 1 detailed a comparative analysis
between artificial turf and natural grass, including
costs, for both public and private use
• Council asked for analysis of operations and
m
aintenance of current natural grass fields with
recommendations for optimal maintenance
practices to be included in 24-01
DRAFT PRESENTATION
5City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Policy Study Scope (ESD 24-01)
Included in Study Scope
• Comparative analysis of
artificial turf and natural grass
• Using only currently available
research (literature review)
• Analysis of current
maintenance practices and
evaluate optimal practices
• Collected community input
NOT Included in Study Scope
• Any sampling or testing of
surfaces
• A full analysis of recreational
playing time demands and
field availability
• Any modeling or quantification
of environmental or health
impacts of surface types
DRAFT PRESENTATION
6City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 • Purpose of the City of Sunnyvale’s Parks is to provide:
Recreational opportunities
Open space
Community gathering places
Environmental benefits
Connections throughout the city for residents of all ages • 52 rentable fields across 9 city parks and 16 school
sit
es. All are maintained by Parks staff, with fields for a variety of recreational uses.
• Many fields are exceeding the recommendations for
annual
hours of play on natural grass fields
Sunnyvale Parks
DRAFT PRESENTATION
7City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Hours of Play on Fields
Natural Grass Artificial Turf
Industry Recommendations 600 - 800 1,000+
Potential Availability
(calculated)
1,800 2,800
Average Actual Hours of Play
(based on Sunnyvale reservations data
2023-2025)
572 - 576 806 - 859
Actual Hours of Play Range
(based on Sunnyvale reservations data
2023-2025)
23 - 1,075 10 - 2,260
DRAFT PRESENTATION
8City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Community Engagement Results
DRAFT PRESENTATION
9City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Community Engagement
Focus Group
• Jan. 27, 2026
• 8 attendees
• Invitation only to
representatives
of sports and
environmental
groups
Online Survey
• Available from
Jan. 29 to March
6, 2026
• 850 responses
submitted
Farmers Market
Tabling
• Feb. 7, 2026
• ~40 attendees
• Attendees were
asked to provide
feedback on pre-
written
statements
Communitywide
Workshop
• Feb. 10, 2026
• 31 attendees
• Attendees
rotated through
discussion
topics: playing
time,
environmental,
health, and field
maintenance
DRAFT PRESENTATION
10City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 People were divided into tables, each table hosted a discussion on a topic, and attendees had the chance to go to each table.
Communitywide Workshop
Playing Time
• Prioritize Sunnyvale
Residents
• Maximize general use
of natural grass space
over open space used
for sports
• Maximize playtime on
existing natural grass
fields
Environmental
Factors
• Concerns for artificial
turf regarding plastic
pollution, heat island
effect, and
recyclability
• Concerns for mowing
and fertilizer and
pesticide use impacts
of natural grass
• Loss of ecosystem
biodiversity
Health Factors
• More concerns for
artificial turf than
natural grass
(chemicals, heat, and
bacteria exposure)
Maintenance
• More concern for
natural grass than
artificial turf
• General call for better
maintenance
practices to maximize
playability
DRAFT PRESENTATION
11City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Community Survey Results
850 individual responses, 37 days
60% indicated “very/moderately concerned” about environmental and health impacts of AT 26% indicated “not concerned” about environmental and health impacts of AT 29% indicated “very/moderately concerned” about the environmental impacts of natural grass 40% said “artificial turf should generally be restricted” 38% said “artificial turf should generally be allowed”
20% said “artificial turf should only be allowed for specific use cases” Overview
DRAFT PRESENTATION
12City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Community Survey Results
739 Responses indicated they live in Sunnyvale
Artificial turf should generally be restricted 43%
Artificial turf should generally be allowed 34%
Artificial turf should be allowed only for specific use cases 20% 789 Users of Sunnyvale Public Fields Sports League (72) Both (320) Recreation (394) Artificial turf should generally be restricted 17% 19% 41% Artificial turf should generally be allowed 64% 62% 36% Artificial turf should be allowed only for specific use cases 19% 20% 21%
DRAFT PRESENTATION
13City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Community Survey Results
Reasons for not installing artificial
turf were (select all, 812)
• Environmental concerns 42%
• Health concerns 34%
• Appearance 28%
• Never considered it 22%
• N/A 22%
• Other 15%
• Costly 13%
112 Responses indicated they
have AT on their Property
• 78% would not replace it
• 70% think a City policy should
generally allow Artificial Turf
• 18% indicated they would
replace it if they could
• Reduced water use and lower
maintenance were the top
reasons for installing it
DRAFT PRESENTATION
14City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Research Findings
DRAFT PRESENTATION
15City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 • Minimal data is available to correlate human health impacts from these e
nvironmental factors
• When taking into account hours of play for natural grass and artificial turf, one study f
ound environmental impacts for unfilled artificial turf were lower on a per hour of play basis.
At 800 hours for natural grass and 1,600 hours for artificial turf, GHG impacts are equal.
Environmental and Human Health Impacts
Environmental Impacts
Artificial Turf
• Plastic pollution
• Chemical leaching
• High-carbon footprint from production
and disposal
• Retains heat and creates hot surfaces
Environmental Impacts
Natural Grass
• High water usage
• Potential for high chemical use
• High carbon footprint from
maintenance operations
DRAFT PRESENTATION
16City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Artificial Turf Natural Grass
High Water Usage
Chemical Exposure and Leaching
Increased Heat
Microplastic Pollution
Greenhouse Gas Impacts
End of Life/Disposal
Personal Health/Injury
Environmental and Health Impacts
DRAFT PRESENTATION
17City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Cost Comparisons
Data reflects case study of fields in the City of Los Gatos
DRAFT PRESENTATION
18City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 The following recommendations will improve the quality of the natural grass sports fields, but not change playing time
Maintenance Recommendations to Improve Field Quality
Improve Irrigation
Replace existing irrigation systems.
Increase staff time spent maintaining and
adjusting systems.
Irrigation replacements occur with Park
renovations as part of Capital Improvement
Projects (built into current CIP schedules and
budgets)
Adjust Mowing Technique
Split maintenance into 2 modes, (1) Sports
Fields (more frequent mowing at lower
height) and (2) Open Space (less frequent at
taller height).
Will need additional 8 FTE Parks Workers to
implement irrigation and mowing
recommendations (~$1.2M/year addition to
General Fun) + additional mowing equipment
DRAFT PRESENTATION
19City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Recommendations + Discussion
DRAFT PRESENTATION
20City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Recommendations
Report includes 10 Recommendations + Decision Tree
Highlights from the 10:
Prioritize and conserve natural grass. Consider piloting an organic field and investing more resources into maintenance of sports fields.
Consider artificial turf only when high-use field determined necessary; conduct life-cycle analysis for each project prior to moving forward with artificial turf. Consider adaptive reuse as well.
When using artificial turf, implement best management practices to minimize environmental pollution and health impacts.
Consider creating artificial turf standards for private property development that ensures alignment with local and regional water conservation and other environmental goals.
DRAFT PRESENTATION
21City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026
DRAFT PRESENTATION
22City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026
DRAFT PRESENTATION
23City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Recommendations
Staff Recommendations
(based on report, community input, and operational considerations) Accept the report on Artificial Turf Policy.
Operationalize the decision tree, to be used during Park renovations process.
If use of artificial turf is needed, require mitigation measures to minimize environmental pollution and health impacts.
Implement organic field management pilot
Further study is required to identify parameters and goals of a private property regulation or standard for artificial turf
Consider proposal for improved maintenance methods at Lakewood Park.
DRAFT PRESENTATION
24City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Discussion
Staff are looking for Council
Feedback on:
Overall report and recommendations
Operationalizing Decision Tree for future parks projects Consideration of a private property standard or regulation on artificial turf
Implementing an organic field management pilot
Implementing an increased maintenance program at Lakewood Park
DRAFT PRESENTATION
25City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – July 2026 Contact: [email protected]
for questions or comments
Thank You!
DRAFT PRESENTATION