Planning Commission
Study Session
June 22, 2026
Artificial Turf Policy Study
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2City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Agenda
Project Overview and Timeline
Community Engagement Results
Research Findings
Recommendations + Next Steps
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3City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Project Overview and Timeline
RFP +
Contracting Kick Off Community
Engagement
Report Draft
1 Report Draft
2 Study
Sessions
Apr. – Sept.
2025 Oct. 2025 Jan. – Mar.
2026 Apr. 2026 Jun. – Jul.
2026May 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 • Council Study Session Scheduled for July 28, 2026
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4City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Policy Study Scope (ESD 24-01)
• Background:
• Community concern was raised over
en
vironmental and health impacts of artificial
t
urf, ESD 24-01 was sponsored in response to this
• ESD 24-01 detailed a comparative analysis
b
etween artificial turf and natural grass, including
costs, for both public and private use
• Council asked for analysis of operations and
ma
intenance of current natural grass fields with
recommendations for optimal maintenance
p
ractices to be included in 24-01
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5City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 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
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6City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 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
site
s. All are maintained by Parks staff, with fields for a variety of recreational uses.
• Many fields are exceeding the recommendations for
annual ho
urs of play on natural grass fields
Sunnyvale Parks
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7City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Community Engagement Results
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8City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 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
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9City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 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
o
f natural grass space
over open space used
f
or sports
• Maximize playtime on
existing natural grass
fields
Environmental
Factors
• Concerns for artificial
turf regarding plastic
pollution, heat island
effect, a
nd
r
ecyclability
• Concerns for mowing
and fertilizer a
nd
p
esticide use impacts
of
natural grass
• Loss of ecosystem
b
iodiversity
Health Factors
• More concerns for
artificial turf tha
n
n
atural grass
(
chemicals, heat, and
ba
cteria exposure)
Maintenance
• More concern for
natural grass tha
n
a
rtificial turf
• General call for better
maintenanc
e
p
ractices to maximize
playability
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10City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 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
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11City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 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%
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12City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 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
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13City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Research Findings
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14City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 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
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15City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 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
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16City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Cost Comparisons
Data reflects case study of fields in the City of Los Gatos Attachment 2
17City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 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
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18City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Recommendations + Next Steps
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19City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Recommendations
Report includes 10 Recommendations + Decision Tree
Highlights from the 10:
Prioritize and conserve natural grass; pilot organic turf management.
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.
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20City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Attachment 2
21City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Attachment 2
22City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Next Steps
Collect input from:
*Parks and Recreation Commission (6/10)
*Sustainability Commission (6/15)
*Planning Commission (6/22)
Present to City Council at Study Session (7/28) to
receive input on report recommendations
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23City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Commission Feedback
Parks and Recreation
Commission
Don’t support a complete ban of
artificial turf
Support defining high demand field
criteria at >1,000 hrs
Support users of fields determining the
surface type
Request alternatives for natural grass
fields such as improved drainage
systems, modified grass types for
resilience, etc.
Sustainability Commission
Request additional pilot sites be considered to improve data collection and reliability and that decision tree is implemented after pilots are complete
Support the recommendation that natural grass is
prioritized
Support PRC request for additional alternatives to
natural grass be considered (drainage design
improvements, different grass species, etc.)
Request environmental considerations moved up in
decision tree and that adaptive reuse is prioritized as a solution
Request the private property recommendation be more
concrete in direction, more outreach be done specific to private property, and permitting considered
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24City of Sunnyvale – Artificial Turf Policy Study – June 2026 Contact: [email protected]
for questions or comments
Thank You!
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