REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Revised Concept for the Lakewood Park Renovation Project and Find the Action is Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15262
Report
BACKGROUND
At the October 24, 2023 City Council meeting, staff presented the Lakewood Park Renovation Project Preferred Concept for approval (RTC No. 23-0065.) Among other park improvements, the project included replacing the current natural grass athletic field with an artificial turf field. At the conclusion of the meeting, Council approved Alternative 1 with the following modifications: A) Replace the use of artificial turf with natural grass; B) Consider removing the fencing south of the halfway line of the multipurpose field; C) Explore the installation of Bermuda grass and other drought resistance natural turf options; and D) Include batting cages into the project design.
The change to natural grass will require that the layout of the athletic field be modified to keep as many of the number and types of playing fields originally proposed in the concept plan as possible. Even with a modified layout, cricket would be challenging to fit on the field unless the dirt softball infield were within the cricket field boundaries, which does not appear to be a viable option. Options for new athletic field layouts are also included in this review.
EXISTING POLICY
N/A
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered is exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15262, which exempts feasibility or planning studies for possible future actions which the agency, board, or commission has not approved, adopted, or funded does not require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) or Negative Declaration but does require consideration of environmental factors. An environmental review will be performed when this project returns for approval of award of construction contract in the future.
DISCUSSION
In 2022, the City publicly released a Request For Proposals to qualified landscape architecture firms for design of the Lakewood Park Renovation and Enhancement Project. Through this competitive process, Verde Design was selected and awarded a contract for design of the park renovation project which includes, among other things, improvements to the playground, splash pad, and athletic field. Verde Design has 17 years of experience as a Landscape Architect, Civil Engineer, and Sports Planning & Design firm. They have experience in design and oversight of installation of several types of natural grass and synthetic turf athletic fields in recreational parks, high schools, and professional facilities in multiple cities in the Bay Area.
As directed by Council in October 2023, Public Works staff worked with Verde Design to evaluate and consider different natural grass options for the athletic field at Lakewood Park. To evaluate the options, the consultant explored field usage (actual and equivalent), grass types, cultural maintenance practices, field base construction, and consulted with other Bay Area cities.
Field Usage and Demand
Like other Sunnyvale parks with athletic fields, Lakewood Park is highly sought after for both reserved and drop-in play. Fields are programmed city-wide by the Library and Recreation Services Department and maintained by City park staff. A necessary component of preserving and rejuvenating natural turf fields includes closing the fields after heavy rains and during the winter months from December through February. Three grass athletic fields are kept open throughout the winter months to accommodate drop-in play only. Keeping fields open year-round would increase the wear and tear of the grass and prevent recovery time, resulting in poor field conditions and higher maintenance costs than currently budgeted.
Different types of activities have different levels of impact on the turf. For example, 8 hours of soccer/football games and practices has an equivalent impact on the grass as 16 hours of walking or youth softball. “Equivalent Use” multipliers have been developed to compare Equivalent Use Hours of activities with different intensities. Ideally the field should be limited to 56 Equivalent Use Hours per week.
Based on the professional experience of the consultant and as conferred with local turf experts, for a high-quality field, activities should be limited to 8 Equivalent Use hours per day. In 2022, Lakewood Park’s demand/use exceeded what a natural grass field can support while maintaining a high level of playing surface quality. If City Council considers providing a high quality turf athletic field at Lakewood a higher priority than providing high levels of reservable playing time, the City would need to limit the number of hours available for use, resulting in a potential reduction in the current usage.
Selecting Grass Types
Staff and the consultant evaluated various grass types for use at Lakewood Park. It is important to note that this evaluation is in advance of the work being done on Study Issue ESD 24-01 Evaluate the Use of Artificial Turf versus Living Groundcovers. The Study Issue will go further in-depth regarding grass athletic fields, studying maintenance practices, soil management, and use of organic or less toxic fertilizers and pesticides.
Grass species types generally fall under cool season grasses and warm season grasses. Sunnyvale is situated in the transition zone but is closer to the cool season grass edge. A natural grass regional species map is included in Attachment 1 to this report.
Cool season grasses are Perennial Ryegrasses/Bluegrass/Fescue Blend with optimal temperatures for growth between 60 to 75 degrees. These grasses are less intensive to maintain than other types, but require significant watering, fertilizer and pesticides and require longer recovery time after heavy use. Most growth occurs in spring and again in the fall. The natural grass fields in Sunnyvale parks have Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass and Fescue. These are the most common type of natural grass used in athletic fields in the Bay Area.
Warm season grasses are Bermuda grasses including hybrid varieties/Buffalograss/St. Augustine with optimal growth temperatures of 80 to 95 degrees so most growth occurs starting in late spring through late summer/early fall when it goes dormant. Warm season grasses are more tolerant of heavy use and they recover rapidly due to vigorous growth during hot weather. These grasses are also more drought resistant and require less water. They still require significant fertilizer and pesticides and are also much more labor intensive to maintain, requiring regular thatch removal and specialized mowers. During the cool season, these grasses go dormant and can turn yellow, requiring overseeding with cool season grasses.
Rain events are the biggest factor in increasing playing time on natural grass fields. In a dry weather year where the field is not closed due to rain events, the field would be programmed similarly with either warm season grasses or cool season grasses, but the quality of a warm season grass field would be better since they generally recover from heavy use faster.
Cultural Maintenance Practices
All grasses require cultural practices, including mowing, fertilization, irrigation, weed control, soil cultivation, top-dressing and overseeding. The amount of field maintenance effort is dependent on the type of grass or field base. For example, warm season Bermuda grass requires frequent dethatching and aeration as well as a specialized mower while cool season Bluegrass requires more watering and recovery time.
Field Base Construction
Field base construction types were also evaluated. Options range from native-soil grass fields, to slit-sand fields, to sand-based fields. Each field base has its own performance pros and cons and field management requirements. In general, higher performance fields, like sand-based fields, require frequent, specialized maintenance like dethatching and aeration. Capital costs for installation also vary greatly between the options.
Sand based fields are considered higher performance for competitive play because they can be built flat, without the gentle sloping needed to help drain native soil fields, but they still require limitations on the amount of field use or the quality of the surface will begin to degrade.
Regardless of field base construction type, the existing soil must be prepped and amended prior to planting seed or installing sod. Soil preparation includes rough and fine grading to set appropriate slopes for proper drainage. During this process, a soil fertility analysis is performed to determine if soil nutrients need to be added for optimal agronomic growth conditions. The results of the fertility analysis will prescribe appropriate soil amendments including compost, fertilizer, soil conditioner, etc. to prepare the soil for optimal growing conditions for the field. Once the sod or seed is installed, further soil and tissue testing can be performed to inform maintenance staff of further fertilizer and soil amendments needed to support proper plant health.
Use of any of these field types during wet months can lead to compaction and muddy conditions which can impact the wear tolerance and quality of the grass surface. Even the higher performance sand-based fields do not greatly improve the available annual hours that the field can be used. Daily programming of the field would not change with the more expensive sand-base construction. Since sand-base fields drain better, they can open slightly faster after rain events, so the amount of increased playing time is highly dependent on the number and intensity of rain events during the season.
The cost for sand-based fields is around $28/sf vs. $9/sf for native soil. The increase in hourly use applies to the shorter timeline that it takes for a sand-based field to dry out after a rain event. This would vary depending on annual rainfall and the number of rain events, but would likely equate to an additional day per rain event. The differing bases would help support better drainage and improve rootzone of the grass. It does not improve the wear value of the turf. Having a field with better drainage would allow users to return to using the field sooner after rain, but the field surface is susceptible to wear at the same rate as a native soil field and would still require the field to have rest periods for recovery during the winter months.
Consultation With other Agencies
Verde contacted and consulted other cities in the Bay Area to discuss their grass and field types and field recovery practices. Verde found among six cities along the Bay Area peninsula from Santa Clara to San Francisco, including Sunnyvale, a variety of Perennial Ryegrass/Bluegrass in native soil and slit sand fields. In addition, some cities use a Hybrid Bermuda on a sand-based field with Santa Clara specifically using Bandera and Latitude 36 Bermuda varieties and San Francisco overseeding their fields with Rye. All cities that were consulted close their fields for a few months during the winter for field management and recovery and San Carlos closes their fields for an additional couple months during the summer. Furthermore, some cities limit the number of activity hours per day and days per week that the fields can be programmed with at least one field fenced off and open only to reservations.
Evaluating all factors and experiences of other Bay Area cities, Verde Design and staff recommend a cool season Bluegrass/Rye blend on a native soil field for Lakewood Park athletic field. Staff also recommends the evaluation of equipment, materials, and staffing needed to maintain a higher level of field quality citywide as part of the FY 2026/27 operating budget, which will coincide with the completion of the Lakewood Park renovation project and Study Issue ESD 24-01. To further prolong the health of the field, different field outline orientations could be implemented within the space and programming could be reduced.
Field Layout
The preferred concept plan presented to City Council in October 2023 included striping for a U-14-16-19 Soccer Field, two U-10 Soccer Fields, a Youth Cricket Field and a Pony Baseball/Softball field with a brown multi-use synthetic turf infield that would overlap with the soccer and cricket fields. When the athletic fields were changed to natural grass, the baseball/softball field was changed to have a traditional dirt infield which caused a need to shift the soccer fields and enlarge the athletic field so they would be entirely on natural grass. Similarly with this change, there is no longer room for a Youth Cricket Field.
Additionally, field lighting is limited and the paved pathway between the new library and the John W. Christian Greenbelt is eliminated to create more flexibility in field layout. As directed by Council, the fence south of the halfway line has been removed and batting cages are included in the design. However, construction of the batting cages was not accounted for in the original budget and a budget modification may be required at award of construction contract.
The originally presented concept plan with field lay is included in Attachment 2. Attachment 3 includes the alternative concept plan with field layout options identified as Option A and B. As opposed to the current approved concept plan where field striping would have been built into the synthetic turf, temporary paint will be used for the field striping shown in options A and B so there is no difference between the two layouts from a construction standpoint as there will be flexibility to move and adjust the field locations. This will allow user groups to shift the field locations if they start to become worn out. The alternate path from the new library to the John W. Christian Greenbelt does not fit with options A and B due to the tight width to fit in the soccer fields. And the only option to address or mitigate the loss of the Youth Cricket Field would be the use dirt softball infield as part of the cricket field striped area, which does not appear viable.
FISCAL IMPACT
A native soil field with a Bluegrass/Rye blend is recommended for the athletic field at Lakewood Park. This is the most economical field type to construct and maintain and can be built within the existing budget for the project. If a higher performance sand-based field is desired, construction costs are estimated to be three to four times more expensive than a native soil field and between $2.2M and $2.9M of additional funding may be needed for construction. Similarly, maintenance of sand-based fields is more intensive and additional operating funding would be needed to maintain the field.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council meeting agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board at City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and this report are available at the NOVA Workforce Services reception desk located on the first floor of City Hall at 456 W. Olive Avenue (during normal business hours), and on the City's website.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve the Revised Concept for the Lakewood Renovation Project and installation of a natural turf Bluegrass/Rye blend or other blend with similar performance on a native soil field for the Lakewood Park athletic field.
2. Approve the Revised Concept for the Lakewood Renovation Project and installation of a natural turf Bluegrass/Rye blend or other blend with similar performance on a Sand-Based field.
3. Find the Action is Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15262.
4. Do not approve the Revised Concept for the Lakewood Renovation Project and Provide other direction to staff as Council deems appropriate.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternatives 1 and 3:
1) Approve the Revised Concept for the Lakewood Renovation Project and installation of a natural turf Bluegrass/Rye blend or other blend with similar performance on a native soil field for the Lakewood Park athletic field; and
3) Find the Action is Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15262.
The native soil field is recommended because it is less expensive to install and maintain and the increased play that would be achieved with the sand-based field is highly dependent on the number and intensity of rain events, which would likely only provide for minimal increases
Levine Act
LEVINE ACT
The Levine Act (Gov. Code Section 84308) prohibits city officials from participating in certain decisions regarding licenses, permits, and other entitlements for use if the official has received a campaign contribution of more than $250 from a party, participant, or agent of a party or participant in the previous 12 months. The Levine Act is intended to prevent financial influence on decisions that affect specific, identifiable persons or participants. For more information see the Fair Political Practices Commission website: www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/pay-to-play-limits-and-prohibitions.html
An “X” in the checklist below indicates that the action being considered falls under a Levine Act category or exemption:
SUBJECT TO THE LEVINE ACT
___ Land development entitlements
___ Other permit, license, or entitlement for use
___ Contract or franchise
EXEMPT FROM THE LEVINE ACT
___ Competitively bid contract*
___ Labor or personal employment contract
_X_ General policy and legislative actions
* "Competitively bid" means a contract that must be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
Staff
Prepared by: Bennett Chun, Senior Engineer
Reviewed by: Jennifer Ng, Assistant Director of Public Works
Reviewed by: Chip Taylor, Director of Public Works
Reviewed by: Sarah Johnson-Rios, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Tim Kirby, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Natural Grass: Regional Species Map
2. Conceptual Plan October 24, 2023
3. Field Layout Exhibit