HomeMy WebLinkAbout40 - NB-3 - Proposal for New Field Use and Allocat. - 7/7/2015CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: July 7, 2015
ITEM NUMBER: IVB -3
SUBJECT: PROPOSAL FOR NEW FIELD USE AND ALLOCATION POLICY (FUAP) and
REQUEST FOR SPECIAL STATUS OF SPECIFIC YOUTH SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS
DATE: JUNE 30, 2015
FROM: PARKS & COMMUNITY SERVICES I RECREATION DIVISION
PRESENTATION BY: TRAVIS M KARLEN, RECREATION MANAGER
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: ALMA REYES, RECREATION SUPERVISOR
714-754-5636
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Approve the new Field Use and Allocation Policy (FUAP) with amendments by the Parks
and Recreation Commission and,
2. Approve that the following youth sports groups: AYSO 97, Newport Harbor Baseball
Association and Newport Mesa Girls Softball be granted permanent Group 1 status.
Furthermore, extending Group 3 status for Matt Leinart Flag Football Organization for a
period of one year.
BACKGROUND
At the June 25, 2015 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, staff presented the commission
with a newly proposed Field Use and Allocation Policy (FUAP) (Attachment 1). At that meeting
the commission recommended changes to the proposed FUAP. Staff has included a detailed
Chart of Changes/Comments and Commissioner Amendments (Attachment 2).
Since the adoption of the Athletic Field Use and Allocation Policy (FUAP) (Attachment 3) in
November 1997, the document has been reviewed and amended on an annual basis. By
amending the policy in sections, it has become segmented, contains contradicting sections and
has become quite lengthy. Staff and user groups found the document challenging to understand
and administer.
In January 2015, staff began gathering field use policies from other cities, including but not limited
to Irvine, Orange, Fullerton, Roseville and Yorba Linda to use as examples and assist staff in
creating a new policy for Costa Mesa. Staff's goal was to create a long-standing policy; therefore,
references to specific Council -adopted exceptions or specific standalone policies such as
temporary lighting and banner policies were removed from the new 2015 version FUAP. These
policies will now be provided as separate documents to the FUAP.
After writing the new policy, staff met individually with all user groups to review the draft.
Comments received from individual groups are presented on the FUAP Chart of
Changes/Comments. User groups were invited to provide additional comments after their
individual meetings. No additional comments were received. Specific changes to the policy are
discussed below.
The Parks and Recreation Commission is recommending that the proposed FUAP and
amendments be approved by the City Council; and approve the special group status for the
recommended groups.
DISCUSSION
After extensive review of the existing FUAP, staff is proposing a new FUAP. Significant
deletions/additions/modifications to the proposed FUAP are as follows:
Deletions
III. Definition of Terms, Resident Percentage Status (Page 2)
"Special Residency Status" to certain sports organizations was deleted and will be
documented outside of the FUAP. The sentence "Special residency status may be
granted at the discretion of the City Council/CEO" was added to accommodate future
determinations that may be necessary.
The commission is recommending that the City Council approve the following sports groups,
AYSO 97, Newport Harbor Baseball Association and Newport Mesa Girls Softball be
grandfathered at the Group 1 status. The philosophy of these groups is in line with what the
Group 1 status calls for.
AYSO 97 and Newport Harbor Baseball Association have been serving residents of the
Eastside of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach for a number of years. Their programs serve a
population of students from the NMUSD. Both organizations have contributed to capital
improvements and are volunteer based organizations.
Newport Mesa Girls Softball is our only all girls organization that is currently allocated fields in
Costa Mesa. In an effort to increase girl's participation in group sports, it is important for this
group to have priority in the field allocation process.
Staff received a letter requesting to extend the Group 3 status for the Matt Leinart Flag Football
Organization (Attachment 4). Additionally the commission is recommending that Matt Leinart
Flag Football Organization be granted a one year extension of their Group 3 status. NOTE:
Due to residency requirements, if Group 3 status is not granted to Matt Leinart Flag
Football Organization, the group will fall into a Group 5 classification.
It is the intention of Matt Leinart Flag Football Organization to conduct business under the
auspices of So -Cal Elite Sports, a federally recognized 501 (c)(3) non-profit company. All
registration fees will be collected by So -Cal Elite Sports with Matt Leinart Flag Football handling
the league's operations.
III. Definition of Terms, Commercial Status (Page 3)
Commercial Status was deleted as a category because it is synonymous with "Private
Status." Commercial status was often confused with Private status in the previous
version and in practicality they virtually mean the same thing.
• IV. Process for Obtaining Permits (Page 5)
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In order to allocate fields according to actual use, deposits are no longer accepted.
Instead, 50% of the payment is required when the field request is approved. Therefore,
the deposits section is no longer necessary and the reference to this have been
removed.
VI. Rules and Regulations (Page 8)
The rules and regulations in the FUAP were not consistent throughout the document.
The rules and regulations have been pulled from the document and are now included as
one of the seven (7) documents turned in twice per year with field requests (see Section
V. page 5 of proposed FUAP). These rules and regulations have a signature line to
verify that the user groups understand them.
• VII. Site Specific Field Use (Page 10)
This section has been deleted because each field in the Costa Mesa inventory is unique.
The specifics of the sites are not pertinent to the field allocation process.
Additions (New FUAP)
• IV. 4. Governing Body for Sports Organizations (Page 3)
The City partners with youth sports organizations by allocating fields and managing the
use of fields at City and School District facilities. Staff believes it is important to require
that these organizations be governed by a local, state or national body to decrease
liability to the City. This section of the policy does not impact any of our current groups.
Organizations must maintain an affiliation with a national, state or local sport governing
body. Those national and state bodies must have governance over the organization,
including all requirements for training per each league's manual, background checks
and disciplinary actions."
• IV. Field Allocations at Jack Hammett Sports Complex (Page 4)
In order to protect the integrity of the Jack Hammett Sports Complex and to assure that
safety vehicles and personnel can safely reach the field, staff proposes the following
language:
"Sports organizations offering programs at Jack Hammett Sports Complex (JHSC) on
Friday nights must have 100% Costa Mesa residents/NMUSD students and/or attend a
private school within Costa Mesa city limits. Due to the limited facility and parking
capacity at JHSC, the number of participants/spectators may be limited and/or the field
request may be reviewed by other City departments for safety and Costa Mesa
Municipal Code violations."
Current groups will have a 6 month period from the adoption of the FUAP to comply with the
100% residency. Groups will need to be in compliance by February 1, 2016.
IV. Process for Obtaining Permits (Page 5)
In order to allocate fields according to actual use, deposits are no longer accepted;
instead, 50% of the payment is required when the field request is approved.
V. League Splits and New Leagues (Page 5)
This section was added to accommodate youth sport league splits, new leagues, and
name changes, which is not uncommon. This section provides the requirements
necessary to be deemed a new user group or to make a name change. It also gives
staff the authority to limit new groups if needed.
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• VI. Field Allocation Process (Page 7)
This section was added to clarify primary versus secondary sports seasons, as well as
the renovation periods. In addition, a graph was added (Exhibit A, page 17) to enhance
the explanation.
• VIII. Fees (Page 9)
Group numbers were added to "Groups" so that individuals/groups could easily
determine their fees.
Further, there are several instances where user groups are dividing utility fields more
than twice, creating excessive wear and tear on the fields, parking and safety issues as
well as impacts to the neighborhoods. In order to address these issues, staff is
proposing the following language:
"NOTE: Any permitted field that is converted into multiple fields will be charged for each
converted field. For example, if one utility field is converted into two individual fields, the
user group will be charged for two fields. Fields may not be split into more than two
without written permission from City and noted on permit. Should the City deem it
necessary due to extenuating circumstances, fields may be temporarily split more than
twice.
IX. Financial Recovery Policy (Page 10)
This section was added to clarify that the City is committed to providing fields to Costa
Mesa residents and students within the Newport -Mesa Unified School District at
taxpayer expense unless additional costs are incurred due to an organization's direct
impact.
XI. Maintenance Issues, Turf Preservation (Page 11)
This section was added to enlist the cooperation of sports groups using fields by giving
them turf preservation guidelines.
XI. Maintenance Issues, Athletic Field Lining/Marking (Page 12)
Due to previous conflicts between sports groups regarding line colors, staff has included
language which gives City the authority to determine line colors for the different user
groups.
XI. Maintenance Issues, Inclement Weather Guidelines (Page 13)
This section was added to give more playability options to groups during periods of
inclement weather. This new language was reviewed and approved by the Maintenance
section of the Public Services Department.
• XIII. Other Information, Vendors and Concessions (Page 15)
This section adds language to clarify the use of concession stands by first -party
operators (user groups) and second -party operators (concessionaires or food trucks) to
protect the health and safety of participants.
Modifications
IV. Priority Group Classifications
Staff is recommending to change the word "may" to "must" in the first sentence under
Group 3 status. The new sentence would read, "Organizations that must otherwise
meet all Group 1 requirements EXCEPT one of the following."
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By doing so, this clarifies this section which would require a Group 3 to have non-profit
status. If this change is made, the Youth/Private Resident Fees would be deleted from
Group 3 on page 9.
V. Process for Obtaining/Maintaining Permits (Page 5)
Requests for fields have two permitting periods: February through June and July
through January. The recommendation is that organizations turn in field requests by the
first week of August for the February 1 — June 30 use period and by the first week of
January for the July 1 — January 30 use period, which is one season earlier than in the
previous FUAP. This is important because it defines the number of fields an
organization is approved well in advance of the organization taking registration.
V. Process for Obtaining/Maintaining Permits (Page 5)
Organizations are required to turn in seven (7) documents with the field request twice
per year. In the July 1, 2014 FUAP, the same seven (7) documents were required but
they were not listed all in one area. This section has been amended to simplify the
process.
V. Process for Obtaining/Maintaining Permits, Disciplinary Action for Field Policy
Violations (Page 6)
Costa Mesa has always had a "Three Strikes" policy regarding violations of the FUAP.
The proposed FUAP condenses this policy to make it easier to follow. Further examples
of violations were added for clarification.
FISCAL REVIEW
There is no fiscal impact as a result of the adoption of the new FUAP.
LEGAL REVIEW
No legal review is required for this item.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
1. The Council could choose to select all, some or none of the recommended changes and
amendments by the Parks and Recreation Commission for approval.
2. The Council could make other changes to this policy for approval.
3. The Council could delegate the entire administration of the field allocation policy to
Administrative Staff.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the newly proposed Field Use and Allocation
Policy (FUAP) with the amendments made by the Parks and Recreation Commission.
Furthermore, approve that the following youth sports groups: AYSO 97, Newport Harbor Baseball
Association and Newport Mesa Girls Softball be granted permanent Group 1 status and that Matt
Leinart Football be granted an extension of their Group 3 status for a period of one year.
Travis M. Karlen
Recreation Manager
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Attachments:
1. Newly proposed FUAP
2. FUAP Chart of Changes/Comments and Amendments bV Parks &
Recreation Commission
3. Current FUAP
4. Matt Leinart Special Status Letter