Sports play on city/school fields could fall under city's recreation department as part of plan to streamline scheduling, improve maintenance streamline scheduling

By Linda Taaffe and Lauren McSherry, Town Crier Staff Writers

Dodging gopher holes isn’t typically an organized sport, but it could be in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. Many local playing fields are in such disrepair team members have learned to avoid such obstacles as part of their regular competition, parents say. And that’s not the only problem. There is not enough field space to handle the volume of local club teams that have recently begun to play year-round. Los Altos’ best-maintained field only ranks fair compared to national industry standards.

While the maintenance and space problems appear obvious, the solution hasn’t been as evident. The fields fall under multiple city and school jurisdictions and are played on by several different user groups. Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, the Los Altos School District, the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District and Pinewood School all hold a stake in local fields. Each operates independently from the other.

That could change. The Los Altos City Council agreed last week during a joint meeting with the Los Altos Hills City Council to take the lead in surveying the number and condition of fields in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills and to begin working with local school districts on a plan to coordinate field scheduling and maintenance possibly through the city’s Recreation Department. The Hills council agreed to pursue obtaining additional field space, possibly at the Bullis-Purissima School site on Fremont Road on Los Altos School District property. Both councils are scheduled to formally adopt this plan at their regular council meetings.

A pending lawsuit filed against the school district by Los Altos Hills over the location of a charter school played a part in Los Altos’ decision to take the lead role.

“I think Los Altos Hills and the Los Altos School District may be in a hostile relationship right now. It makes more sense that Los Altos take the lead role,” Los Altos Councilman Ron Packard said.

Los Altos Mayor David Casas added, “I think Los Altos should navigate the process since most of the property is in our hands. Los Altos Hills should be a component of these discussions.”

Parent Brad Lyman, a member of the LA/LAH Sport Field Ad Hoc Committee recently formed by residents in both towns, said there are plenty of parents who would like to donate money toward better field maintenance, but without specific research or one entity in charge, it’s difficult to tell people where and how money needs to be directed.

“The big problem and reason for lack of playing fields is that kids are not playing seasonally. These sports are being played on year-round schedules,” Lyman said. “There’s a real strain on the fields and … they’re deteriorating.”

Dave Brees, Los Altos recreation director, said with one department coordinating usage, players could be reconfigured to get the most use from field space. But that could create more maintenance issues because of the added use.

To maintain fields at an above-average level under industry standards, would require one worker for every six to 10 acres. Los Altos has about one worker for every 12 acres. The school district has less, he said.