HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-10-15; Parks & Recreation Commission; 1007-4; Arena Soccer Subcommittee ReportPARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION - AGENDA BILL
AB#1007-4
MTG. DATE: | 10/15/07
STAFF: | STEYAERT
ARENA SOCCER SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT
INFO
ACTION
RECOMMENDED ACTION :
Receive staff report and Arena Soccer Subcommittee comments and make a recommendation to the City
Council as to if there is an appropriate site for an arena soccer facility.
ITEM EXPLANATION :
On February 6, 2007, Mr. Jeff Kuester presented a proposal to the City Council on the concept of
entering into a public/private partnership to construct an arena soccer facility in one of the City's parks.
Mr. Kuester recommended Aviara Community Park, in the location of the future community center as the
best location. Mr. Kuester has stated that his concept would be for a "temporary" facility that could be
relocated when the community center is built. Attached is the City Council Agenda Bill (Exhibit 1) that
outlines the issue and staffs inability to support Aviara Park site for arena soccer.
Council's action was to direct staff to 1) work on public/private partnership guidelines and/or policies that
would allow the City to enter into such a partnership should they decide to do so, and 2) work with the
Parks and Recreation Commission to evaluate appropriate sites.
Concerning number 1 above, staff is currently investigating other cities' experience with public private
partnerships and working with the City Attorney's Office to develop guidelines/policies. A
recommendation is expected by the end of the year.
Related to the issue of appropriateness of sites, the Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission
appointed an Arena Soccer Subcommittee (Comstock, Hubbard, and Lyons) to work with staff. Staff
met with the subcommittee and evaluated several potential sites and included them in on a rating sheet
(Exhibit 2). From this list, the subcommittee chose four sites to consider - Aviara, Poinsettia, Zone 5
parks, and the future Robertson Ranch park site (Exhibit 3). The subcommittee, Recreation staff, and two
Planning Department staff members then conducted a site tour of the four sites.
The subcommittee has recommended the Aviara Park site as the first choice and Poinsettia Park
as the second choice.
It should be noted that subsequent to the subcommittee's decision on sites, staff has learned of an issue
related to parking problems at Aviara Park. Staff that manage the park have brought to our attention that
parking is already an issue at certain times due to more people utilizing the existing soccer field than
anticipated. Addition of another soccer venue at the park would exacerbate the situation and will be a
consideration in obtaining the Conditional Use Permit amendment (which is required for this use at
Aviara Park). Staff will discuss this issue at the meeting.
EXHIBITS:
1. City Council Agenda Bill
2. Rating sheet
3. Park sites considered
/3
EXHIBIT 1
CITY OF CARLSBAD - AGENDA BILL
16
AB# 18,892
MTG. 2/6/07
DEPT. Recreation
ARENA SOCCER FACILITY AT AVIARA
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RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT Resolution No. 2007-026 requesting that the Parks and Recreation Commission
evaluate and recommend appropriate sites within the City for an arena soccer facility; and also
direct staff to return with a policy for City Council consideration to assist the City in processing
this request and future public / private partnership proposals.
ITEM EXPLANATION:
In 2006 the Recreation Department received a proposal from Mr. Jeff Kuester requesting that
ARENA SPORTS enter in a public/private venture to build an arena soccer complex at Aviara
Community Park (Exhibit 2). With the assistance of the city, ARENA SPORTS would like to
construct and manage an enclosed soccer facility currently where the future community center
is planned to be located (Exhibit 3). They would like to remain at this site until such time that the
city is ready to build the new community center. The community center is currently scheduled
in the Capital Improvement Program Budget in FY 2016-2021.
Recreation staff reviewed this proposal in-depth and determined that this request could not be
supported and has recommended that Mr. Kuester consider alternative sites because of the
following:
o A thorough community outreach was conducted in late 2000 and early 2001 that
culminated in an agreed upon Aviara Community Park Master Plan which included a
Community Center with a Senior Component. This plan was approved by the City
Council in 2001.
o A lengthy Conditional Use Permit process was under taken to obtain entitlements for the
park and center based on the Master Plan.
o A temporary installation may create community expectations and make it difficult to
remove a soccer arena.
A letter to Mr. Kuester detailing these issues has been identified in Exhibit 4. Mr. Kuester
indicated that no other site will fit his needs, thus would like direction from the City Council as
how to proceed.
FOR CITY CLERKS USE ONLY.
COUNCIL ACTION: APPROVED H
DENIED D
CONTINUED D
WITHDRAWN D
AMENDED D
CONTINUED TO DATE SPECIFIC D
CONTINUED TO DATE UNKNOWN D
RETURNED TO STAFF D
OTHER - SEE MINUTES D
7607206917 City of Carlsbad/Clerk 12:11:32 p.m. 01-30-2007 1/1
Page 2
If Council is interested in pursuing public/private partnerships such as Mr. Kuester has
suggested, there are two questions that would need to be addressed: 1) what locations could
be considered and 2) what terms and conditions would be acceptable. To answer these
questions staff is recommending that the City Council request that the Parks and Recreation
Commission bring back a recommendation for Council consideration for an arena soccer
facility. This would include researching alternative sites within the city, identifying pros and
cons and doing an analysis to determine land values and best use practices for these sites. It is
also recommended that staff obtain advice from the City Attorney's office as to the legal
boundaries the city must adhere to upon entering into a partnership agreement with any other
public/private opportunity that may occur in the future.
Staff would like the City Council to be aware that the Recreation Department is currently
working on a number of park projects. They include: Alga Norte Park, Golf Course, Poinsettia
Tennis Courts, Senior Center Expansion, and a multitude of additional City goals. It should be
noted that staff is eager to explore this opportunity and at the same time being realistic when it
comes to taking on additional work load. If Council directs staff to pursue this business venture
we will incorporate it into the 2007-08 goal cycle, unless directed otherwise.
FISCAL IMPACT;
There is no fiscal impact at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
None at this time.
EXHIBITS:
1. Resolution No. 2007-026 requesting that the Parks and Recreation Commission
review and recommend an appropriate site for an arena soccer facility.
2. Site map of Aviara Community Park.
3. Photo of an arena soccer facility.
4. Letter to Mr. Kuester from Recreation Director dated September 5,2006.
DEPARTMENT CONTACT: Ken Price 760-434-2826 kpric@ci.carlsbad.ca.us
1 RESOLUTION NO. 2007-026
2 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, REQUESTING THE PARKS
3 AND RECREATION COMMISSION TO IDENTIFY AN
4 APPROPRIATE SITE FOR AN ARENA SOCCER FACILITY;
AND FOR STAFF TO RETURN WITH A POLICY TO
5 ASSIST THE CITY IN PROCESSING THIS REQUEST AND
FUTURE PUBLIC/PRIVATE PROPOSALS.
6
7 WHEREAS, The Parks & Recreation Commission is appointed by the City
8 Council and consists of seven members; and,
o
WHEREAS, The City received a request from Mr. Jeff Kuester requesting that
10
ARENA SOCCER enter into a public / private partnership; and
11
WHEREAS that the City Council has no such policy to assist the City in
12
processing public / private partnership proposals;
IJ
14 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of
15 Carlsbad, California, as follows:
16 1. That the above recitations are true and correct.
17 2. That the City Council is requesting that the Parks and Recreation
18 Commission evaluate and recommend appropriate sites within the City for an
19 arena soccer facility.
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3. To direct staff to return with a policy for City Council consideration to
assist the City in processing this request and future public / private
23 partnership proposals.
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PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council
of the City of Carlsbad on the 6th day of February, 2007, by the following vote:
AYES: Council Members Lewis, Kulchin, Hall, Packard
NOES: None.
ABSENT: Council Member Sigafoose.
ATTEST:
(SEAL)
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M. WOOD, City Clerk
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EXHIBIT 2
EXHIBITS
City of Carlsbad
Recreation Department
September 5, 2006
IMPROVING
QUALITY
OF LIFE
BUILDING
COMMUNITY
PRIDE
STRENGTHENING
FAMILIES
DEVELOPING
TOMORROW'S
LEADERS
JeffKuester
ARENA SPORTS
2986 Ridgefield Ave.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Dear Mr. Kuester:
Thank you for submitting your proposal for a public/private venture to
build an Arena Sports Complex at Aviara Community Park. We
appreciate the submittal of your request, as the City is interested in
pursuing public/private partnerships with local businesses and community
leaders such as yourself.
After a thorough analysis of the concept by our staff, we felt that your
proposal had a good deal of merit and that an Arena Sports Complex
might provide a great asset to the City of Carlsbad. However, our
analysis also determined that we could not support an Arena Soccer
complex at the site proposed in your request, namely Aviara Community
Park.
The City currently has an approved Master Plan for Aviara Community
Park that was developed over several years with the input of citizens, the
Parks and Recreation Commission, the Planning Commission, and City
Council. The approved Master Plan calls for a community center to be
built on the site at Aviara Community Park that was referenced in your
proposal. While it's true that the City's current Capital Improvement
Program shows a start date for the Aviara Community Center out in the
future, the City Council regularly moves projects up and back during their
annual review. Your suggestion was to build an Arena Sports facility
"until such time that the City of Carlsbad is ready to build the new
Community Center." Our reluctance to pursue that path is threefold.
EXHIBIT 4
www.ci.carlsbad.ca.us
12OO Carlsbad Village Drive Carlsbad, CA 92OO8-1989 (760)434-2826 FAX (76O)72O-6917
First, the entitlement process to amend the current park permits will be
long and possibly a contentious issue with the surrounding neighbors.
Many of them were involved with the development of the current Park
Master Plan and the change proposed would be a substantial deviation
from the original plan (e.g. lighted active use vs. a community center).
Secondly, if the Arena Sports Complex is used extensively there is likely
to be objections by specific user groups when the time comes to remove
the complex in order to facilitate building of the new structure. It is
important to bear in mind that the future Aviara Community Center will
serve a larger segment of our community than an Arena Sports complex,
including providing facilities for senior citizens, preschoolers, families,
and various community groups.
Our final concern relates to the design and construction costs of the
''temporary" site improvements the City would be providing, including
foundations, lighting and landscaping, as outlined in your proposal. Our
analysis of your cost estimates and our current experiences with rising
construction costs indicate that expenses for site preparation would most
likely be higher than those shown in your plan, particularly in light of the
need to use prevailing wage rates. Also, several of the site improvements
would actually be considered as more permanent in nature. Subsequent
removal could be costly, driving the City's total required outlay to an
even higher level. It was determined that investing a substantial amount
of City funds for such an uncertain time frame would not be prudent or in
the best interests of our citizens. In addition, there is currently a projected
shortfall of between $12 to $17 million dollars to fund projects in the
current Capital Improvement Program. Using unallocated funds for this
project would mean fewer resources for our future parks.
Due to the aforementioned reasons, we feel we cannot endorse the
proposed facility at Aviara Community Park; however, we would like to
suggest two alternate sites for your consideration. The first alternative
would be at Poinsettia Park on Hidden Valley Road. The specific location
would be in the northwest corner of the park, below the existing soccer
field (see site map attached). This site is currently available, and an
Arena Soccer facility at this location would be consistent with the City
Council's approved Master Plan for Poinsettia Park.
A second alternative would be at our Zone 5 Business Park on Faraday
Avenue. Our staff felt that this would be a good fit for such a facility, but
the process to initiate building on this site could be extensive. Since no
existing Master Plan exists for this area, City Council approval would be
required. In addition, there would need to be an interest for such a facility
in the Business Park community surrounding the site before we would
proceed with the approval process. It may take several years to obtain the
necessary approvals, permits and funding required for such a project
While this is an involved process, the Business Park may be ideal for such
a facility due to its proximity to a large number of area businesses and
potential users.
If either of these alternatives is of interest to you, we would encourage
you to contact us again to explore these options further. Again, we very
much appreciate your interest in pursuing a public/private venture with
the City of Carlsbad and hope to work with you in the future.
Respectfully,
Ken Price
Recreation Director
cc: City Manager
Assistant City Manager
Parks Development Manager
Recreation Services Manager
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EXHIBIT 2
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EXHIBIT 3