(July 2, 2015, 4:30 p.m.) -- The City Attorney's office has moved to halt an appeal process invoked by veteran park protection advocate Ann Cantrell, the El Dorado Park South Neighborhood Association, El Dorado Audubon and others, following the June 15 voted action at a special meeting of LB's Parks & Recreation Commission which recommended (3-2) that the City Manager use a type of synthetic soccer field material not preferred by Parks & Rec management on cost grounds.

The appellants filed their appeals after Long Beach Parks & Recreation Director George Chapjian, in a public colloquy with Ms. Cantrell at the conclusion of the Commission meeting, indicated that invoking the appeal process would be proper and explained publicly how to do it...and the City Attorney's office rep, Deputy City Attorney Kendra Carney, didn't contradict Mr. Chapjian's statements at the time.

Audio of the meeting (webcast live by LBREPORT.com) shows that the following exchange occurred:

Ms. Cantrell: [inaudible]...process is for appeal to the City Council?

Parks & Rec Director George Chapjian: I think, whoever did speak or sent in correspondence can file an appeal with the City Council within ten days, City Clerk.

Ms. Cantrell: City Clerk...

Mr. Chapjian: Right, within ten days.

Ms. Cantrell: And is there a fee connected with that?

Mr. Chapjian: I don't believe so.

Ms. Cantrell: Thank you.

[Scroll down for further.]

However City Attorney Charles Parkin tells LBREPORT.com (July 2) that the Commission's approved motion and majority voted action was to make a recommendation to the City Manager as to the type of synthetic material to use, and since it was only a recommendation -- as opposed to a formal Commission decision -- there's no final action for the appellants to appeal. Mr. Parkin indicated that the matter will come to the City Council when the City Manager communicates the Parks & Rec Commission's recommended action and management's position and any additional information, including costs...and at that time, members of the public -- pro and con -- can speak to the issue.

City Attorney Parkin said the City Clerk is preparing a letter on the matter to those who filed appeals that will indicate that they are welcome to come to a future Council meeting when the issue will be agendized and they can express their views.

Isn't this inconsistent with what the Director Parks & Rec said publicly about filing an appeal and the Deputy City Attorney didn't deny? Yes, it is inconsistent City Attorney Parkin acknowledged, and said he regretted any confusion on the matter, but added that it doesn't change his view that there's no final Commission action to appeal. If there had been, he noted, such an appeal would be recognized...but not when the Commission's action was only a recommendation.

Sec. 904 of the LB City Charter [city's constitution] and LB Municipal Code section 2.54.010(A) and (B) [Council enacted ordinance] state as follows:

LB CITY CHARTER SECTION 904: APPEAL TO CITY COUNCIL.

The City Council shall by ordinance establish a procedure for appeal to the City Council of Commission actions relating to City sponsored programs, services and facilities. By two-thirds (2/3) vote, the City Council shall have the power on any such appeal to affirm, modify or overrule the decision of the Commission.

LB Municipal Code section 2.54.010 - Appeal of decisions.

A. Who may appeal. Any aggrieved person may appeal a decision or action of the Recreation Commission involving a City sponsored program, service or facility to the City Council. For purposes of this Section, an "aggrieved person" means any person who personally or through a representative appeared and testified at a public meeting or hearing of the Recreation Commission in connection with the decision or action appealed or who by other appropriate means prior to a meeting or hearing informed the Recreation Commission of the nature of his concerns. "Aggrieved person" includes an applicant or other real party in interest.
B. Time and place to file appeal. An appeal must be filed within ten (10) calendar days after a decision or action, and the appeal shall be filed with the City Clerk on a form provided by the City. The City Clerk shall promptly notify the Recreation Department when an appeal is filed.

Under the City Attorney's stance, city management will be able to present the Parks & Rec Commission's recommendation, and city's staff's response (including costs and other matters it considers relevant) to the City Council at legnth. Following management's presentation and possible Council Q & A and colloquy, the public will have an opportunity to comment, pro and con, with speakers usually limited to three minutes each (although the Council can by a 2/3 vote waive the restriction and permit some additional time.)

As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, an appeal filed by Ms. Cantrell cited "heat, injury and health problems" with artificial turf" and states "I believe the appropriated funds could be used for natural grass, however, the Commission did not discuss this possibility." Ms. Cantrell has previously argued that safe and level soccer fields should be provided using natural grass and has argued that this ought to be feasible (including eliminating gopher holes) at competitive costs. (Appeal text below.)

An appeal filed by the El Dorado Park South Neighborhood Association alleges inconsistent information was provided at various community meetings, seeks CEQA review of lights, traffic, and noise issues and a factual presentation of various turf options to reflect both benefits and negatives of turf options and concern over fencing of the soccer fields. "We ask that...the Council [take up the issue] in an effort to arrive at a verifiable, safe, cost-effective, and ultimately fair decision that respects all participants in this discussion." (Appeal text below.)

El Dorado Audubon has filed and appeal in which it state its support for quality soccer fields.

LBREPORT.com is told that at least three other individual appeals were hand-delivered on June 24, and a fourth was emailed although we haven't seen their texts. [It's unclear to us if the three additional submitters testified in person or submitted previous written testimony, giving them "aggrieved" status enabling them to file appeals.]

Soccer field user groups, including AYSO 177 locally, have consistently urged safe and level fields without gopher holes and a jagged surface and on that basis have supported artificial turf. However, to date [to our knowledge] the soccer field user groups haven't expressed a preference for or opposition to any specific type of artificial material. During the June 15 Parks & Rec Commission meeting, one soccer field supporter agreed that grass fields, if properly maintained, would be optimal...while accepting management's position that grass isn't feasible on budget grounds.

[Scroll down for further.]

Advertisement

Advertisement

LBREPORT.com provides copies of the two appeal texts below:

Cantrell appeal text: I am appealing the decisions of the Parks and Recreation Commission on June 15, 2115 regarding the Artificial Turf Soccer Fields at Seaside, Admiral Kidd and El Dorado Park West; and the fencing and lighting at the El Dorado Park West soccer field.

CEQA has not been followed for these fields. There has been no environmental review of the safety of the chosen materials for the artificial turf. Staff was unable to tell the commission and the public anything about the coconut based fill other than it only lasts two to three years and it requires more water to cool.

There has been no review of the possible environmental results of enlarging the current field at El Dorado and adding lights and fencing to the project. An EIR needs to be done to evaluate the possible addition of noise and traffic with playing time increased.

The Commission and the City Attorney insists that artificial turf fields were mandated by the City Council in 2013. The minutes of the Budget Committee of Sept. 3, 2013 state: "$1,820,000 to Renovate and Repair Athletic Fields additional funding."

Then from the City Council Budget Hearing, Sept. 3 2013 minutes:

Vote: Approve recommendation to approve the Budget Oversight Committee recommendations of September 3, 2013, as amended, to provide for: [1] additional funding for soccer field renovations at three parks (Admiral Kidd , El Dorado, and Seaside) via the reallocation $200,000 taken from residential street paving, $100,000 taken from the technology and civic innovation fund, and $100,000 taken from the City Manager Proposed $3,257,000 Council directed projects fund.

In addition the grants applied for Seaside and Drake Park fields also do not mention artificial turf.

With the wording of these motions and grants stating only "Renovating and Repairing the three soccer fields," I believe the appropriated funds could be used for natural grass, however, the Commission did not discuss this possibility.

With the heat, injury and health problems now known to be connected with artificial turf, I am asking the council to overturn the Parks and Recreation Commission vote and reconsider its use.

---

El Dorado Park South Neighborhood Ass'n Appeal: The El Dorado Park South Neighborhood Association is appealing the decision to install artificial turf soccer fields in Long Beach parks; specifically, regarding the installation of said artificial turf at El Dorado Park. However, our concerns are for all of the residences and parks of Long Beach.

Our specific reasons for appeal are as follows:

Concern for the health of today’s children and future generations to come.

• Inconsistent information being provided at the various community meetings.
• A determination of a CEQA review to assess the lights, traffic, and noise issues.
• The presenting of facts regarding the various turf options, with an effort to reflect both the benefits and the negatives of any of the turf options.
• The fencing of the soccer fields.

  We ask that this appeal be granted, and that the council take up this undertaking once again in an effort to arrive at a verifiable, safe, cost-effective, and ultimately fair decision that respects all participants in this discussion...

[Scroll down for further.]

Advertisement

Advertisement

In budget votes in Sept. 2013 and Sept. 2014, the Council [under the previous and now current Council majorities (absent Supernaw)] enacted annual City Hall budgets that assumed cost savings -- based on Parks & Rec management's contention -- that cost savings would result if artificial turf were installed at three locations. (Management chose El Dorado Park West, Admiral Kidd Park and Seaside Park.) Soccer field users, including AYSO 177 locally, supported the action on grounds the city's current grass soccer fields contained gopher holes and/or weren't well maintained, resulting in injuries for soccer players.

LBREPORT.com's review of audio from Sept. 2013 and 2014 Council budget discussions indicates that Councilmembers voiced support for cost savings and better maintained, smooth, level soccer fields to meet user demand and essentially accepted Parks & Rec management's contended cost savings without serious question.

The issue reached the Parks & Recreation Commission since the Council's budget vote didn't specify what type of artificial material to use. Following the Council budget vote, public concerns grew over the potential use of "crumb rubber" (waste/recycled tire scraps.) A number of residents voiced health concerns and raised other user issues, including excessive field heat from crumb rubber [an issue that recently arose in the Women's World Cup in Canada.] None of these issues were discussed by the City Council in its budget decisions in 2013 and 2014.

In an item agendized for the June 15 Parks & Rec Commission meeting, Parks & Rec management recommended using crumb rubber coated with some type of acrylic material, which it said was cooler than uncoated crumb rubber and could "mitigate" health concerns.

Asked by LBREPORT.com at the speakers' podium what type of acrylic material it was, Parks & Rec management didn't have an immediate answer.

Management offered the Commission a list of various types of materials from which it could choose, including GeoFill/GeoTurf (a natural material composed of coconut husks, rice, etc.) Management indicated that GeoFill/GeoTurf would produce sizable cost savings over natural grass...but estimated it would cost roughly $50,000 more per field than acrylic coated crumb rubber. After hearing public testimony, the Parks & Recreation Commission voted 3-2 to choose the natural GeoFill/GeoTurf "coconut husk" material.

[Scroll down for further.]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Developing. Further to follow.