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Home My WebLink About09/16/1997, COMM - PUBLIC COMMENT i 13:�;air�t'•is,c.rorrert for Marianne Michels, Ed.D. future Couracii n)eetirrg 1546 Oceanaire Drive -7 San Luis Obispo, Ca 93405 L'alp, i ac,Cr:d;zed__ July 27, 1997 NCIL D CDD DIR AO D FIN DIR AO D FIRE CHIEF Allen Settle, Mayor ATTORNEY D PW DIR 990 Palm Street D CLERKIORIG D 90UICE CHF rl G T TEAM REC DIR San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 D UTIL DIR D D PERS DIR Dear Mayor Settle: We received a letter from Paul LaSage,Director of Parks and Recreation regarding the consideration of building a multi-field sports complex at Laguna Lake Park. By virtue of the fact that we live on Laguna Lake and enjoy the view of the park from our home, we are very concerned by Mr. LaSage's proposal. We, as well as the community-at-large, have a vested interest in maintaining the natural parklands setting and nature reserve that is found within the boundaries of the park. We will be out-of-town and,therefore, unable to participate in the community meeting on August 4, 1997. We have major concerns regarding the development of Laguna Lake Park as a multi-field sports complex. Please enter our objections into the record. Our concerns include: ► Laguna Lake Park Master Plan designated this park as a natural preserve. Development at the park should be limited to activities/structures that can be contained within the definition of a preserve. We are totally opposed to changing the master plan to accommodate a sports complex. ► Noise travels across the water quickly and easily and amplified sound systems would be a major disturbance. Crowd noise also travels across the lake unamplified. While an occasional party group or fund-raising group gets loud and can be heard from a distance,the neighborhood can adjust due to the infrequent naiure of these occurrences. A regular schedule of sports events is unacceptable. ► Mr. LaSage states that "athletic fields can be designed in such a manner as to eliminate" noise,light and traffic problems. The truth of the matter is these kinds of"neighborhood concerns" cannot be eliminated through structural design. These problems will negatively impact the animal population, people who now use the park regularly for recreation, and people living in the neighborhood, if the city approves the Laguna Lake Park sports complex. We are opposed to any development of the park beyond the scope of the current master plan. ► Trash is always a problem in the "wind tunnel." Even though city crews would probably RECEIVED JUL 3: 1. 1997 SLO CITY COUNCIL be assigned to provide clean-up service they would get there to late to prevent the mess. The current park hours are 6 a.m.to 10 a.m. Activities at a sports complex would necessitate an extension of the closing time. Late night use is inconsistent with the neighborhood. Currently,voices of people visiting the park late at night can be distinctly heard by residents living on Oceanaire, resulting in police calls. A sports complex would only make this situation worse. The city has a beautiful,natural park enjoyed by-many people in our town. It is an example of nature conservancy at its best! Please, DO NOT disturb this treasure spot by building a multi-field sports complex. Sincerely yours, Marianne Michels Linda L. Long cc: Paul LaSage Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. Bray 958 Vista Collados FULL COUNCIL HAS San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 RECEIVED THIS DOCUMENT Home Phone(805) 5448244 -- , July 27, 1997 Regi hi_� :; aumcnl for 0-MNCIL ❑ CDD DIR (0du •, C.;1j:icil meeting ICAO ❑ FIN DIR / Mr. Paul LeSage C 40_0 ❑ FIRE CHIEF 1 c/o Parks&Recreation Dept. ❑-ATTORNEY ❑ PW DIR ;;c,l�: ac-vrrJ'�.ed ❑-e RK10RIG ❑ POLIC CHF 1341 Nipomo Street ❑ MGM M DIR San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 ❑ UTIL DIR ❑ ❑ PERS DIR Dear Mr. LeSage, I am in receipt of and appreciate your memo of July 16 regarding the addition of Youth Athletic Fields to the Parks &Recreation Department of the City and its' potential impact to the residents of the Laguna Lake area I would like to respond as f6llows by roughly following the outline of your memo. The project is refered to as a multi-field sports complex. Since I am not hearing"little"complex (if indeed such a thing even exists)I must assume that we are talking large,many people,many vehicles,etc. By admission this proposal is not consistent with the current Laguna Lake Master Plan which"it would be necessary to revise". Then I must ask what is the point even spending time and effort developing a Master Plan if it is subject to revision with each new proposal? You mention that the area residents concerns would be noise, light, and traffic,but that"athletic fields can be designed to eliminate those potential intrusions". However, well over one year ago the athletic fields at the Laguna Middle School were up graded and their use greatly intensified, but due to school construction NO school parking is available and ALL event parking is currently taking place on the surrounding streets of Descanso, Vista Lago, and Vista Collados. For the last three days I have not been able to park in front of my house-again. A potential intrusion that was not eliminated. You raise the question, "isn't Laguna Lake a nature park with portions designated as a nature preserve?"The answer of course is yes, and a very beautiful one! Those who designed it and those who maintain it are to be commended—and the philosophy and function of that creation WILL be destroyed by placing a sports complex in the center of it! I could go on(and I hope to be able to attend the August 4th meeting to discuss further)but let me close for the moment by first saying that I am not against sports fields or kids playing organized ball; I am willing to pay tax money for those purposes; I am willing to put up with some inconveniences for those goals(though you are pushing it a bit at Laguna RECEIVED J U L 2 9 1997 SLO Ci i Y COUNCIL but to destroy the present%..vncept of the Laguna Lake Park-a city trrdsure-in order to meet the "critical shortage of athletic fields" I am not convinced is either necessary or wise! Build the complex if you will,but let us consider buying a $1,000,000 piece of property and then build a$2,000,000 complex that could be expanded as needs and the budget permits, and place it in a more suitable area. Sincerely, Richard L. Bray cc: Mayor Allen Settle and city council members FULL COUNCIL HAS CL'h!'v RECEIVED THIS DOCUMENT July 24,1997 1 �L� V 1.�1G^ � � uev Paul LeSage, Director — I Parks and Recreation Department Retain th J,#�or �' S City of SLO lett" Couundl meeling �� -- Dear Mr. LeSage: My husband and I are the parents of two sons, 9 and 13, who have been involved in soccer and baseball in SLO ever since they were old enough. Our family has lived in the Laguna Lake area since we moved to San Luis Obispo in 1989, first directly across the street from C.L Smith elementary school, currently behind Laguna Middle School on Vista del Lago, which runs along Laguna Lake across from Laguna Lake Paris. (We are not directly on the lake side, though.) Our sons attend Smith and Laguna. Our family uses the Park at least 3 or 4 times a week for exercise and family walks. This information prefaces our concerns about locating four new fields—a "sports complex" as quoted in your letter to L.L. residents—in Laguna Lake Park. Our concerns are: 1. The Laguna Lake area is extremely windy during the spring and often year-round, usually making baseball play on local fields unpleasant at best, useless at worst (baseballs become extremely difficult to throw, hit and catch). After countess games at C.L, Smith and every other City field, we can think of no City area with worse regular weather conditions than Laguna Lake. 2. The traffic and parking situations in Laguna Lake are not conducive to a sports complex. The Madonna Road/Los Osos Valley Road corridor is already overcrowded, especially during the hours when games usually are scheduled-5:15 or 5:30, to accommodate work schedules, and on Saturdays. We know that the number of cars arriving for four fields could not possibly be accommodated with current parking space at Laguna Lake Park. 3. Laguna Lake is supposedly a nature preserve, and as such we believe it is meant to be Gose to nature. Which trees that have been planted on successive Arbnr Days are going to be cut down to make way for parking lots and playing fields, trash, noise and crowds? A sports complex with four fields would change the entire feeling and purpose of the current plan. We do believe more sports fields are needed in the City. For instance, our younger son's baseball team (Babe Ruth Bambino) did not hold practices this past year due to lack of an available field. However, we believe Laguna Lake is a bad choice for the practical reasons outlined above. We will be out of town on a family vacation on August 4 but wanted to give our input. Sincerely,, /`/'�7 Carlyn Chnstianson and Walter Millar VA o-eouNCIL ❑ CDD DIR0 13 FIN DIR cc: Ci Council members, Telegram-Tribune AO ❑ FIRE CHIEF RECEIVED .i0RNEY G PVJ DIP. y O UM D<LERKIORM B- ECIDIRCE CH J lJ I. 2 9 1997 ❑ UTIL DIR ❑ 1: PERS DJIR Ci 1'f COUiNiCIL i FULL COUNCIL HAS �Q: City of San Luis Obispo RECEIVED THIS DOCUMENT Parks and Recreation Department 1341 Nipomo Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 From: Siegrid Fenn Reta�rt thE=document for Resident, Laguna Lake Area future Council meeting 1236 Drake Circle San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 L'et•', i. nicrd zed Re: Youth Athletic Fields at Laguna Lake Park I would like to thank you very much for allowing the residents living in the vicinity of the Laguna Lake Park to express their opinions regarding the proposal to build a multi-field sports complex at the park. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the meeting set aside for that purpose on August 4. I do, however, want to let you know that I am strongly opposed to locating the park in the Laguna Lake area. Laguna Lake is a nature preserve. It should be a quiet santuary and open space for wildlife, plants, and people. There are too few such areas available in the city. As it is, the residents of the Laguna Lake area are already subjected to the noise of the sports activities that occur at Laguna Middle School and C.L. Smith School. The area is like an echo chamber between the hills, so the cheers, shouts, and announcements of outdoor sports activities at either of these locations reverberate throughout the residential areas. Laguna Lake Park, situated at the foot of San Luis Mountain, will bounce the noise of traffic and crowds off the mountain, across the water and directly into every home in the Laguna Lake area. And it will most certainly frighten off any bird and other wildlife. I really believe there are other areas of the city that would be much more suitable for a multi-field sports complex. Sincerely, Siegrid Fenn, Resident Laguna Lake Area @-COUNCIL ❑ CDD DIR cc: City Council a-= ❑ FIN DIR RECEIVED [10-*CAO ❑ FIRE CHIEF m-AT`iORNEY ❑ PW DIR ❑�CCERKIORIG ❑ POLICE CHFJUL 3 0 1997 ❑ MGM KEAM &-fiEC DIR ❑ ❑ PERSDDIR SLO C!T`i MUNCIL