Sports

City defends its 'turf' against decade-long lawsuit

After 10 years in court the city gets green light to install synthetic turf.

San Carlos finally brought an end to a 10-year battle with a local group that tried to derail the city's plans for installing synthetic turf in Highland Park.

In a unanimous vote Monday night the city council approved a settlement forced last week by a Superior Court ruling effectively brushing aside a lawsuit that has lingered for a decade and cost the cash-strapped municipality nearly $85,000 in legal fees.   

"I feel as though we were held hostage," said Jeff Grace, the former soccer commissioner of San Carlos. "I don't believe Save San Carlos Parks acted on behalf of the people of San Carlos. I believe they acted on behalf of themselves."

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For more than 10 years, San Carlos has been emeshed in a legal dispute with Save San Carlos Parks, a community group objecting to fake grass and demanding the real thing in Highland Park. But a decision last week by San Mateo Superior Court Judge Marie Weiner ended the squabble, giving the city a green light, but not an absolute victory. The judge ruled that although the synthetic turf itself was acceptable to use, the city had failed to comply with the state's Environmental Quality Act.

The judge said she wanted the city to conduct further studies on traffic impacts attendant to installation of the turf -- a project that has already begun. 

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"The bottom line is, we have turf and it's a really great thing for San Carlos," said Mayor Randy Royce, who attempted to alay the fears some residents have of a future lawsuit.

"It's a pretty big signature moment," said assistant city manager Brian Moura, who was the interim Parks & Recreation director when the dispute first surfaced a decade ago.  "The decision is going to allow the city to move forward."

While synthetic turf is common on school fields throughout the peninsula, San Carlos will become the first city to use synthetic turf in a public park that is used for youth and adult sport leagues throughout the city.

"It's been an arduous process but one I feel is positive for the city," said Doug Long, the current Parks & Recreation director. 

Moura said the city is still awaiting signatures from the litigants before the decision is finalized. Save San Carlos Parks was represented by Kenyon Yeates, a Sacramento law firm.

The use of synthetic turf was recommended by Mark M. Mahady & Associates, a Carmel Valley agronomical consulting firm hired by the city to assess the amount of damage being done to parks from overuse. Mahady concluded the park use was at 300 percent. Yet even after the city reduced field use by scheduling less practices and activities, the natural turf was still at risk.

In 2000, the idea of synthetic turf was a new concept for peninsula schools and parks. San Carlos would have been one of the first cities to adopt use of the substance, but the lawsuit set plans back and now San Carlos will be one of the last. Neighboring Redwood City installed synthetic turf at 12 schools while Sab Carlos was tied up in court.

Installation of synthetic turf will cost the city more than $2 million with some funds coming from a $6 annual parcel tax approved by voters in 1999 that generates about $60,000 each year, an amount matched by the city, and is scheduled to expire in 2011.  The remainder well be paid by a $1 million donation from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

Save San Carlos Parks, claims on its website that for the same price, the city could afford to install real grass in all of it's parks and schools.

"That's an argument that misses the point," said parks director Long. "The capability of having a surface that's usable through inclement weather is important. Having real grass wouldn't serve the purpose."

Synthetic turf being installed by San Carlos will be manufactured from ground coconut husks, unlike other turf products traditionally made from recycled tires. The turf will be a light tan color and will raise the temperature of the field 10 to 15 degrees. 

Long said the field will be ready for use in March of 2011.


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