0647 | Thursday, November 16, 2006

Letters & Opinions

Pyle deserves praise for efforts to find more sports fields

As time and money have shown, there is now easy solution to Almaden Valley's sports field shortage. Councilwoman Nancy Pyle's recent suggestion to better utilize existing fields is a step in the right direction.

When Nancy Pyle started her term as District 10 councilwoman in 2005, she inherited Almaden Valley's sports field problems--too many players, not enough available space. One of her first promises was to "pull off a miracle" by finding field space for her constituents on land other than the controversial McKean Road site, which became tied up in a lawsuit just weeks before she took office. A group of residents sued the city to stop the 12-field project after an environmental impact report for the McKean Road complex showed that, among other serious problems, the project's water demands could damage the groundwater supply that residents of the reserve rely upon.

Nearly two years later, Almaden Valley still has no additional soccer fields. In fact, there are fewer available than before due to school renovation work that has temporarily closed down 11 existing sports fields. The situation has become so dire that sports groups say they may have start turning away players for the first time.

The sports picture became worse last month when the San Jose Unified School District, which owns the McKean Road property, extinguished any lingering hopes of an Almaden Valley sports center on the property by announcing that it had decided against leasing the property to the city--lawsuit or no lawsuit. The San Jose City Council put in the final word last week, removing zoning language in the General Plan to make such a development at the site illegal.

Yet, in spite of all these setbacks, Pyle has been able to convert skeptics with her push to move forward with some innovative solutions.

Pyle requested last month that the city hire an outside consultant to put together a citywide sports field master plan to make better use of its field space. The plan will mean more time and money and won't necessarily place a sports complex in Almaden, but it sets the ground work for what could be a win-win situation for everyone--sports enthusiasts, environmentalists, the city and local schools.

Pyle has proposed partnering with sports and schools groups to get more use out of existing fields. That eliminates any need to look for suitable space, which seems to have been a fruitless endeavor in Almaden.

Partnering will also provide an economic advantage to the city and sports user. Groups can pool their money for maintenance, and the city won't have to come up with a huge sum to purchase and develop land.

Pyle's plan looks at the big picture. It is inclusive of all of San Jose.

For too many years, the council and former Councilwoman Pat Dando and sports families kept pushing ahead on developing a complex at the McKean site even though it was evident that it would never happen. That effort cost the city $2 million.

Clearly, sports fields are a citywide problem. We're glad Pyle had the gumption to say so.