Westwood Council Votes to Fund Artificial Field

At the Westwood Neighborhood Council's meeting on June 13, council members voted to allot the West Los Angeles American Youth Soccer League Region 70 up to $450,000 of Quimby funds for installing artificial turf in place of the south soccer field at Westwod Park.  The project is expected to cost between $500,000 and $750,000, depending on which contractor the City of Los Angeles recruits.  AYSO 70 will be responsible for fundraising the remainder of project costs.

Larry Snegg, AYSO 70 Fields Liaison, presented arguments for installing the turf on Westwood Park's southern soccer field.  These included turf longevity up to 20 years; labor amounting to 100 man hours per year, significantly less than the labor for a natural field; continual use, as opposed to the current requirement of two months field closure annually; a safer playing surface, particularly for children; and ease of maintenance.  He underscored the last point, explaining that for the past two years, AYSO 70 has been solely responsibile for rehabilitating, mowing, seeding, aerating, and watering the fields, a burden necessitated by cutbacks in the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks four years ago.

Members of the public, including Chair of the Westwood Community Council Steve Sann, questioned whether the city would be able to maintain a turfed field, given its absence at the current site.  David Giron, Field Deputy from Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz's office, answered that turf maintenance would be covered by a line item in the city's budget.  "The city is actually steering in the direction of artificial turf," said Giron.

A keypad-locked fence must be installed around the field's perimeter in order to protect the turf.  "If we're going to go along with the idea of fencing off an area, we just want to make sure it has a high usage rate," said council member Mike Stajura.  Council member Lisa Chapman responded that the AYSO season runs for five months a year, and club soccer runs year-round.  Snegg added that use of the field could be reserved by members of the public on the park's website.

In addition to discussing the turf field's necessity, the feasibility of its future maintenance, and its benefit to the Westwood community as a whole, many wondered whether Quimby funds could or should be put towards this proposal.  Quimby funds flow from developers, who are mandated to give money towards maintaining or creating recreational areas by a California law, as summarized on the website of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks: "The State Quimby Act allows local agencies, such as the City of Los Angeles, to establish ordinances requiring residential subdivision developers to pay impact fees that can be used to purchase and develop land and/or recreational facilities."

In response to concerns voiced at the meeting, Giron said that the turf project "is well within the scope of Quimby."  He reported that Westwood currently has about $800,000 of available Quimby funds and that there are no other propositions competing with AYSO 70's turf request.