Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

The Alexes of Cupertino enjoy bringing their dog, Kirbie, to Portal Park, where he loves to run and greet people. The park has recently become the center of controversy, as the CUSD seeks to use approximately half the park for the expansion of Portal Elementary into a middle school.

Lack of Green

Parks and Recreation debates forfeiting part of existing park to a middle school

By KEVIN FAYLE

Cupertino may lose a park, or at least half of one, to a school, and some local residents aren't happy about it. Close to 30 of them came to express their concerns at a public hearing held by the parks and recreation commission.

The Feb. 1 hearing centered on the encroachment of Portal Elementary School onto Portal Park. Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) has requested permission to use half of Portal Park in its proposed expansion of Portal School into a neighborhood middle school. Residents from neighborhoods surrounding the park attended the meeting, and almost every one stated opposition to the loss of the park. Many also listed additional concerns over the Portal School conversion.

CUSD Superintendent, Dr. William Bragg, opened the meeting by delivering a briefing on the district's need for a fifth middle school, and the reasons why Portal School represented the best option. Bragg said regulations limiting class size have forced the district to consider opening a new middle school and because of public input, the district will more than likely establish a neighborhood school at the Portal site.

Bragg said the district still considered Collins School a possible site for the fifth middle school, but that Portal represented the best option for the district. Collins School originally functioned as a middle school before its conversion to an elementary school.

If the district converts Portal into a middle school, Bragg said the CUSD would need to construct two soccer fields to provide the new middle school with facilities comparable to the other middle schools in the district. Because of space constraints at the Portal site, the district has asked the city to allow them to place the fields on a portion of Portal Park. Bragg acknowledged the impact that this would have on the residents in the vicinity of the school and the park, but emphasized that the Portal site offers the district the best option for providing quality education to the community at large.

Bragg admitted the changes would shift the nature of the park from a passive area to an active one, adding more noise and traffic to the area. However, he said the fields would not have any lighting equipment, and would mainly function as practice fields.

Therese Smith, director of parks and recreation for the city, presented important points for the commission to keep in mind during the public comment and while deliberating their recommendation to the city council. She reminded them that the city takes responsibility for the maintenance on school parks under the Joint Powers Agreement.

Smith also informed the commission that, according to a neighborhood survey, the public restrooms in the sole-use building in Portal Park constituted the most important facility for residents. She also set limits for their discussion, emphasizing that the decision about the school's location falls to the state, thus the commission's duty stood solely at recommending a course of action to the city council concerning the use of Portal Park.

Many residents spoke, most stating the park already serves as an active park for them, and recounted many stories of how the park fits into their lives. Many described walks through the park with relatives, and gave accounts of children who played in the park years ago bringing their own children there to experience one of Cupertino's few remaining open spaces.

Many of the residents gave the park as a primary reason for their decision to move into the neighborhood. Some commented their property values would decrease if the park were to lose its present size and character.

In addition to their concerns over the loss of the park, residents also listed noise from construction and the daily life of the school, traffic, and the size of the proposed school buildings as reasons they oppose the conversion. Many residents on Twilight Court said two-story school buildings would intrude upon their privacy and conflict with the aesthetic of the neighborhood.

Residents also complained they had not received adequate notification about the process. Many said that they had not received the surveys distributed to the neighborhood or any notification of CUSD board or community meetings about the issue. Smith pledged to step up efforts on behalf of the parks and recreation department to get any further notices and surveys to all residents. Bragg replied that CUSD only had the addresses of residents with children in the system, thus notices of their meetings would not go to all homes.

The commission expressed a need for more study of the matter. Commissioner Jeanne Bradford requested an analysis of costs to the city if it allows the school to build its fields on park grounds. She and other commissioners expressed interest in pursuing alternative sites, and Commissioner Jelinch requested a traffic survey. Smith once again reminded the commission that they only had to decide on the use of the park, and that decisions on site locations and traffic impact would go to the state and the city planning commission, respectively. Commissioner Bradford then requested a study on the cost to the city of the loss of the park, and moved to defer any further discussion to the commission's March meeting.

Before the commission adjourned, Smith urged the residents in attendance to go to the CUSD board meetings to air their concerns with issues relating to the school.

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