Saratoga News Blue Hills/Azule neighbors fear fields will create hazard Proposal calls for soccer facility, restrooms and concession stand By Sarah Lombardo "If you build it, they will come," the voice said to Kevin Costner in the movie Field of Dreams. But that's exactly what some neighbors near Blue Hills School and Azule Park fear. The school and neighboring park are one of three school sites in Saratoga being considered for play field improvement and development by the city's Park Development Task Force. The task force's three different ideas for the site include merging Blue Hills School's current play field with the city-owned Azule Park and establishing soccer fields, increasing parking either at the school's existing lot or off Goleta Drive, building restrooms and a concession stand, creating a jogging trail and developing Azule Park, which is currently little more than a dirt lot, with a few trees. The plans also included the creation of a small park with picnic areas. But at an informational meeting sponsored by the city Nov. 19, some neighbors said they fear what the additional sports facilities will do to parking and traffic in the residential area. "I think everyone who lives in this neighborhood knows that all three of those plans are a bad idea," one Blue Hills School neighbor said. "It's just not appropriate to have a soccer facility in a small, enclosed neighborhood." "There have been so many almost-crunches with bicycles and cars," one Goleta Drive resident said. "It's very upsetting." Traffic and safety have been universal themes at all three of the park proposal meetings, Irene Jacobs, administrative analyst for the City Manager's office, said. Residents who live near Foothill Elementary and Marshall Lane Elementary schools, the two other sites for proposed improvements, have told city staffers they fear what the improvements will do to their neighborhoods. "That was an underlying theme at all the meetings," Jacobs said. "The neighbors have legitimate concerns, and we definitely need to look into that," she added. But traffic wasn't the only issue at the Blue Hills/Azule meeting: Development of the park was also a concern for some residents who objected to creating a soccer field out of park land. Al Roten, vice president of the Greenbriar Homeowners Association, pointed out that Azule Park was deeded to the city about 30 years ago by residents who lived in the area. And those residents want a park, not a play field, he said. "We've lived with an undeveloped park for nearly 30 years," Roten said. "We don't want to have the entire park usurped for soccer players. We would like to see our park developed. That's a given. [But] we want more park than the thumbnail that's left." Blue Hills School parents said they were also concerned about the safety of children at the school. Azule Park backs up against Highway 85. By merging the school's play yard with a public park, one woman said, it makes it harder to set parameters for the students--and for adults. "How do you set up the parameters for an adult coming in who wants a kid to take home with him?" she said. But not all residents opposed the plans. "I personally think the best use for this park is for fields," one man said. Larry Fine, regional commissioner for the American Youth Soccer Organization, said the plan would allow for more local children to participate in local sports. "We had to turn away about 200 kids last year," he said. Fine said there is no other land available to build sports facilities, even if sports leagues could afford it. "Being able to find flat land for stuff like this is near impossible." According to Jacobs, the proposals for all three sites will be taken back to the drawing board and revised to take into account residents' comments. Once revised, the proposals will go before the Park Development Task Force, the Parks and Recreation Commission and then to the Saratoga City Council. "At this stage, what will come before the City Council for approval is the plan," Jacobs told residents--adding that once the plans are approved in concept, there will be environmental impact reports and traffic studies to see if the plans should move forward. "We can't do expensive tests and studies if the plans aren't even approved," she said. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, December 2, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.