The Sunnyvale Sun

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New sports complex may be possibility for Peterson field

By JASON GOLDMAN-HALL

While the final use of parts of the Peterson Middle School field is still unknown, what some view as the worst-case scenario--private home development--seems to be only a distant possibility, thanks to resident discussions with the school board and city council.

And much like the May 11 Santa Clara Unified School District Board meeting, the council's unanimous decision to indirectly support the preservation of the land met with applause from the gathered residents.

The city of Sunnyvale has already said it won't financially support efforts to preserve parts of the Peterson Middle School field as open space for residents' use, but it will provide information or possible space to meet for residents working on the issue.

On May 11, the district board chose to look at turning the land--up to 13 acres--into either a sports complex for local organizations or a working educational farm to teach students about farming and land use, which would also provide vegetables for cafeteria use or fundraising.

"The main concern was the sale of the property, and if either of these options come to fruition, we're not going to get a sale of the property and a lot of condos," said Tap Merrick, leader of the Save Peterson Field Committee, set up by residents to encourage the school board and district to preserve the space.

The decision pleased all those in attendance, but many disagreed on what the future of the land should look like. While much of the attention has been focused on the land becoming a sports complex, helped in part by the extensive work of the Save Peterson Field Committee, many of the people who spoke at the May 30 council meeting were supportive of the farm idea because of its educational benefits to the school district.

There were originally four options, including declaring the land surplus and then selling it, which could bring in as much as $3 million an acre, according to district business administrator Roger Barnes, and partnering with groups from outside of Sunnyvale to build a sports complex.

While the latter option would keep the space open, many in attendance at both the board and council meetings were concerned that with the South Bay's lack of open space, letting other cities run Sunnyvale land would hurt the city.

"These guys in other cities are ready with their checkbooks, and I think it would be a crime if clubs from other cities came in and we had to pay to use fields in our own city," said Sunnyvale Alliance Soccer Club coach Evelyn Dixon.

While the board members said they want to pursue only two of the possible options, they made it clear May 11 that if those avenues fell through, the other options would be considered.

If the land were declared surplus, up to 8 acres could be sold to nonprofits groups, state agencies, low-income housing developers or even private housing developers, who would most likely build for-sale housing.

While it looks as if the land will be preserved, a final decision or timeline has not been decided on, although the school board said it wanted something done before the end of the year. According to city staff, the board is currently talking with several local sports agencies to work out a plan for a sports complex.