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CC 08-09-04 (I CUPERJINO APPROVED MINUTES CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL Special Meeting Monday, August 9, 2004 ROLL CALL At 7:02 p.m. Mayor James called the meeting to order in the Council Chambers, 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California, and led the Pledge of Allegiance. City Council members present: Mayor Sandra James, and Council members Richard Lowenthal. Dolly Sandoval, and Kris Wang. Council members absent: Patrick Kwok. Staff present: City Manager David Knapp, City Attorney Charles Kilian, Parks and Recrcatlol1 Director Therese Smith, Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood, Web Specialist Nidhl Mathur, and City Clerk Kimberly Smith. NEW BUSINESS 1. Consider temporarily suspending the 51 % residency requirement for sports field use until the policy can be reviewed at a regular City Council meeting. James said she called the special meeting to consider a waiver of a Council policy for sports field use. She explained that a recent budget decision brought up some issues regarding the De Anza Youth Soccer League (DYSL) and the 51 % residency requirement to use City fields. She asked the Council to consider a field use waiver through the fall season for DYSL, and also to put the item on the September 20 agenda. She asked the DYSL to provide verifiable information on residency and to work with staff in the meantime. Parks and Recreation Director Therese Smith gave background information via PowerPoint. She said that the league has recently submitted roster information indicating that only 31% of the program participants are Cupertino residents, and the City policy requires 51 %. She said the current permit for use expired July 31, 2004, She highlighted other issues that the Parks and Recreation Commission has been discussing, includil1g how exceptions are to be handled for programs such as the VIP program for special needs children, and how commercial use of the City's playing fields should be addressed. August 9, 2004 Cupertino City Council Page 2 Smith explained that DYSL, the primary user of Cupertino playing fields, has shifted from a traditional volunteer-based sports organization to one with paid coaches, and it is no longer a Cupertino-based organization. She said that Recreation Coordinator Mike Bookspun did a poll of similar size cities and found that 51 % residency is typical, Lowenthal said that the waiver for the fall season is a good idea and that a new policy should be in place for the spring season. Wang said that she supported the temporary waiver solution and looked forward to putting a new policy in place at the September 20 meeting. Sandoval said she would agree to a waiver for residency requirement, but strictly for DYSL and the fall season only. She said she would like to make sure the City takes a look at other issues like Sunday play, and to explore the cost of maintenance and have the cost to non-residents be more in line with the actual cost of maintaining the fields. She said she would also like to tighten up the timeline regarding processing permits. Barbara Rogers, Cupertino resident, said she supported the waiver for the fall seasons, but felt it was wrong for Council to already have decided what it wanted to do before hearing the public speak. She expressed her concerns that DYSL knew they did not meet the requirements and were not setting good example for the children. Tom Haley, President of the Tri-Cities Little League, explained that DYSL has both an elite group and the recreational users. The elite group is composed mostly of 110n- residents, and uses the Creekside facility, and that the rest of the Cupertino children have to work together with other groups to use the remaining facilities. He talked about the scheduling difficulties with sharing fields, and that the coaches do their best to work things out. He suggested allowing the DYSL Cupertino children to be allowed to go forward with their program in the fall so Hyde fields can be used, and asked that they be allowed to combine their leagues to use the facilities at Hyde, including the outfields. Vivian Gruener, Clifford Dr., thanked the Council of 13 years ago for creating Creekside Park for soccer and Wilson Park for baseball. She thanked the current Council for taking the time to address this issue. She reminded Council that there are a lot of kids who play soccer who go to Cupertino schools, but live outside the City limits. Park Chamberlain, Dexter Dr., said that he was not in favor of Cupertino putting up walls and not sharing with other communities. He said that it's hard to run a youth spOng organization and that Council is doing the right thing by cutting DYSL some slack, He said that the DYSL adults who had knowingly signed false statements should resign, He urged Council to consider all leagues that draw Cupertino residents, including the elite leagues, which draw from other cities and will always have a minority or Cupcrtll1l' residents. August 9, 2004 Cupertino City Council Page 3 Lowenthal/Sandoval moved and seconded to waive the 51 % Cupertino residency requirement for DYSL soccer for field use only for the fall season, based on the conditions outlined by the Mayor, which included: (I) Working together on a policy to be reviewed at the meeting of September 20 and (2) Presenting verifiable information to staff on residency. Sandoval offered an amendment stating that no spring permits would be issued for DYSL and no waiver would occur. Lowenthal clarified the motion to say the waiver would be for the rest of this calendar year, rather than the fall season. Vote: Ayes: James, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: Kwok. James asked athletes Ronnie Lott and Mike Bruner to come to the September 20 meeting to discuss the need for competitive leagues and how that impacted their career. ADJOURNMENT At 7:47 p.m. the meeting was adjourned. For more information: Staff reports, backup materials, and items distributed at the meeting are available for review at the City Clerk's Office, 777-3223, and also on the Internet at www.cupertino.org. Click on Agendas & Minutes/ City Council/ Packets. Most Council meetings are shown live on Cable Channel 26, and are available at your convenience from our web site. Visit www.cupertino.org and click on Watch Meetings, Videotapes are available at the Cupertino Library, or may be purchased from the Cupertino City Channel, 777-2364.