First published in the Feb. 17 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
City staff presented an Athletic Field Master Plan that details facilities throughout La Cañada Flintridge as well as needs and assessment for user groups to the Parks and Recreation committee with the hope that the panel and residents join the conversation about the need for more recreational fields for sports teams and the school district.
The document was created by a joint-use subcommittee that included La Cañada Unified School District board members and administrators, city staff and representatives from the La Cañada Sports Coalition, which oversees local club sports teams and leagues. The group was formed two years ago and worked despite the coronavirus pandemic to address the lack of space for all user groups.
“The purpose for the master plan is for us, the city and the district to potentially have a 10-year plan that we can reference as we go through each year and try to develop and improve the conditions of the fields,” LCF Division Manager Arabo Parseghian said during a Parks and Recreation meeting Feb. 9.
Parseghian hopes the document, which can be seen on the meeting’s agenda, will give community members an idea of the state the city is in when it comes to facilities and the “dire need” for more space, an issue that “seems to be getting worse.”
Part of the master plan includes an analysis of resources and possible solutions. Some of the short-term fixes listed include expanding grass areas at elementary school sites to create multi-use fields for various sports and possibly utilizing the flat roof above the La Cañada High School gymnasium for recreational use.
The subcommittee also focused on long-term solutions such as lighting, converting grass to turf and possibly acquiring property — such as a portion of the La Cañada Flintridge Country Club or Berkshire Tennis Club. Other ideas were to redevelop existing sites such as the Community Center to accommodate the need for more facilities and to build underground parking lots and have fields placed above them.
“When I tell you that the subcommittee looked at everything under the sun, they truly did,” Parseghian said. “We went through our geographic information system and basically looked at vacant lots, what options we have [and if we] could potentially use them.”
Paseghian told the commission that he is working on a summary of the master plan so it can be easier to read for the community. He envisions the document as a supplement to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
