REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Adopt Updated Definitions for Field User Categories and Field User Priorities of Use and Adopt a Resolution Incorporating the Updated Recreation Fields and Turf Areas Reservations: Practice & Games Fees into the Proposed FY 2025/26 Municipal Fee Schedule.
Report
COUNCIL PRIORITIES
Deliver and Enhance High-Quality, Efficient Services and Infrastructure
Enhance Community Sports, Recreational, and Arts Assets
Enhance Community Engagement and Transparency
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clara has a history of supporting youth sports organizations with sports practice and competition facilities. Historically, sports fields had been opened, closed, staffed, and maintained for youth sports use at no charge. Youth sports organizations have always been required to meet City-specified criteria to receive access to the fields. As the community has grown and the demand for sports fields has increased, the City has had difficulty meeting the demand for field space for all users in the City. The "free service" model widened the gap between the City's General Fund and the operational cost recovery for utilities, equipment, labor, and maintenance. Although the City places a high community value on youth sports, the need to recover operating costs and plan for long-term capital improvements has become necessary in order to continue to deliver high-quality facilities and services for the community.
In 2021, the City Council directed staff to conduct a Parks and Recreation Fee and Cost Recovery Study. The study included an extensive community engagement process and resulted in the Cost Recovery Policy adopted by the City Council on April 19, 2022 (RTC 22-99, Attachment 1). Based on the Cost Recovery Policy, the new fees were then adopted as part of the FY 2022/23 Municipal Fee Schedule. The City began charging youth sports organizations for field use permits in Fall 2022 under the Municipal Fee Schedule category "Recreation/Fields and Turf Ar...
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