Seattle Residents for Fair Field Lighting

Seattle Residents for Fair Field Lighting
"Fields For All - Not Just Some"

JAFDP Violates Seattle COMP Plan 2000

"Listen to the citizens of our city and involve them from the beginning in decisions affecting the future of their parks and recreation system, especially in their neighborhoods." (p. 11, Comp Plan 2000)

Most neighborhoods learn about plans to install synthetic turf or lights after the bulldozers show up or after the Master Use Permit signs go up. Neighbors are left out of the pre-funding stages of discussion.

Increase "opportunities for public involvement" and "sensitive management of public lands, waters, and facilities" (p. 11, Comp Plan 2000)

JAFDP ignores environmental concerns and has plans to install lights next to wildlife habitat.

"Provide scheduling services to ensure balanced opportunities for access to facilities by Department program, non-profit leagues or organizations, and drop-in users." (p. 17, Comp Plan 2000)

There are no plans to include drop-in, unscheduled use of fields for citizens who don't pay a fee to belong to leagues. Parks wants to run fields like a business, maximizing return on investment. User fees for synthetically turfed and lighted fields, however, don't begin to cover actual construction costs, let alone replacement costs. Synthetic turf costs a minimum of $1.2 million per field just for the material and it lasts 10-15 years. Lights cost between $300,00-$600,000 per field.

"Operating hours will be flexible and dependent on local conditions and needs, but sensitive to potential impacts on facility neighbors." (p. 18, Comp Plan 2000)

JAFDP ignores impacts of fields on local communities. When the one concession to neighbors was proposed in the JAFDP, to end some sports play at 10 pm instead of 11 pm, the sports leagues demanded the return of the 11 pm cutoff time. And they got their way; the Parks Commission quickly voted to restore the 11 pm cutoff time.

City Open Space & Recreation Facility goals (p. 37, Comp Plan 2000):

Breathing Room Open Space:
1 Acre per 100 residents
Usable Open Space:
1/4 to 1/2 acres within 1/4 to 1/2 mile of every resident
Recreational Facilities (pools and athletic fields):
see Parks & Recreation Plan 2000

The JAFDP destroys passive open space in favor of round-the-clock scheduling of athletic fields.

"Update the Joint Athletic Field Development Program. Consider improvements to selected fields (such as use of synthetic turf and floodlighting) to increase scheduling capacity, but only where adverse impacts as identified in public involvement processes can be mitigated." (p. 58, Comp Plan 2000)

The JAFDP includes no mitigation for neighbors of fields.

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