Collaborative Effort: final fence plan for Mar Vista Soccer Field

Here it is:

the site plan presented February 26, 2008

The proposed fence will be pushed out AROUND the bleachers on three sides.

Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks personnel present indicated they would willingly work with the community to maintain public walk on access to the field when it is not booked by groups.

That means noon pick-up games will continue, as they have for 20 years.

Thanks to everyone in Western Los Angeles soccer—AYSO, CSL club, adult players, park program moms, and local youth not for profit programs--who cared enough to attend hearings, circulate petitions [750 signatures and counting], and write emails. It IS hard to make time to participate in public forums…but just look what was accomplished.

Thanks to ALL my Mar Vista Community Council neighbors and colleagues for their wisdom on this issue.

Thanks to the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks for responding positively to community concerns with a redesigned plan.

And, thanks to Mayor Villaraigosa and Councilmember Rosendahl…and their tireless deputies who assisted so ably.

Finally:

After input received from the entire community last December, it only took one try [and less than four months] to come up with a consensus driven safe fence plan which addressed all concerns.

A powerful argument for transparent public process if ever there was one.

February 26, 2008 at 6:30 PM, Mar Vista Rec Center: Game On, Into Overtime

I want to highlight the importance of a strong public showing for the new LA Rec and Parks Superintendent in support of the Blueprint and safe fence layout.....game on, be there on the 26th!

At the private briefing meeting held for Superintendent Sophia Pina-Cortez last month regarding the soccer field fence, all community leaders in the room affirmed and verified their support of the MVCC Blueprint’s safe fence layout.

I detailed why public access policy, “walk on play”, is an important Mar Vista community value—as evidenced by the stack of petition forms totaling 500+ signatures from our adult and youth stakeholders which I presented to her at that same meeting.

Is there any reason why a parent and child should not be able to walk onto Mar Vista Soccer Field on a sunny morning, or at noon, and kick the ball around if the field is not permitted out to a group?

This shot was taken at one of the regular noon pickup games at the field.
Note the little boy [in the yellow t-shirt] playing with his parent.

Soccer is a family and community building sport.
It transcends generations.

So, is there any REAL reason to exclude groups of working adults, who come out to play pickup games before work on weekdays [an LAMC noise ordinance compliant activity, by the way] or at noon--as happens on any basketball court in this city?

When the people of the City of Los Angeles approved Proposition K [and this ball field was a specific project in that proposition], they never intended to block walk on public access to field spaces simply because surfaces changed from grass to plastic to stand up to more hours of play.

They never intended contract agreements with user groups to take precedence over public access.

They never intended the fencing of large OPEN portions of our public parks, shutting off public access to public amenities, and the enforcement of severely restricted hours at those amenities.

Given the trend towards synthetic turf, and given the approximately 22 independent schools [which will have little or no field space onsite] coming online in the western Los Angeles area over the next few years, preserving walk on public access to all our synthetic ball fields becomes critically important.

Good public policy.

Access for all our stakeholders.

Now.

Mayor's Day postponed due to weather

From the Mayor's office:

"Dear Community members,

Regretfully, we will have to postpone the Day of Service in Mar Vista, Del Rey and Venice on Saturday, January 26, 2008 until March 15, 2008. Due to the 70% chance of rain forecasted for this weekend, we will not be able to execute many of our painting, planting and cleaning projects.

Please reach out to your community and let them know that the Day of Service has been postponed!

We will be in touch shortly to arrange for the next planning committee meeting so that we can get ready for new date set for the Day of Service on Saturday, March 15, 2008."

Mayor's Day of Service, 2008, Mar Vista

"On Saturday, January 26, 2008, the Offices of Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa and Councilmember Bill Rosendahl will host the 2008 Day of Service at the Mar Vista Recreation Center and Park.

Residents in Mar Vista, Del Rey, Venice and the surrounding neighborhoods will join with community members to work together on more than 50 separate projects at 20 various locations to benefit the local neighborhoods.

The goal of the Day of Service is to address community needs, provide public education and strengthen community partnerships.

In keeping with the tradition of the Mayor’s many Days of Service, events taking place that weekend are free of charge for all participants.

Our goal is to involve 5,000 people in Mar Vista and its surrounding neighborhoods and grow their level of volunteerism throughout the year.

The Mar Vista Day of Service is not just about community service; it is about community building.

If you have any questions, please contact Stephen Cheung, in the Office of Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, at 310.479.3823 or via email at stephen.cheung@lacity.org."

This is a great way to give back to our parks and schools which nurture our kids and our sport!

I hope to see many of you there!