Council Opts for Alternative Sports Park Design

A recommendation to rejigger the planned orientation of ball fields and other amenities at the proposed Lake Forest sports park got the OK from the City Council, which signed off on a lengthy report about the project's environmental impacts Tuesday night.

The park would be northwest of the intersection of El Toro Road and Portola Parkway and would be bordered on the north by Rancho Parkway, which would be extended to intersect with Portola Parkway. It will now go to the final, detailed design phase of planning.

A series of workshops in 2009 resulted in a "consensus" conceptual design for the park, envisioning baseball and softball fields near the middle of the park, two soccer fields at the north end, three soccer fields at the south end and rows for parking threading through the entire facility.

Over the course of the environmental review process, though, staffers and city consultants determined that a more efficient layout—called "Alternative 7"—would have the soccer fields to the south, the ball fields to the north and parking snaking around the perimeter of the facility.

The alternative plan is more efficient from environmental, financial, safety and other standpoints, Larry Ryan of RJM Design Group—the city's consultant on the project—told the council. Unlike in the original conceptual design, park users would not have to walk across parking lot roadways to move between fields, he said.

In the areas of aesthetics, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and mineral resources, the staff determined that the project would have "significant and unavoidable" impacts, even with the incorporation of mitigation measures. Therefore, the City Council adopted a "statement of overriding considerations," which says the benefits of the project outweigh its costs.

The master plan for the park, authorized by the council in 2009, calls for up to six basketball/softball fields, up to five soccer/multi-use fields, up to six hard courts that could be used for basketball or tennis, and up to two playgrounds with sand and play equipment.

A 30,000-square-foot recreation center with a gymnasium and attached amphitheater may also be built, along with restrooms, concession areas, security lighting, field lighting and parking lots with up to about 800 spaces.

A few residents spoke in favor of the project moving forward, although one said he wished the park included an aquatics center.

Garrett King, a representative of Saddleback Little League, said his group couldn't wait to start holding games on the land.

"It's going to be a very beautiful park," he told the council. "We need to make it happen, and make it happen quickly. ... Other cities surrounding us have their parks, and it's about time we have ours."