Concerns Raised at Lacy Park Lights Meeting

Approximately 30 people gathered in the Boy Scout House on St. Albans Road Wednesday night to discuss the rules regarding the approved .

Local residents at the meeting were given an initial draft of the concession agreement between the city of San Marino and the San Marino Tennis Foundation. The initial agreement can be found here on the foundation’s website.

The draft included rules governing the use of lighted tennis facilities and supervision by the San Marino Tennis Foundation:

• Tennis facilities will be open from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., seven days a week.
• The courts may be illuminated only during single and double play. There shall be no evening play for instruction or tournaments.
• Lighting controls or timers shall be locked and secured when not in use.

Prior to the meeting, the city accepted suggestions from residents and the foundation as to how the lights will operate.

San Marino Assistant City Manager Cindy Collins and San Marino Community Services Director Lucy Garcia will consider the suggestions, as well as those mentioned Wednesday night, when submitting a report to the San Marino City Council Tuesday. The city council will consider the report when it votes on the agreement at the March 9 City Council meeting.

The San Marino Tennis Foundation proposed the following rules beforehand:

• Foundation to provide an annual operational report, including summary of nighttime use and community concerns.
• Foundation to maintain website for information, report issues, noticing of community events
• Foundation to maintain a log of community contracts regarding evening play. Records to be kept for two years.

The main point of concern that arose at the meeting was the total amount of people present on the three lighted tennis courts in the evening at one time.

The draft agreement proposed no evening instructional play, but the Tennis Foundation and some residents offered their views supporting evening tennis lessons.

“This is something for men and women to enjoy,” said Sam Lizzul, San Marino Tennis Foundation Director of Tennis and Head Tennis Pro. “Women can come out on a Monday night and have a women’s night clinic. Men can have a men’s night. That was something to give those who can’t get out during the day time except for the weekend.”

Tennis clinics, which can range from about two to eight people, according to Lizzul, can be held on one lighted tennis court, as proposed by the San Marino Tennis Foundation.

“That initial study talked about 12 players,” said San Marino resident Ron Jahnson, referring to an environmental impact study conducted during the summer to measure the noise level on the tennis courts. The study was presented to the San Marino City Council before they made a decision to approve the addition of lights on three Lacy Park tennis courts.

Jahnson, who lives near the tennis courts, was concerned that a clinic plus additional players on the two other lighted courts would equal more than 12 players and possibly more noise.

San Marino City Manager Cindy Collins, who led the discussion and presentation, suggested that perhaps the use of the nighttime courts should be limited to 12 players total, including the tennis clinic players.

“I think what the neighborhood is concerned about is … if we start deviating away from the study, what next are we going to deviate from and it starts ballooning?” said Collins. “There is a sense of trust factor that we have to keep, and the council study studied the courts for 12 people.”  

San Marino Tennis Foundation attorney Kelly Ryan, who spoke from his seat, said the environmental impact study is not a requirement or boundary, but merely a device to measure for environmental impacts.

“I think the foundation would have a problem including any specific number, and that’s not to say we’re not sensitive, but let’s try and find a balance,” said Ryan. “We tried to explain that it’s not a heavy use facility, [and] we don’t intend to be a heavy use facility. The fact that we’re adding lights doesn’t change what the foundation does—lessons, etc.”

The San Marino City Council will consider Collins’ and Garcia’s report and other locals’ suggestions and vote on the rules for the three lighted Lacy Park tennis courts at the March 9 San Marino City Council meeting. Collins said residents with suggestions can contact her and she will try to submit those at the meeting. Interested parties can call City Hall at (626) 300-0700.

Once the council approves rules for the lighted courts, then the bidding process begins for the contractor who will install the lights.

“The contractor who did the environmental impact study isn’t necessarily going to be the one used to install the lights,” said Ruth Roberts, President of the San Marino Tennis Foundation, who added that she met with residents and took their concerns to heart when the foundation drafted its proposal. “The city gets to choose [the contractor]. I would like to see the lights go in before fall, when daylight savings kicks in right before Halloween. The reality is it’s not going to happen between now and the summer.”