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Uploaded: Thursday, March 21, 2013, 11:11 AM
Priory gets green light for artificial grass field
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by Dave Boyce
Almanac Staff
They were eloquent in their opposition to artificial grass. Defenders of a natural grass infield for the new oval running track being proposed for Woodside Priory School in Portola Valley spoke of precedents being set if the fake stuff were allowed, of birds flying on because there will be no worms below to distract them, of betrayal of one of the town's founding principles: to respect the land.
But after 10 months and 13 meetings, the Planning Commission voted 3-2 on Wednesday, March 20, to allow the Priory -- a private Catholic co-ed boarding school for grades 6 - 12 -- to proceed with a proposal to enlarge its running track to regulation size and replace the 2.5-acre natural grass infield with an artificial substance known as FieldTurf Revolution. This green playing surface is already in use at Woodside Elementary School and Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park, along with many other schools in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
The dramatic conclusion included a tie-breaking vote on the five-member panel. On March 6, the commission had voted 2-2 on the question of the artificial grass, with Chair Alexandra Von Feldt and Commissioner Denise Gilbert voting against allowing it and commissioners Arthur "Chip" McIntosh and Nate McKitterick voting in favor. Commissioner Nicholas Targ delayed his vote until he and his colleagues could visit FieldTurf-equipped playing fields in the area, which they did over the subsequent two weeks.
In his comments before the deciding vote on March 20, Mr. Targ sounded an initial negative note in describing the football field he visited at Burlingame High School as "tarted up" and resembling a painting in that it included painted yard-line indicators. (No such painting is planned for the Priory field.) But while Portola Valley does place a high value on its naturally green spaces, this is Silicon Valley, Mr. Targ noted, and science -- and presumably the technology that stems from scientific discoveries -- can and should be valued.
"I might also say that we've poked at this project pretty hard," Mr. Targ added. Both he and Mr. McKitterick cited private property rights as part of their reasoning to allow the Priory to go ahead. Ms. von Feldt questioned that reasoning as the town's general plan does not distinguish between public and private in its regulations, a point reinforced by Leigh Prince, an attorney in the town attorney's law firm.
The claimed benefits of artificial grass include more frequent use of the fields because they don't have to rest to allow the grass to recover, and much less need for water. Opponents charge, among many claims, that the fields can develop a plastic odor, may become overly hot under the summer sun, may harbor bacteria, and are an affront to the soil and the life within it.
Principled opposition
Included among the opponents of artificial grass were the local chapter of the Sierra Club and majorities on the town's Architectural & Site Control Commission and the Conservation Committee, Ms. Gilbert said. On her visit to FieldTurf fields in Cupertino, Ms. Gilbert said that what she saw were "urban campuses." A fundamental element of Portola Valley's vision of itself is the importance of rural character.
Ms. Von Feldt visited Homestead High in Cupertino, where a couple of people were throwing a ball around on an artificial-grass field. A dog sat on the sidelines, leashed and yipping, presumably because animals and their waste products are not welcome on these fields. "He couldn't interact with them," Ms. Von Feldt said.
Resident Virginia Bacon, carrying a tray of sod, offered it to the panel. "It's nice, soft, fresh green grass, fresh from my yard," she said. "It's just gorgeous. It's beautiful. It's magic. Look at the color. Smell it. Touch it. Put your fingers in the soil. ... I don't see any worms but who knows?"
The tray of grass spent the rest of the meeting on the dais as an accent in front of Mr. Targ's position and not looking at all out of place in a Portola Valley deliberation.
"You can't read the general plan and not understand that it's all about rural, natural, etc.," said resident Tom Kelley. "I can't even imagine the words 'artificial grass' or 'plastic grass' in that plan. Why does the Planning Commission exist? It exists to protect that general plan."
"You are the guardians of this vision," said resident and former planning commissioner Linda Elkind, adding that she supports the Priory's plans for a new field but one with natural grass. Grass sequesters greenhouse gases and plastic grass generates them in its manufacture, she noted. "Be the stewards of the complex ecology of grass turf."
Former mayor Jon Silver added: "I don't want to see a fundamental and great institution in this community make a mistake like that." The visual perfection of an artificial field is "unnerving," Mr. Silver said. Yes, artificial fields are ready for sports activities one after another, while grass fields need rest between games. "Living things do take time to recover, but that's what our town is about," he said.
Backers include Priory parents
Artificial grass is a regular surface and not subject to digging by animals, which protects against knee injuries, said Dr. Sally Harris, a resident and sports medicine and pediatrics physician with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Injuries are down 50 percent on artificial fields, she said, and claims of staph infections acquired from falling on artificial fields are anecdotal and not relevant to current field materials.
"There isn't any question," said one Priory parent, "that (artificial) turf is significantly better with respect to injuries. ... Safety ought to be the primary consideration, in my humble perspective."
"We should all be riding around on horses and take away all technology," added Priory parent Kim Bentley in a reference to Ms. Bacon's paean to natural grass. "Technological advances are good in moderation."
The general plan, "like anything else, this has to be a living general plan," said an Alpine Road resident. "There have to be adjustments as society and as technology evolves. We can't all still have adobe homes. ... One of those things that you have to adjust to is artificial turf. It's coming."
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Posted by Observer, a member of the Woodside High School community, on Mar 21, 2013 at 12:46 pm Pave paradise and put up a ... plastic field
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Posted by Observer, a member of the Woodside High School community, on Mar 21, 2013 at 12:46 pm Pave paradise and put up a ... plastic field
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Posted by PV Pride, a resident of the Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley neighborhood, on Mar 21, 2013 at 1:20 pm The Priory is a pillar in the "green" community, and I know the Priory staff will "do the right thing" when it comes to taking care of their school grounds and the beloved environment around them. I fully support their plans, and I believe they thought through both their request and how they will sensitively implement their plans. They are a considerate and appreciated neighbor.
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Posted by Some Guy, a resident of the Menlo Park: Downtown neighborhood, on Mar 21, 2013 at 3:50 pm Get ready for a steep increase in injuries to your children.
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Posted by John, a resident of the Woodside: other neighborhood, on Mar 21, 2013 at 5:23 pm I researched this issue very deeply, when Woodside Elem considered the same trade off. PV Town Council made the right choice. Injuries to the kids are reduced (3x+). Kids who play soccer on artificial turf fields have a much lower injury rate than kids who play on grass fields (it makes sense. No gopher holes, no giant divots, etc). Water use is reduced by large factors (10x+). Plus demand for field use is up by some 3x, given population changes regionally. (Menlo Park kid population is up some 3x over the kid population compared to the 1970s. Look at the school construction. We are in a demographic squeeze.) We all live in a semi-arid climate, with zero rain from April to late Oct typically. (and all the climate change data suggests that things are getting worse, w.r.t. higher temps and lower rainfall). We are greedy and selfish, taking water from other parts of the state and shipping it to our neighborhoods so that we can enjoy "green lawns" year round. It's a difficult decision, I understand, but Priory and PV TC made the best decision, from a set of suboptimal choices. Look forward, not backward, and understand that the PV Town Council did the right thing. Thank you. Meanwhile, we ALL have to figure out how to reduce our own personal carbon footprint, to bend the curve of global warming. Maybe someday, temps will moderate, rains will return, and we can all enjoy 100% grass fields. I would love if this happened; I coach soccer teams, and kids do better in the long run playing on grass not fake turf. But that's not what we have in our environment. Temps are rising, water is more scarce. Ouch.
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Posted by Dave Boyce, Almanac staff writer, on Mar 21, 2013 at 5:38 pm
Dave Boyce is a member (registered user) of Almanac Online Reporter's note: The decision makers on this matter were the five members of the town's Planning Commission.
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Posted by loving the turf, a resident of the Menlo Park: Sharon Heights neighborhood, on Mar 21, 2013 at 6:38 pm "Get ready for a steep increase in injuries to your children."
Huh? A turf field DECREASES injuries for kids, and especially older kids/teens and adults using the field!
A softer, even surface, free of ankle-breaking gopher holes or other ruts or abnormalities inherent in grass fields. A surface that stays true in spite of a lacrosse or soccer league that would wear a grass field down to bare soil.
All weather, to be played on when other fields are closed due to a drizzle or rain, or because a custodian who forgot to change summertime irrigation settings and over-watered.
Without needing to be mowed, fertilized or have pesticides, herbicides and other proven toxic chemicals applied regularly.
And saves water.
And saves time and money required to regularly line grass fields (what chemicals do they add to 'plain chalk', anyway?)
And looks good -- check out any sports photography on a beat up, poorly lined grass field.
When I coach, ref or play on a grass field, I can feel it all over after a long day - in my knees, hips and back. Not so on a soft turf field.
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Posted by Observer, a member of the Woodside School community, on Mar 23, 2013 at 9:38 am The decision erodes the general plan: each of the arguments (more playing time, more uniform conditions, Priory was there first, Priory knows best, private property) could be made for lighted fields ... Which all sides would agree is against the town values. This decision weakens the community values. The plastic field would have been appropriate in a back field: eg off Georgia Lane. Too bad that planning commission takes the general plan as just an impediment of times gone by.
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Posted by PV Resident, a resident of the Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley neighborhood, on Mar 25, 2013 at 9:11 pm Such a bummer to see this moving through the process. I can't believe our "green" town is going to let this pass. I moved to PV because I wanted to live in a place that was a bit more green, a bit more natural, and different than everything east of 280. Every time I hike up Windy Hill, I think I will want to vomit when I look down at a huge piece of plastic. Let's not lose sight of what makes PV special.
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Posted by loving the turf, a resident of the Menlo Park: Sharon Heights neighborhood, on Mar 26, 2013 at 9:02 am "Let's not lose sight of what makes PV special."
gopher holes? twisted ankles?
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Posted by Precision Greens, a resident of the Atherton: other neighborhood, on Mar 26, 2013 at 12:25 pm Its a very nice topic and good information shared by you
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Posted by Old MP, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, on Mar 26, 2013 at 8:07 pm Question that no one has considered - how much precious drinking water will be saved since the field will no longer require irrigation?
Next question - how much exhaust pollution will be eliminated since the field will no longer require landscapers to mow the grass?
Seems to me that an artificial turf playing surface seems much more green than to continue to waste water and pollute the air with mower exhaust!
As for injuries - this is not your grandfather's AstroTurf. The product has much more give and has millions of mini rubber pellets that allow more natural "grip".
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