The roar of the crowd, the trill of the whistles, the crunch of tiny football helmets … neighbors of Menlo-Atherton High School have had their fill of noisy peewee football games.
A change in the town of Atherton’s rules governing private groups’ use of athletic fields at public schools could end up killing off the seven-year-old Pop Warner football league that practices and plays games at Menlo-Atherton, league officials said.
Under the rubric of the special events ordinance adopted by the City Council in September, fields can’t be used after 7 p.m. on weekdays, 6 p.m. on Saturdays or 5 p.m. on Sundays without a permit. Pop Warner officials said they weren’t notified in September and only recently realized that the ordinance would affect their program.
Being restricted to those hours would signal the death-knell of the Menlo-Atherton Vikings Pop Warner teams, said Greg Baty, a coach and former NFL player who lives in Atherton.
About 150 kids on six teams participate in the local Menlo-Atherton Vikings Pop Warner league, he said.
The teams practice and play games on the high school’s artificial turf football field after M-A’s teams get finished, he told the City Council at its May 17 meeting. On weekdays, the high school teams don’t finish practice until 6:30 p.m. and the Vikings practice sessions last as long as the daylight holds out, as late as 8:30 p.m. he said.
“With these guidelines, you’re basically shutting down this field to any other outside use,” Mr. Baty said.
The Vikings aren’t allowed to use any of the high school’s grass fields, he said.
Pop Warner officials asked the council to give them a permit that would allow them to use the football field outside of the permitted hours, something the city manager is empowered to decide.
“The most important thing to us is to not kill this program,” said Mr. Baty. “In my experience, this is the only place where kids meet other kids from all different socioeconomic circumstances. I know my sons have benefited greatly.”
At a packed council meeting held May 17, with many neighbors sporting stickers with the word “exceptions” circled with a slash through it, City Manager Jim Robinson said his recommendation was to not grant the permit.
“I don’t think anyone here opposes Pop Warner,” said Oak Grove Avenue resident Carol Smith. “The sound of children having fun is an awesome sound. The problem is the sound of children 24/7.”
Residents need to know that they will have some quiet time so they can plan a barbecue or an outdoor wedding, she told the council, and said that granting an exception would have a dramatic impact on residents’ quality of life.
Council members encouraged Pop Warner officials to seek out creative solutions and alternate playing sites that would allow them to keep the program alive while obeying the time limits set in the town’s ordinance.
“It’s with a heavy heart I feel you have got to work within the strictures (of the ordinance),” said Councilwoman Kathy McKeithen.
Since the issue is not technically a council decision, the council, by consensus, directed the city manager to deny Pop Warner’s permit request.
