I am a life long Point Loma resident and live in the house my parents built in 1950. I attended PLHS and so have 16 members of my family, three generations. I fully support Point Loma High and its students but feel the recent court ruling was wrong and that my rights as a homeowner have been violated by the SDUSD.
The court has ruled in favor of lighting the Point Loma High School Stadium and I realize the majority of the community are in favor of this. While using the field for PLHS events is supposed to be limited
to 18 events per year and limited to school use only per the Field Use Policy adopted by the District in 2014 the content of the District’s Environmental Impact Report contradicts this. That is my concern.
The EIR content has not been communicated sufficiently, if at all, to the community. “The District may allow third parties to utilize the upgraded stadium in the future in accordance with District policy.” Under the Civic Center Act adopted in 2014 use by “organizations, clubs, and associations formed for recreational, educational, political, economic, artistic or moral purposes are permitted by state law and district policy to use school buildings and grounds.” Also mentioned in the report is that the District Board is the ultimate authority and that the schedule for using the stadium will have the potential to change every year. “The Athletic Stadium is proposed to be available for use any day of the week up until a mandatory cutoff time for the lights of 11 p.m.”
What also has also not been communicated sufficiently is the fact that the current field use policy is not legally enforceable and can be changed at any time with a two week notice to the community.
Judge Pollack’s ruling does not seem to acknowledge what is contained in the EIR nor does he acknowledge the ability of the District to change the provisions of the field use policy.
The reason the school can have a lighted stadium in the middle of a residential neighborhood is because the District can exempt itself from local zoning laws by utilizing California Code 53094. “…the
school district may not take this action when the proposed use of the property by the school district is for non-classroom facilities…” In other words, only school related activity may be exempt. Third parties should never enjoy exemption from zoning laws. Vavi Sports Club, Albion Soccer, Pop Warner, and any other outside organization that has expressed interest in using PLHS stadium, and there are several, should never be able to use the field lights or PA system, and should have to provide adequate parking and traffic control during their events.
Principal Becker does not have ultimate control over the field use, the District does. He should not make promises to the contrary. The Point Loma community needs to understand the concerns of nearby
residents. We are not “fear mongers”, our concerns are legitimate and are laid out in black and white in the District’s EIR, which is available on their website and at our Loma Portal branch library for anyone who is interested.
Those in our community who support the athletic field improvements need to understand the issue completely and acknowledge the full impact on nearby residents. Not only will we be inconvenienced by night time usage we will see a decrease in our property values. That is a huge sacrifice being made by your fellow Point Lomans so that the students, their families and friends can enjoy night time games.
So, for those in the community who will be attending events at PLHS, I would ask your appreciation of our sacrifice and respect for our neighborhood when attending. I would also ask your support for when the day comes that the District decides to begin renting the field for profit. I also would warn anyone who lives near a District school campus to realize the power of the School Board and seemingly unlimited resources to do as they please, without considering the impact on the neighboring community. For those who live near the Dana baseball field, I believe it is only a matter of time when the District will want to light that field and begin night time usage. Any mail received by the District should be scrutinized. Sincerely,
Angela Holmes Shaw