Sunnyvale council and 4B authorize parallel work on Vineyard and Jobson park upgrades, pursue school-district turf fields

Sunnyvale Town Council and the 4B Development Corporation on March 24 authorized staff to pursue improvements at Vineyard Park and a Sunnyvale Independent School District field to add usable, lighted turf practice space before next spring, while also beginning design work for a fuller Jobson Park upgrade and continuing discussions with the school district about two additional greenfield sites.

The move came after more than an hour of staff presentations and public comment during a joint meeting in which parents, youth sports organizers and nearby residents urged action on a long-running shortage of local practice fields. Council and 4B voted 6-0 to authorize staff to begin contracts and design work for the “B2” Vineyard/SISD turf conversion and to proceed in parallel with design planning for the full Jobson Park option labeled “A2,” while continuing memoranda-of-understanding talks with Sunnyvale ISD about potential greenfield sites.

Town staff framed the split approach as a “speed to market” strategy. Half & Associates senior vice president Sherry French told the boards that residents and survey respondents had requested looped walking trails, pavilions and shade, playgrounds, restrooms and higher-quality practice fields; she said many respondents prioritized more practice fields and better field surfaces and lighting. French reviewed the planning-level estimates included in the meeting packet: the full Jobson rebuild as presented in the packet ranged from about $8.25 million for a natural-turf build (plus roughly 10–12% for design fees) to about $12.65 million for an artificial-turf option, with estimated construction durations on the order of 21–23 months. French said the Vine- yard/SISD conversions would be faster and less disruptive: the B1 scaled Jobson alternative was estimated at about $4 million (13–16 months) and B2 — Vineyard plus SISD turf conversions — at about $5 million with a 20–26 week construction window.

Parks director Carrie Pacheco described the Vineyard work as an artificial-turf conversion that would enlarge the field footprint by roughly 16,000 square feet, upgrade to LED lighting and relocate parking off the existing play area; she said the school-district contractor had signaled willingness to manage construction on the SISD site under a reimbursement arrangement if the district included the work in its summer bond construction schedule.

Public commenters representing youth sports and parents largely urged quicker, larger investment in Jobson Park, saying current inventory strains youth baseball, lacrosse and soccer. James Barta, identified as president of the Sunnyvale Youth Soccer Association, said Vineyard currently houses nine fields and that scheduling limits mean some teams practice concurrently on the same space. Resident Ross Mericle urged the council to adopt the full Jobson turf option (A2), saying, “If this town does not address the need for additional fields and especially additional baseball diamonds for baseball and softball, you're just gonna be kicking this problem down the road.”

Neighbors around Jobson Park also spoke. Several residents who live adjacent to Jobson said they support additions but urged limits on lighting, traffic and parking impacts. One nearby resident suggested additional landscaping and fencing to reduce visual and sound impacts; several others proposed phased work at Jobson to preserve some existing practice space during construction.

On funding and timing, staff said design money for Jobson is programmed in the capital plan for the current and next fiscal years and cited approximately $7.1 million programmed for Jobson in the coming fiscal year; staff also said Vineyard and the SISD conversions carry lower lead times because they can reuse existing lighting and parking infrastructure. Staff recommended beginning construction as soon as Sarissa (the youth athletics season) ends in June so fields could be ready for the following February season. The boards directed staff to return with design contracts, to negotiate an MOU and interlocal agreement with Sunnyvale ISD, and to continue exploring the district’s offer of two greenfield sites that could add youth baseball diamonds.

The votes concluded the public hearing and sent staff back to finalize designs and agreements; council and 4B members said they favored a parallel approach aimed at producing some usable turf fields quickly while advancing longer-term Jobson planning.

The town did not adopt final engineering plans, set construction contracts or commit to a specific funding source in the meeting; staff said those steps will return to council and 4B for future approvals.