City and school district to revamp joint‑use agreement after residents raise noise, traffic and safety concerns

City and La Cañada Unified School District officials said they will revisit the long‑standing Joint Use Master Agreement and begin parallel work on a strategic master plan after public comment raised operational problems and neighborhood impacts.

Staff told the joint meeting that the current master agreement dates to December 2000 and now includes many addenda; insurers and the city attorney have flagged gaps between the city's responsibilities and the agreement's language. City staff said insurers have raised concerns about liability and the city's authority under the existing agreement, prompting a need to modernize standard contract language, clarify roles, and tighten insurance and permit language.

District staff and elected board members said any material transfer of operations such as field maintenance would require planning and budget changes: equipment, storage and staffing are not switchable overnight. Officials emphasized the desire to keep community access and to avoid disrupting user groups while they update legal and administrative documents.

Public commenters during the joint‑use discussion urged different outcomes. Several speakers who play or organize pickleball asked the city to add lights and extend hours at Corniche/FIS to reduce wait times and support seniors and community players. Neighbors from the Atlee/Corniche corridor strongly opposed evening lights and expanded hours, citing repeated parking shortages, additional traffic routed into residential streets, light pollution and nighttime noise. One resident submitted a petition signed by 63 neighbors opposing lighting and late‑night use.

Separately, residents near the Williams Reservoir reported an increase in heavy truck traffic, round‑the‑clock noise and dust after the Crescenta Valley Water District used two small lots as a staging and laydown yard for a multi‑year pipe replacement project. Speakers said they have not seen public permits, public notices or CEQA compliance documents for the change in use and that repeated truck deliveries (residents estimated dozens of truckloads) have created safety and air‑quality concerns. City and district staff said they have received the complaints and will coordinate with relevant agencies as appropriate.

Officials also discussed administrative timing. Board members noted that a 2006 supplemental agreement can be read to produce a possible expiration date of June 15, 2026 under one interpretation of the document sequence; staff said interpretations vary but acknowledged the need for timely action so that user permits and seasonal operations are not disrupted. Elected officials agreed to form a work group to prioritize updating the Joint Use Master Agreement and a separate group to develop a broader strategic master plan; a third team would focus on reimagining the Corniche/FIS area as a long‑term redevelopment project if stakeholders elect to pursue that path.

Staff and elected officials said they expect to bring a more detailed schedule and a proposed public engagement plan back to the elected bodies at the next joint meeting in March.