Local youth sports groups urge Encinitas Parks Commission to expand field access, lighting and sharing

Several leaders of Encinitas youth sports organizations used the commission’s public-comment period to press for more field time, lighting and collaborative scheduling as the city’s youth population grows.

Randy Noel, who said he participated in the Sister City program in 1992 and now leads a local soccer board, endorsed cooperative approaches among clubs to increase field access and highlighted population and housing trends that expand demand.

Brett Mills, director of program development for Encinitas Express Soccer Club, shared participation figures and near-term proposals. He reported 2,409 soccer players in his organization, 1,300 in one local baseball program and 805 lacrosse players among the three organizations that provided data; Mills summarized the total as about 7,800 youth served across multiple sports. Mills asked the commission to consider renovating ECP Field 3, permit multi-use configurations so different sports can share a field, improve visibility of allocations, and pursue portable lighting as an immediate step toward later turf installation.

Tom Citrano (vice president, La Costa Kenny Pop Warner) and Chris Perry (president, Carter Soccer League) echoed calls for shared permits, lighting and technologies that reduce community impacts (for example, directional or solar lighting) while increasing playtime.

Commissioners and staff said they would follow up: Manager Hamer and Manager Norgaard were asked to coordinate a future meeting (November or January) to allow the sports groups a longer presentation and to have staff outline mitigation, permitting and allocation options. The commission suggested adding the topic to a future agenda and requested the clubs send detailed briefings in advance.

Next steps: Staff will work with the groups and council liaisons to schedule a fuller briefing and return options for field allocation, lighting, and short-term renovations to the commission.