Council leaves ordinance on school athletic facilities as neighbors press parking, noise and safety limits

Mayor opened second reading of a zoning amendment to require conditional-use review for outdoor recreation facilities at public and private schools and invited Director Braverman to present. Director Braverman said the proposal "requires that recreational facilities at schools be reviewed as a conditional use and adds conditional use standards" and described added provisions including restricted hours for group activities, a ban on lighted outdoor recreational facilities, and required traffic, parking and landscape plans. She said the Planning Commission held a public hearing on March 3 and recommended approval.

Several council members and nearby residents questioned how parking, noise and emergency access would be enforced. Council Member Bixenstein summarized neighbors' concerns about on-street parking, asking whether conditional-use review would require on-site parking and bus staging. Council Member Moore asked how the city would control tree-lawn compaction from event parking and whether the Planning Commission would have adequate tools to impose and, if necessary, rescind permits. "It's a privilege to have a conditional-use permit and if there is abuse then council can just say, no, sorry, we're done," Director Braverman responded.

Council members also pressed for clarity on noise rules and how the noise ordinance and the conditional-use process would interact. Director Braverman acknowledged exemptions in the noise chapter for organized school activities and said staff would consult the law and police departments and return more precise guidance on decibel limits and allowable hours for public announcement systems. Council Member Kaus asked whether the city could set baseline standards the Planning Commission must enforce rather than relying solely on applicant proposals; Braverman said the conditional-use review would require applicants to submit detailed traffic and parking plans for commission review.

Because there is not yet an application from any particular school, council emphasized this is a city-wide policy change rather than approval of a specific project. The council voted to leave the ordinance on second reading and scheduled a public hearing and third reading for April 13. The record shows multiple requests from council members for written follow-up about parking metrics, noise limits, emergency access and how conditional-use permits will be monitored and rescinded if necessary.