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Resident urges Laguna Niguel to reconsider youth soccer field allocation rules
Summary
A Laguna Niguel resident and volunteer coach asked the council to reconsider a 70% residency threshold that he said left his small Athletic Soccer Club without fall field allocations despite serving dozens of local families.
A Laguna Niguel resident who identified himself as Dinito told the council on Aug. 4 that his small nonprofit Athletic Soccer Club received no field allocation for the upcoming fall season and asked the city to reconsider residency rules.
"We don't think it's fair that because we are a smaller club, a smaller nonprofit organization, we don't meet a 70% residency," Dinito said, noting his club lists 45 Laguna Niguel families and that his team alone includes seven long-term local families. He said the club has provided volunteer support for community fields for more than a decade and urged the council to make an exception or revisit the allocation policy.
The comment came during the public-comment period; the mayor reminded speakers of a three-minute limit and the Brown Act prohibition on council responses during the meeting. The transcript does not show an immediate council response or staff commitment to change policy, though council members later said staff would follow up with commenters after the meeting.
The issue as presented centers on the city's residency threshold for field assignments and how it affects smaller, volunteer-run clubs. Dinito requested discretionary reconsideration for the Athletic Soccer Club; the transcript does not record a staff report or formal item on the council agenda related to field allocation at this meeting.
