Palo Alto treads lightly on artificial turf as health concerns surface
Members of the Palo Alto Soccer Club conduct drills at the Cubberley Community Center soccer fields in Palo Alto on Aug. 4, 2017. File photo by Veronica Weber.

Concerned about the health and environmental impacts of synthetic turf, Palo Alto has halted its plans to resurface the playing fields at El Camino Park as it weighs the costs and benefits of plastic and grass.

The turf-versus-grass debate came up last May, as the council’s Finance Committee reviewed its annual capital budget, which included a $900,000 replacement of the tuft near the Menlo Park border. The committee halted the project after members raised questions about the safety of synthetic turf.

The issue resurfaced in October, when the city was hit with a lawsuit from the family of Diego Velasquez, a minor who suffered an injury while playing soccer on the Stanford/Palo Alto Community Playing Fields in August 2023. According to the suit, the artificial grass at the field caused a “sticky, gum-like substance to seep out of the grass” and get stuck on Velasquez’s shoes, causing him to slip, fall and sustain injuries.

For the council, the main benefits of turf fields are the relatively low maintenance and high use that they accommodate once installed. The Stanford field, which saw turf installed in 2016, accommodates year-round play, including in the evenings, according to the city. But in reviewing the budget last year, council members agreed that the drawbacks of synthetic turf could be significant.

Vice Mayor Vicki Veenker said at that time that she has seen issues in soccer leagues where turf becomes bumpy, resulting in injuries for users.

“It’s the kind of thing where when you just add up the risks, I’d really like to see the analysis of what it would take to go back to grass,” Veenker said at the May 7 meeting, before the committee agreed not to move ahead with the El Camino project.

Council member Pat Burt, who chairs the Finance Committee, similarly suggested that the city move cautiously on turf replacement, given the various issues surrounding synthetic turf.

“I’d assumed that given all the emerging concerns that have been going on in recent years over synthetic fields, I thought we must be evaluating this as we are looking at having to replace these,” Burt said.

Next week, the City Council will launch a study that members hope will address their concerns and that may help determine the future of local playing fields. The council is set to approve on Jan. 21 a contract with Lloyd Consulting Group to provide a “comprehensive turf study that compares synthetic and natural turf athletic fields.” The firm is scheduled to release its findings by April, in time for the city’s upcoming budget season.

The $232,985 contract will look at the impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – commonly known as PFAS – which are known for breaking down very slowly and which have been found in human and animal blood, according to the city staff.

“There are thousands of different PFAS, some of which have been more widely used and studied than others,” the city’s report states.

According to a new report from the city’s Community Services Department, the city manages three synthetic turfs: at El Camino Park, the Stanford-Palo Alto Playing Fields at Page Mill Road and El Camino Real, and at Cubberley Community Center. While the committee had agreed to move ahead with the planned replacement of turf at the Stanford-Palo Alto field, which was near the end of its useful life, it paused the project at El Camino Park pending further evaluation.

The report will help the city create a “holistic approach” to field management and establish a forward-looking strategy, the report states. In addition to assessing the sustainability and health impacts of synthetic turf, it will consider the needs of all local user groups and economic implications of grass and synthetic turf. It will also “evaluate the compatibility of field options with Palo Alto’s broader sustainability and climate action goals,” the report approved by Community Services Director Kristen O’Kane states.

“Staff will use the study to recommend a field management strategy to the City Council, consistent with the City’s sustainability goals, financial prudence, and commitment to public health,” the report states.

This story originally appeared in Palo Alto Weekly. Gennady Sheyner covers local and regional politics, housing, transportation and other topics for the Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Online and their sister publications.

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