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Home My WebLink AboutCatholic school board resists city's insistence to shorten playing time at new turf field - Ottawa Citizen - 08/22/2018 - Ottawa Citizen - 08/22/20188/23/2018 Catholic school board resists city's insistence to shorten playing time at new turf field I Ottawa Citizen Catholic school board resists city's insistence to shorten playing time at new turf field JON WILLING (HTTPS://OTTAWACITIZEN.COM/AUTHOR/JONWILLING) Updated: August 22, 2018 ,"M * *, I,ie ridal h,,, 1d ,1 li"Irl n I ,I r ,„rah°ir 0l. JEAN LEVAC / POSTMEDIA NEWS A controversial new artificial field at Immaculata High School could have its playing hours reduced by the City of Ottawa to protect neighbours from the hoopla of late-night recreational soccer. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/cath of ic-school-board-resists-citys-insistence-to-shorten-playing-time-at-new-turf-field 1/8 8/23/2018 Catholic school board resists city's insistence to shorten playing time at new turf field I Ottawa Citizen The Ottawa Catholic School Board and the Ottawa Footy Sevens partnered to build a $2 -million turf and running track surface at the high school, replacing the banged -up grass field. The soccer organization is paying for construction and operations, while the school board is paying for the new synthetic track. Residents who live near the field haven't been happy about the planning that went into the project (https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local- news/catholic-school-boa rd -accused -of -leaving -consultation -out -of -2m -sports - turf -project)_. They decried a lack of consultation and have worried about increased traffic, noise and light pollution. The original site plan for the field requires the surface to be grass or sod. The school board submitted a site plan application to allow the installation of the artificial turf field, rubber track, four light poles and other landscaping. The infrastructure has already been installed. The Footy Sevens has been preparing for fall leagues. Ottawa Footy Sevens last Friday The Lights are On ...But Nobody's Home (yet!). Update #6 The lights have been switched on at Immaculata and the track is complete: it's just about re... 0..1"'I1AWJV::-0M1(If.:ill...Otn: NVORUf"IFII:::: S&COM 4 Comment Share https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/cath of ic-school-board-resists-citys-insistence-to-shorten-playing-time-at-new-turf-field 2/8 8/23/2018 Catholic school board resists city's insistence to shorten playing time at new turf field I Ottawa Citizen The city doesn't have a problem with the new surfaces, but it wants to restrict the hours the lights can be on. It wants the lights to be turned off by 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and by 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. On top of that, the city doesn't want any activity on the field before 9 a.m. on the weekend. Site plans usually don't rise to the level of planning committee approval, but because the school board opposes the city's recommended hours, the planning committee needs to vote on the site plan application on Tuesday. [f., i [ew ai l,i f`lc, h.i,�i r rir, I>na .:,I", iI nrr["""iCal',11: I' ,h S C l00k JEAN LEVAC / The school board elaborated on its objection in an emailed response from communications manager Mardi de Kemp. "It is the board's view that the enhancements to the Immaculata sports field come under existing City of Ottawa bylaws;" the school board says. "The position of the board is that the operating hours of this field should be subject to the same operating hours as all other lighted turf fields in the City of Ottawa, including city -owned lighted turf fields": https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/cath of ic-school-board-resists-citys-insistence-to-shorten-playing-time-at-new-turf-field 3/8 8/23/2018 Catholic school board resists city's insistence to shorten playing time at new turf field I Ottawa Citizen The city acknowledges that most city -owned sports parks have an 11 p.m. closing time, but according to staff the Immaculata field is different because of its proximity to homes. Hours of operation can't be encoded in a site plan, but restrictions on lighting can be. Restricted field availability could be especially damaging to the school board's private partner. The Footy Sevens gets exclusive use of the field after 6 p.m. and can collect revenue from rentals. Chris Surgeoner, co-owner and administrator of the Footy Sevens, said a shorter playing window in the evening would have an impact on the club's operations. Most of the leagues run by the Footy Sevens have games that last until 11 p.m., he said. It's odd that the city would want to restrict the playing hours at Immaculata when there are other lighted sports fields across the city, including baseball diamonds, that can operate until 11 p.m., Surgeoner said. "It's just surprising to me;" he said. Surgeoner said he's happy with the installation of the artificial field, which has happened over the summer. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/cath of ic-school-board-resists-citys-insistence-to-shorten-playing-time-at-new-turf-field 4/8 8/23/2018 Catholic school board resists city's insistence to shorten playing time at new turf field I Ottawa Citizen I��' iiowa,rlhcki l lUld hcdd lin rr'i",Ct' laIa Fh gli JEAN LEVAC � Asked if shortened playing hours would impact the club's deal with the school board, Surgeoner said he didn't want to speculate. He said he's interested in hearing the rationale for an early lights -out during the planning committee meeting. Capital Coun. David Chernushenko said the school board should have done a better job consulting the community before breaking ground on the turf project. Three games played simultaneously late at night on the field will create an unacceptable disruption to residents, he said. "Change is hard and has to be handled with sensitivity," Chernusehnko said. "Unfortunately (the school board) did not manage this project well when it came to involving neighbours." jwilling@postmedia.com (mailto:jwilling@postmedia.com) twitter.com/JonathanWilling_(http://twitter.com/JonathanWilling) https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/cath of ic-school-board-resists-citys-insistence-to-shorten-playing-time-at-new-turf-field 5/8 8/23/2018 Catholic school board resists city's insistence to shorten playing time at new turf field I Ottawa Citizen ARTIFICIAL TURF (HTTPS://OTTAWACITIZEN.COM/TAG/ARTIFICIAL-TURF) SCHOOLS (HTTPS://OTTAWACITIZEN.COM/TAG/SCHOOLS) TRENDING STORIES Ottawa Senators rumours: Are Karlsson trade talks heating up again? While trade rumours had been swirling at the end of last season, talks quieted down during the dog days of summer. < Previous Next > This Week's Flyers https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/cath of ic-school-board-resists-citys-insistence-to-shorten-playing-time-at-new-turf-field 6/8 8/23/2018 Catholic school board resists city's insistence to shorten playing time at new turf field i Ottawa Citizen INNNNNIhhnnnniillllllllllllllllllll hq,.Z/ & VVVUUUUUNNNNNNNNhhnnnniillllllllllllllllllll �iillllllllllllllllllll II°Ilover for IIF lllyeur Comments iL ME 20- 0 % 0-0% yA SI ALL OFFICE CHAIFP a /r &6p Hover for IF11yer VVVUUUUUNNNNNNNNhhnnnniilllllllllllllllllllllllllll' i�IIIIIII11niilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ' � " . " VVVUUUUUNNNNNNNNhhnnnniillllllllllllllllllllllllllllk PLUS now � � ® " I MATC E 5k 09 ��M �Y414A/ly.N �t TWIN MATTR@SS. ,ON Now! CEM II°Illoveir four IIF lllyeur 1=>ov ered Ik y We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page (http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/story.html?id=7195492) for more information. 1 Comment Add a comment... Aalrmmiina Badrain It is appalling that the school would change the use of the field so drastically and expect it to be ok �A They privatised their field and put a cage around it, which will raise the noise and light levels dramat the neighbours who used to have a clean open space beside them is gone, yet property taxes are th lower beside commercial properties) and the field is tax free since it is part of the OCDSB property, i children in the area will suffer the greatest loss, not to mention air quality from this off -gassing heat i been improved with better overall outcomes. Hopefull the City will get some teeth and force some & the overall community. Like • Reply • 34nn F acebook Comments IPlugin https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/cath of ic-school-board-resists-citys-insistence-to-shorten-playing-time-at-new-turf-field 7/8 8112M 8 Catholic school bond resists city's insistence to shorten playing time at new turf field I Ottawa Citizen OAF Pl'&)' ll III , I 365 Dom S! EaS Wronw, Cir J 1 20'S Irf', AH Jj ,; AmAwked WhOhn, trarsinis on onsotd:,� ""'Ark,[Y https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/cathol ic-school - board- resi sts-citys-i n s i sten ce-to-shorten -play in g -ti m e -at- n ew-tu Of el d 8/8